We were lucky enough to have Chris Weldon, Portfolio Manager from Davis Advisors, New York; visit our offices recently to discuss the benefits of international investments and how they can play a role in a diversified portfolio.

Advantages of international equities

International Equities give investors the ability to access multinational companies, like Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Amazon and Apple to name a few. Such powerhouses in their respective industries, yet they are not domiciled in Australia. So by restricting their investments to domestic companies, investors can miss out on many growth companies. 

International equities, as the name suggests, incorporates companies not just from the USA but also Asia, Europe and globally emerging markets. Allocating investment capital to these different regions is complex and time consuming. International Fund Managers play a role is making these decisions simpler for the general investor.

The MSCI World Index has 1,650 companies, narrowing that list down to companies that are growing, revenue, cashflow, earnings per share, to name a few metrics that the investment community use – is complex and time consuming. Fund managers, both active and passive, provide an investment vehicle to allow investors to access these companies.

With the Australian S&P200 index highly weighted to banks and materials, diversifying into industries like healthcare and technology (both hardware and software), allows the investor to spread risks and capture growth in areas of the world that are performing strongly or where companies are embracing the use of this new technology.

The Amazon effect 

Chris was good enough to provide our clients with a US experience on the Amazon effect and the potential impact on our retail sector, the likelihood of interest rate rises from the Federal Reserve and how the "lower for longer" story will pan out. Although the Federal Reserve needs to raise rates as the economy heads back to full employment.

Chris touched on the positive signals coming out of China and Europe, and how international portfolios can benefit from large multinationals having income streams from various regions. Questions were asked about oil prices and currency valuations and the ability of the tax agenda from Washington getting through a gridlocked political system.

Other international investing considerations

It is important to consider the currency when investing but these days most fund managers do have a hedged or an unhedged version of their investment fund.

Investing internationally also brings increased risks. What to keep in mind:

• Political and regulatory risk
• Information risk
• Currency risk
• Transaction risk
• Higher volatility of returns
• Higher costs

More information

For more information regarding international investing, please contact Ian Walker on ianw@lanternadvisory.com.au or or (07) 3002 2690.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this article is of a general nature and does not take into account personal circumstances. Before making any decisions based on the factual information contained in this document, please consult with your financial adviser.