Doug Byrkit
About Doug Byrkit
Doug Byrkit served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The China Fund, Inc. from 2024 until April 2025; he was succeeded by Neil Steedman effective April 2025 . He was born in 1970 and concurrently served as Head of Distribution and Global Client Service at Matthews International Capital Management, LLC (2023–present) after 13 years as Head of Institutional–Americas at Dimensional Fund Advisors (2010–2023) . During his tenure window, CHN reported a 1-year NAV total return of 16.19% and market-price total return of 16.25% as of April 30, 2025, while the semiannual period (Nov 1, 2024–Apr 30, 2025) delivered -3.06% NAV vs the MSCI China All Shares Index at 3.22% .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthews International Capital Management, LLC | Head of Distribution and Global Client Service | 2023–present | Leads distribution and client service for CHN’s external investment manager . |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors | Head of Institutional–Americas | 2010–2023 | Senior institutional distribution leadership across the Americas . |
External Roles
| Organization | Position | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthews International Capital Management, LLC | Head of Distribution and Global Client Service | 2023–present | Employer of record for CHN’s President role; affiliated fund officer receives no compensation from CHN for service as an officer . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2024 | 2025 YTD | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation paid by CHN to officers | — | — | The Fund does not compensate officers; officers are compensated by service providers (e.g., Matthews/Foreside) . |
The proxy discloses director fees only; there is no CHN-paid salary/bonus for officers, and one officer is explicitly noted as affiliated with Matthews and not compensated by the Fund .
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Element | Metric(s) | Target/Weighting | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHN officer incentives | Not disclosed | — | — | — |
CHN provides no officer compensation, and filings include no officer bonus/PSU/RSU plans; therefore, no performance-metric linkages or vesting schedules are disclosed for officers .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | As-of Date | Ownership % of Outstanding | Pledging/Hedging |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Byrkit | 0 | Fiscal year ended 10/31/2024 (reported on Form 5/A) | — | Not disclosed . |
| Directors & executive officers as a group | <1% (aggregate) | 9/26/2025 | <1% | Not disclosed . |
Byrkit filed a Form 5/A reflecting zero beneficial ownership; the filing indicates he is no longer subject to Section 16 (consistent with his April 2025 departure) .
Employment Terms
- Role and tenure: President and CEO of CHN beginning in 2024; service concluded April 2025 when Neil Steedman became President and CEO .
- Employer/affiliation: Officer affiliated with Matthews Asia; officer does not receive compensation from CHN for serving as an officer .
- Employment agreement, severance, change-of-control, non-compete, clawbacks, tax gross-ups: No disclosures identified in the DEF 14A or N-CSR/N-CSRS for CHN officers; CHN does not compensate officers, and the proxy addresses director remuneration only .
Performance & Track Record
CHN total returns during Byrkit’s tenure window:
| Metric | As of 4/30/2024 | As of 4/30/2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Year NAV Total Return | -11.65% | 16.19% |
| 1-Year Market Price Total Return | -11.23% | 16.25% |
Semiannual performance (Nov 1, 2024 – Apr 30, 2025):
| Period | CHN NAV Total Return | Benchmark (MSCI China All Shares) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 months ended 4/30/2025 | -3.06% | 3.22% |
Discount management execution (repurchases during the six months ended 4/30/2025):
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Shares repurchased (total) | 131,439 shares |
| Average price paid | $12.27 |
| Remaining shares authorized under program (as of 4/30/2025) | 846,944 |
Additional context:
- On June 20, 2025, CHN’s Board approved a Plan of Liquidation and Dissolution to be submitted to stockholders; a Special Meeting proxy (Oct 6, 2025) includes a form of the plan .
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee: Comprised entirely of independent directors (Silver, Reid, Iwanicki, Hu) with a written charter; the committee handles Board nominations and governance (officers are not paid by CHN) .
- Directors’ pay: Disclosed; officers’ pay: not paid by CHN and not disclosed (reduces pay-for-performance misalignment risk at the fund level for officers) .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Section 16 compliance: The proxy notes an untimely Form 3 for Byrkit in 2024 due to an inadvertent administrative error (delinquent Section 16(a) report) .
- Role transition: Byrkit’s officer service ended in April 2025, with leadership moving to Neil Steedman .
- Insider ownership/selling pressure: Form 5/A shows zero beneficial ownership for Byrkit at fiscal year-end 2024; no insider selling pressure evident from filings .
- Structural event risk: Post-tenure, the Fund moved toward a stockholder vote on liquidation and dissolution, which dominates forward-looking return and governance considerations .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance and alignment: Because CHN does not compensate officers and Byrkit reported zero beneficial ownership, there is little direct alignment or compensation-based signaling at the fund level for this officer; incentives are largely situated at the investment manager (Matthews), which maintained a performance-sensitive fee waiver during 2025 .
- Retention/turnover: Transition occurred in April 2025; any retention risk related to Byrkit is now moot, and forward governance hinges on the successor and the liquidation process .
- Trading signals: No insider selling pressure is indicated (0 shares). The dominant catalysts are corporate actions (repurchases under the discount program and the proposed liquidation plan), not officer-level compensation dynamics .