Holding international stocks is an important part of any portfolio diversification. In today’s globalized economy, putting all the eggs in one basket does not make sense. For US investors, going abroad not only may provide diversification benefits but also amplify returns.
One of the strategies for achieving diversification is to substitute large-cap US companies with their foreign peers or own the foreign peers in addition to the American equivalent depending on an investor’s situation and goal.
To that end, the following are seven large-cap US stocks from different industries and their international equivalents:
1.Banking:
US Company: Wells Fargo & Company (WFC)
Potential Foreign Substitute:Royal Bank of Canada (RY)
2.Household Goods:
US Company:Procter & Gamble Co (PG)
Potential Foreign Substitute: Henkel AG & Co KGaA (HENKY)
3.Utilities:
US Company:Southern Co. (SO)
Potential Foreign Substitute:National Grid PLC (NGG)
4.Pharma:
US Company:Pfizer Inc (PFE)
Potential Foreign Substitute:Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO)
5.Telecom:
US Company: AT&T, Inc. (T)
Potential Foreign Substitute:Telenor ASA (TELNY)
6.Oil:
US Company: Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM)
Potential Foreign Substitute: Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A)
7.Sportswear:
US Company: NIKE, Inc. (NKE)
Potential Foreign Substitute:adidas AG (ADDYY)
Disclosure: Long RY
