Matthews Asia is planning to re-open the Matthews Asia Dividend Fund on 30 April, 2015. The fund was closed to most new investors on June 14, 2013 in response to a rapid increase in the pace of inflows.
A combination of a reduction in inflows and structural changes taking place in Asia’s equity markets, increasing the Fund’s investable universe, are behind the decision to re-open the fund.
Launched in 2006, the Matthews Asia Dividend Fund seeks to offer investors an attractive total return with an emphasis on providing current income. The all-cap strategy invests in a combination of companies that are stable dividend payers and companies with attractive prospects for dividend growth over the medium-to-long term.
Yu Zhang, CFA, Co-Lead Manager of the Fund, says: “We believe the Fund now has the capacity to accept new assets while maintaining the integrity of its investment process. Significant reform taking place in many countries across Asia has increased our investible universe while the pace of flows has reduced considerably since the time we made the decision to close the Fund. We now feel confident that we can manage additional inflows, should they arise after the Fund re-opens.”
Robert Horrocks, PhD, Chief Investment Officer and Co-Lead Manager of the Fund, says: “We continually monitor asset growth with all our portfolios and given the all-cap approach taken in this strategy, we place a particular emphasis on monitoring inflows. Given the continual reform process taking place in Asia and the change in inflows since the Fund was closed, we are pleased to be able to re-open the Fund to all investors.”
