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It is doing better than MACSX, which is the old fund he used to run at Matthews. Not by a lot. MAPIX is doing rather better. I'm holding on, waiting for SFGIX to catch fire. Can't complain too much....
I believe MAPIX has a larger stake in Japan and China, which helped performance over both MACSX and SFGIX. Also, the Latin American holdings served as a boat anchor...hopefully this will turn around and not deter Mr. Foster from seeking investments in this area.
Speaking of Andrew Foster and SFGIX, the latest shareholder letter, here, expands on his macro theme concerning the disconnect between the standard EM index and the actual economies of developing countries as they transition away from near-total export dependence. A tease from the letter:
" ... the index represents only 33% of the estimated total capitalization present in the developing world. Perhaps more importantly, the index captures only 30% of the category entitled “Domestic Services + Non-Bank Financial Services + Consumption” – the very category where I believe the greatest structural change is taking place, and which (arguably) represents the future of the developing world."
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" ... the index represents only 33% of the estimated total capitalization present in the developing world. Perhaps more importantly, the index captures only 30% of the category entitled “Domestic Services + Non-Bank Financial Services + Consumption” – the very category where I believe the greatest structural change is taking place, and which (arguably) represents the future of the developing world."