International stocks: Why bother? For the greater part of the past decade, it hasn’t paid to invest abroad. U.S. stocks beat their overseas counterparts in eight of the past 10 calendar years. It’s little wonder that many investors now avoid foreign stock markets.
“Our clients see international investing as a greater risk,” ignoring any diversification benefits the asset class may provide, says Lewis Altfest, chief executive of Altfest Personal Wealth Management.
But it may pay to bother now. The stars are aligning for foreign shares. Inflation is easing, for a start, in much of the developed world and some emerging countries. “A lot of last year’s headaches – higher inflation and rising interest rates – should subside throughout…
