# Matthews Emerging Markets Small Companies Fund Investor Class (MSMLX): Mutual Fund Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msmlx for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: — · Asset class: Equity - Strategy: Thematic · Inception: 2008-09-15 Under normal circumstances, the fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in the common and preferred stocks of small companies located in emerging market countries. Emerging market countries generally include every country in the world except the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and most of the countries in Western Europe. ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $28.87 | | Expense Ratio | 1.36% | | Assets Under Management | $390.2M | | NAV | $28.87 | | Holdings Count | — | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 1.34% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $0.39 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Annual | | 52-Week Range | $24.94 – $33.12 | | Beta | 1.10 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.3865 /share - Ex-date: 2025-12-17 - Pay date: 2025-12-17 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does MSMLX invest in? Under normal circumstances, the fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in the common and preferred stocks of small companies located in emerging market countries. Emerging market countries generally include every country in the world except the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and most of the countries in Western Europe. ### What is the expense ratio of MSMLX? Matthews Emerging Markets Small Companies Fund Investor Class (MSMLX) charges an expense ratio of 1.36%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### How big is MSMLX? Matthews Emerging Markets Small Companies Fund Investor Class (MSMLX) manages $390.2M in total assets. AUM determines bid-ask liquidity and the fund's vulnerability to closure. Funds below ~$50M are at higher risk of liquidation. ### Is MSMLX actively managed or an index fund? MSMLX's management style is described in the fund's prospectus. See the description on the Summary tab for the published strategy. ### When was MSMLX launched? Matthews Emerging Markets Small Companies Fund Investor Class (MSMLX) launched in September 2008 and is managed by the fund issuer. ### How has MSMLX performed? MSMLX's total return (price change plus reinvested distributions) is charted at the top of this page. Switch the price chart to Total Return and pick a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, or 10-year window to read the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over each horizon. ### Does MSMLX pay a dividend? Matthews Emerging Markets Small Companies Fund Investor Class (MSMLX) currently distributes little or no income. Trailing-twelve-month yield is 1.34%. Investors looking for income should consider income-focused alternatives. See the Peers tab. ### How often does MSMLX pay dividends? Matthews Emerging Markets Small Companies Fund Investor Class pays dividends Annual. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### What is MSMLX's dividend yield? MSMLX's trailing-twelve-month yield is 1.34%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### When is MSMLX's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for MSMLX was 2025-12-17. The next ex-date typically follows Annual; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### How much will MSMLX's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 1.36% expense ratio quietly compounds against your balance every year. The Fee Compounding Forecast card above projects the dollar drag for any holding period and assumption you pick. The typical result for a 1.0% expense ratio on a 30-year hold is roughly 25% of the final balance lost to fees. ### How does MSMLX charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from MSMLX's net asset value (NAV). You never see a bill. The price quoted on every exchange is already net of fees. There's no "fee day" to avoid; the cost is continuous and built into the trading price. ### Why does MSMLX cost more than a fund like VOO? MSMLX's strategy (current expense ratio 1.36%) is different from a broad-market index tracker like VOO, so its fee belongs to a different cohort. The Cost Verdict card above shows you where MSMLX sits within its own category, which is the comparison that actually matters. ### Are there cheaper alternatives to MSMLX? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists mutual funds following the same investment strategy as MSMLX (1.36%) but at a lower expense ratio. Each row shows the fee gap, the peer's AUM as a liquidity sanity-check, and a direct link to that fund's analysis page. Cheaper price doesn't automatically mean better. Verify the peer holds what you actually want. ## More on Dividend Data - Overview (HTML): https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msmlx - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msmlx/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msmlx/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msmlx/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/msmlx/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.