Two international funds, focusing on Western Europe and the Pacific Basin, offer you the best of all worlds
If you want to diversify—and we hope you do—a smart approach is to invest in an international mutual fund.
True, as a category, international funds were hit particularly hard by the recent fund scandals. The different time zones in international markets made it easier to engage in late trading and market timing, hurting the average investor. But that’s no reason to eschew the best international funds.
When you invest in the international arena, you give yourself the chance to participate in the growth of foreign markets, especially emerging markets. It’s a big world out there, and foreign markets, which as a group have surpassed the U.S. securities market in size, offer endless opportunities.
It’s your choice whether to branch out beyond U.S. borders by way of specialized mutual funds, ADRs, or foreign stocks directly.
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