Matthews Asia has launched the Matthews Korea Active ETF (MKOR ), which invests in companies located in South Korea.
The active fund seeks to invest in companies in South Korea capable of sustainable growth based on their fundamental characteristics. These characteristics include balance sheet information, number of employees, size and stability of cash flow, management’s depth, adaptability, and integrity. Product lines, marketing strategies, corporate governance, and financial health are also considered.
Active Management Is Key
MKOR is the latest addition to Matthews Asia’s lineup of actively managed funds. In January, the firm launched the Matthews Emerging Markets ex China Active ETF (MEMX ). MEMX allows investors to separate China from their core emerging markets allocations. Last year, Matthews Asia launched four active ETFs.
When investing in emerging markets, Matthews Asia’s head of portfolio strategy David Dali said that active management is key. “Our benchmarks tend to be blind to things like corporate governance and regulatory issues and geopolitics,” Dali said at Exchange 2023. “So, it’s super important to go active.”
“Advisors have been embracing actively managed ETFs in 2023,” said VettaFi’s head of research Todd Rosenbluth. “Matthews Asia successfully launched active international equity ETFs in 2022, bringing some of their best strategies into the ETF market. For those investors that want a more targeted approach to Korea, the new ETF could add value.”
MKOR has an expense ratio of 0.79%.
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