Читать книгу Mutual Funds For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 21

Overseas or international investment is a potentially misleading category. The types of overseas investment options, such as stocks and bonds and real estate, aren’t fundamentally different from your domestic options. However, international investments are often categorized separately because they come with a different set of risks and rewards.

Here are some good reasons to invest a portion of your money overseas:

 Diversification: International securities markets don’t move in lockstep with U.S. markets, so adding foreign investments to a domestic portfolio generally offers you a smoother ride over the long term.

 Growth potential: When you confine your investing to U.S. securities, you’re literally missing a world of opportunities. The majority of investment opportunities are overseas. If you look at the total value of all stocks and bonds outstanding worldwide, the value of U.S. securities is now in the minority (at about 40 percent). The United States isn’t the world — and some overseas economies are growing faster.

Some people hesitate to invest in overseas securities because they feel that doing so hurts the U.S. economy and contributes to a loss of U.S. jobs. Fair enough. But I have two counterarguments:

 If you don’t profit from the growth of economies and companies overseas, someone else will. If money is to be made there, Americans may as well make some of it.

 The United States already participates in a global economy — making a distinction between U.S. companies and foreign companies is no longer appropriate. Many companies headquartered in the United States also have overseas operations. Some U.S. firms derive a large portion of their revenue and profits from their international divisions. Conversely, many firms based overseas also have operations in the United States. Increasing numbers of companies are worldwide operations.

Dividends and stock price appreciation recognize no national boundaries! You aren’t unpatriotic if you invest globally. Profits from a foreign company are distributed to all stockholders, no matter where they live.