MINV vs TRFM

MINVDMatthews Asia Innovators Active ETF

TRFMAAAM Transformers ETF

In short

MINV Most disruptive-innovation ETFs shop in Silicon Valley. This one hunts in Asia ex-Japan, with a manager hand-picking roughly 40 stocks instead of tracking an index, run by a firm that has covered the region since 1991.

TRFM Most disruption funds buy the story. TRFM screens for companies actually writing R&D checks, then spreads the theme across a couple hundred US-listed names instead of a concentrated bet on thirty.

Stated mandate

MINV The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing at least 80% of net assets in common and preferred stocks of Asia-located companies that Matthews identifies as innovators in products, services, processes, business models, management, technology use, or market development.

TRFM The Fund passively tracks the total return of the Pence Transformers Index before fees and expenses. The index targets U.S.-listed equity securities of companies positioned to benefit from significant changes in consumer behavior and technological innovation.

Why people hold it

• MINV Actively managed and concentrated: roughly 40 Asia-located stocks chosen by analysts, not pulled from an index screen.
• Defines innovation broadly. Business models, management, and market development count, not just chips and software, so an old-line company can make the cut.
• Matthews has focused on Asia since 1991 and launched MINV in 2022 among its first active ETFs, putting a long-running specialty in an ETF wrapper.etfgi.com
• Benchmarked to the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index, so the stock picking is measured against the plain regional market.

• TRFM Candidates are screened on research-and-development spending, so names earn a slot with budget receipts, not just a narrative.nasdaq.com
• 0.49% a year, below the typical fee in its disruptive-innovation cohort, and it follows a published index rather than a manager's hunches.
• Modified equal weighting across a couple hundred holdings keeps any single mega-cap from quietly becoming the whole theme.stockanalysis.com
• Sits among the strongest implementations in its disruptive-innovation peer group on our review.

Worth knowing

• MINV Charges 0.79% a year, above the 0.65% median for innovation ETFs, where index trackers like KOMP run 0.20%. That is the price of on-the-ground research.
• Thinly traded. Limit orders matter here, and spreads can widen when the underlying Asian markets are closed.
• One region, about 40 names, and a mandate that can include frontier markets. Policy shocks in Asia land harder here than in a globally spread basket.

• TRFM Not the cheapest door into the theme. Broader innovation rivals such as KOMP carry a lower expense ratio.
• Trades thinly next to the category's giants, so the bid-ask spread can matter more to your cost than the fee does.
• Launched in 2022, so the track record is short, and the index stays US-listed (ADRs count) rather than buying foreign shares directly.stockanalysis.com

Full MINV profile⁠

Full TRFM profile⁠