Matthews Asia Innovators Active ETF

Matthews Asia Innovators Active ETF (MINV) is an actively managed fund. Its managers pick stocks of Asian companies that Matthews International Capital Management sees as innovators, with a heavy tilt toward technology and semiconductors. It costs much more than broad emerging-markets index funds, at 0.79% a year against a 0.14% average for similar funds. It is also more volatile, though its one- and three-year returns through October 27, 2026 led that group.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, MINV returned +17.1%, 1st of 7 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2023 (-2.7%); its best was 2025 (+30.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 27.8% (Jun 22, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026), not yet recovered.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 65 securities; the ten largest made up 33.03% of assets, and 8.58% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $13.4M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +28.27%, +20.38%, -0.32%.

MINV is actively managed: it tracks no index, and managers at Matthews International Capital Management pick the stocks. At least 80% of net assets goes into common and preferred stocks of Asian companies Matthews views as innovators. These include "enablers," which supply the hardware, software and platforms behind new technology, and "adopters," which use those tools to grow. Performance is measured against the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index.

The prospectus admits there is no agreed standard for spotting innovators, so the label is applied flexibly, as is the test for what counts as an Asian company. The managers weigh cash flow, balance sheets, management quality and governance, and may buy companies of any size. They expect to focus on technology, telecom, semiconductors, biotech and medical devices. It may also hold depositary receipts, certificates traded in one market that represent shares listed in another.

The prospectus sets no weighting formula or rebalancing schedule; position sizes are the managers' call. As of June 30, 2026, the fund had 65 holdings, led by Samsung Electronics (6.4%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (5.3%) and SK Hynix (4.8%); the top 10 made up 33%. Cash was 8.6%, with no derivatives. The prospectus reports 102% portfolio turnover, meaning a year's trading roughly equaled the whole portfolio, which can raise costs and taxable gains.

• MINV charges 0.79% a year, versus an average of 0.14% for the similar funds below (7th of 7, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $81 in the first year and $978 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a concentrated, actively managed bet on Asian technology stocks with high volatility and a short history, so it fits as a small add-on rather than a foundation.

MINV could add focused exposure to Asian technology to a portfolio built on broader funds, mainly chipmakers and their suppliers in Taiwan, South Korea and China. Its record is short. It launched in July 2022, too late for a full test in the 2008, 2020 or 2022 downturns. Its weakest calendar year was 2023, at -1.83%. Its deepest drop was 27.8%, from June 22 to October 22, 2026, and it had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. Its one-year volatility, a measure of how widely returns swing, was 31.5%. Someone who has to sell shares in a bad stretch could end up selling after a fall like that. The yield was 1.21% as of October 27, 2026, paid once a year, so this is not an income fund. At 0.79% a year, the SEC's $10,000 example shows $978 in costs over 10 years. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).