International Share FundsInternational share funds invest in shares of companies listed on share markets outside the domestic market. They include funds that specialise in a particular sector such as biotechnology, or a particular region such as Asia. Investing in overseas shares may provide access to high growth opportunities such as the world's leading pharmaceutical, aerospace and electronics companies. Managed funds offer a convenient and easy way to tap into these international opportunities. However, international shares also carry higher risk. The various classes of funds include ...
The exchange rate of the domestic currency to the foreign currency will fluctuate at the same time as the investment, which can easily increase, or reverse, substantial gains abroad. Further risks may include...
There may be times when your domestic sharemarket is weak but some overseas markets are performing well. While over the longer term international share funds should provide strong returns, they can experience periods of volatile returns and even negative returns. I maintain investments in international, regional and sector specific share funds in order to diversify my portfolio and gain exposure to markets that would otherwise not be available to me. My investment requirement is that the funds have published performance data over at least five years (hopefully ten) and can demonstrate a net historical performance over the time span of at least 15%. An added requirement is that the employees/owners of the fund are heavily invested in the fund. There is no better incentive than having your own money on the line. That narrows the field very considerably. My selling policy also applies to these funds. These requirements ensure that I am more likely to invest in the top international mutual funds.
Return from International Share Funds to Managed Share Funds |