I did want to comment on Norbert's post #2529238 on the previous page. I agree wit him that MACSX is a great example of how a conservative investment approach combined with solid stock selection can succeed even during difficult economic periods. 

I have owned MACSX for many years; in fact, it is one of the oldest mutual funds in my portfolio.  One reason I bought it was that it was the only Asia fund I could find that invested in convertibles. Over the years I have noticed that it appears to be almost contrarian--when Chinese equities were skyrocketing, MACSX languished in the celler, with a bruising two-star rating from Morningstar. 

But now that the Chinese stocks are in  crash and burn mode, MACSX is back to a Morningstar ***** rank overall and ***** for 10-years. 

To explain this, all it takes is an examination of the portfolio and a look at the investor reports: MACSX includes the word "income" in its name and because of that fact, the managers focus their choice on high-quality dividend-paying companies and convertibles.  It is, indeed, a conservative strategy, and now it is paying off.

It's good to know that MAPIX is similar to MACSX; I would have just re-opened MACSX, but noboody at Matthews was asking for my advice...

Jagor