Is Matthews Japan Fund (MJFOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now? #JapanFinance

If you have been looking for Japan – Equity funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Matthews Japan Fund (MJFOX). MJFOX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

We note that MJFOX is a Japan – Equity option, an area loaded with different choices. Primarily invest in companies in one of the world’s richest and most diversified economies, Japan. While the country remains partially exposed to global economic trends due to its export focus, its lack of natural resources can also impact the nation.

Matthews Asia is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of MJFOX. Matthews Japan Fund debuted in December of 1998. Since then, MJFOX has accumulated assets of about $252.05 million, according to the most recently available information. Shuntaro Takeuchi is the fund’s current manager and has held that role since January of 2019.

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. MJFOX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.48% and is in the top third among its category peers. If you’re interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund’s 3 -year annualized total return of -1.14%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product’s returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund’s [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

When looking at a fund’s performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Over the past three years, MJFOX’s standard deviation comes in at 19.11%, compared to the category average of 15.32%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.55% compared to the category average of 15.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.75, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. MJFOX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.45, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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