The average individual investor in equity markets earns less than the market return. This has been confirmed by many studies. The reason for the difference is that individual investors are affected by many human behavioral issues such as trying to time the market, excessive trading, buying high and selling low, panicking during market corrections, etc. …
I have written many times before that no country is the consistent winner in equity market returns every year. The winner in one year could be the loser in next and vice versa. Though US stocks have performed very well for over a decade now, their leadership could be overtaken by their foreign peers. According …
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Investing in foreign stocks involves a thorough analysis of many factors such as market type (emerging vs. developed vs. frontier markets), form of government, liquidity, transparency, accounting standards, etc. After deciding on a particular country, it is again important to determine in what industries or sectors to invest in. This decision is critical because each …
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Diversification is a simple and easy way to reduce risk. While spreading one’s funds across various asset classes is wise it is also important to avoid investing all or most the funds in one’s home country companies. Most investors including those in the US are affected by what’s called the “Home Bias”. According to a …
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Latin American equity markets offer some of the best emerging market equity opportunities after Emerging Asian markets. Economies in the region are mainly driven by natural resources or agricultural commodities. With a thriving middle class and relatively closer proximity to North America, investors can find plenty of unique companies. For instance, one of the sectors …