What to Consider When Investing in International Markets  (2024)

Savvy investors always seek ways to maximize their investments outside the U.S. market. They know that spreading their shares among foreign businesses and investing in international markets can expand their portfolio. Additionally, successful global investors are trustworthy investment experts because of their efficiency in both national and international investing.

Understanding International Market Investing

Because of U.S. government restrictions and regulations, international investing offers various advantages that domestic stocks cannot provide. It can also help investors build diversified portfolios and prevent economic risks from compromising long-term growth and profit.

Some new investors put all their eggs in one basket without considering migrating to the foreign market. Their portfolios lack diversity, which limits growth potential and opportunities to improve their statuses and increase their returns. Fortunately, domestic investors can rely on resourceful information that explains why international market investing is essential for foreign stock trading.

Why Own International Stocks?

International stock ownership is vital for developing risk tolerance by branching out instead of only focusing on domestic stocks. Understanding the advantages of investment portfolio diversification is critical. However, distributing funds across various areas can prevent substantial losses in a stock market crash or economic downturn.

Buying portions of global and U.S. securities can reduce portfolio volatility. Two categories are relevant in international investing because of their impact on thriving and growing economies:

Developed Market

Developed markets refer to countries with thriving economies in various capital markets, such as Canada and the United Kingdom. They have established infrastructure, higher living standards, and reputable wealth management firms. This gives these markets an advantage over growing economies.

Many investors trust developed markets because of their potential market, economic growth, and accessible liquid equity. They also produce high returns and provide strong securities for high-earning market economies.

Emerging Market

An emerging market engages with global markets during its growth process, which can increase its profit. Various countries, including Mexico, China, and Brazil, classify as emerging economic markets and share common traits with developed markets. Also, emerging markets have the potential to expand successfully with their resilience against financial crises. Some examples are the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, limited food supply, and high-impact debt.

Ways to Invest in Global Markets

Investors can rely on a few options to trade in global markets. Each option has risks and benefits to consider before expanding their portfolio. Additionally, they may discover that research is necessary to learn more about a particular investment method and its efficiency.

Exchange Traded Funds

ETFs are ideal for tracking a foreign market index or sector because of their volatility tolerance and economic advantages. They also hold multiple underlying assets and contain various investment types, including bonds and stocks. ETFs are more affordable and liquid than mutual funds. They are also convenient for investors who prefer to trade in various international business sectors.

Global Depository Receipts

Depository banks issue GDRs in shares, making them available to international and U.S. investors. Institutional investors can privately trade, settle, and purchase each GDR before listing it on a public trading platform.

Foreign Direct Investments

FDIs allow investors to build long-lasting relationships with enterprises in other economic markets. They also promote international trading, which is crucial for economic development and acquiring ownership of global businesses.

American Depository Receipts

As negotiable security instruments, U.S. banks issue ADRs to investors for stock purchases in international companies. Trading ADRs in currency represents a specific number of shares. This provides liquidity and the opportunity to invest in U.S. markets.

Foreign Ordinaries

Trading foreign ordinaries involves buying and selling international stocks on the U.S. market when not available as ADRs. This allows investors to access various enterprises by making over-the-counter investments instead of relying on foreign exchange.

Global Mutual Funds

Globally focused mutual funds enable portfolio diversification, protect investments from domestic market volatility, and provide global economy exposure. They can also offer investors an opportunity to acquire a portion or full ownership of top international companies.

What Are the Benefits of Investing Internationally?

Global investing has become vital for diversity because investors can achieve portfolio growth through investment management. It can generate higher profits from successful investments in many industries. Read further to determine several advantages of international investing in emerging and developed markets.

Bigger Market Accessibility

Investing in new foreign markets can help investors improve their portfolios and increase revenue, leading to success and wealth. Access to larger markets is ideal for scalability and the financial efficiency to make capital investments.

Diversified Trading

Diversified trading can increase high returns in foreign currency and help investors build more international investment partnerships. However, investors must follow various countries’ risk and return guidelines to legally buy and sell foreign stocks.

High Liquidity

Liquid portfolio investments, such as mutual funds, stocks, and bonds, are easy to buy and sell quickly. This is because they allow investors to access funds conveniently. Therefore, the higher the liquidity, the better investors can pay off debt and gain purchasing power.

Geopolitical Advantages

While politics can harm domestic markets, investors can still benefit from their investments. International investing may also help increase returns by targeting emerging market economies that can sustain geopolitical risks.

Well-Diversified Portfolio

Investors who buy stocks in various countries are usually less vulnerable to volatility. For example, foreign portfolio investment helps investors receive higher risk-adjusted returns and diversify assets. Portfolio diversification can also give investors a competitive advantage and help produce multiple income sources, increasing revenue and enabling more significant investments.

Investment Protection

In investing, market manipulation is a common practice that can be difficult to identify depending on a particular method. Dishonest investors usually target new foreign buyers unaware of scams and other sly strategies.

Many developed markets — and some emerging markets — have implemented controls to protect unsuspecting victims from fraudulent activity. This is to avoid issues such as thievery and forgery in the industry. (However, the specific regulations and how strict the enforcement of those regulations are vary from country to country.)

Global Recognition

Foreign countries consider investors reputable because of their successful investment history when they invest internationally. They also have widely recognized foreign portfolios. This helps them develop partnerships quickly and gain the trust of other investors overseas.

Innovative investment strategies are essential when expanding one’s portfolio to increase risk tolerance and gain an efficient global investor reputation. An investment consultant can help create a customized portfolio diversification plan and make wise decisions before investing in international markets. Learn more about international services at amerantbank.com and follow Amerant on our socials like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn @AmerantBank.

Important Disclosures:

The views contained herein are not to be taken as advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any investment in any jurisdiction, nor is it a commitment from Amerant Investments, Inc. or any of its affiliates to participate in any of the transactions mentioned herein. Any forecasts, figures, opinions or investment techniques and strategies set out are for information purposes only, based on certain assumptions and current market conditions and are subject to change without prior notice. All information presented herein is considered to be accurate at the time of production. This material does not contain sufficient information to support an investment decision and it should not be relied upon by you in evaluating the merits of investing in any securities or products. In addition, users should make an independent assessment of the legal, regulatory, tax, credit and accounting implications and determine, together with their own professional advisers, if any investment mentioned herein is believed to be suitable to their personal goals. Investors should ensure that they obtain all available relevant information before making any investment. It should be noted that investment involves risks, the value of investments and the income from them may fluctuate in accordance with market conditions and taxation agreements and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Both past performance and yields are not reliable indicators of current and future results.

What to Consider When Investing in International Markets  (2024)

FAQs

What to consider when investing in foreign countries? ›

Risks of investing internationally
  • Political risk – Changes to government and political systems can wreak havoc on a nation's investment markets.
  • Currency risk – Exchange-rate fluctuations can boost or limit investment returns. ...
  • Market risk – Many overseas markets are characterized by wide price swings.

Should you invest in international markets? ›

Markets outside the United States don't always rise and fall at the same time as the domestic market, so owning pieces of both international and domestic securities can level out some of the volatility in your portfolio. This can spread out your portfolio's risk more than if you owned just domestic securities.

How to invest in international markets? ›

How can I invest internationally?
  1. American Depositary Receipts. The stocks of most non-U.S. companies that trade in the U.S. markets are traded as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). ...
  2. U.S.-Registered Mutual Funds. ...
  3. U.S.-Registered Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). ...
  4. U.S.-traded foreign stocks. ...
  5. Trading on Foreign Markets.

What is the risk of international investing? ›

Investing internationally provides diversification and potential for growth, especially in emerging markets, but it comes with a set of risks. Among them, the main ones are the higher costs, the changes and fluctuations in currency exchange rates, and the different levels of liquidity in markets outside the U.S.

How much of my portfolio should be in international stocks? ›

Start by allocating 15% to 20% of your equity portfolio to foreign stocks. That's the percentage I typically maintain in the Vanguard portfolios. It's meaningful enough to make a difference in your overall returns, but not so much that it will ruin your portfolio when foreign markets temporarily fall out of favor.

What is an advantage to investing in foreign markets? ›

One of the main advantages of international investment is that it allows you to access new markets that may have different characteristics, opportunities, and trends than your domestic market. For example, you may find markets that have higher growth rates, lower valuations, more innovation, or more consumer demand.

Why do companies choose to invest in an international market? ›

Some of the most common reasons behind a move to internationalisation and expansion into foreign markets include: extending the life cycle of a product or technology. reducing business costs by outsourcing larger-scale production at lower costs, for example in developing countries (driving economies of scale)

Why invest in international stock market? ›

U.S. equities are naturally most exposed to the narrow economic forces of the U.S. market. In contrast, international stocks can provide exposure to a wider array of economic and market forces across regions and nations. Different markets and economies can and often do produce returns that vary from the U.S. market.

Why do investors invest internationally? ›

By moving abroad, investors can access new investment opportunities unavailable in their home country. They can choose to invest in emerging sectors, innovative companies and attractive real estate projects, thus broadening their financial horizons and increasing their chances of achieving attractive returns.

How do international markets work? ›

Markets can be defined by geographical region, customer, product or customer behavior. An international market is any geographical region where a company conducts business that is outside the territorial boundaries of a company's home country, while a domestic market is within the boundaries of its home country.

Which broker is best for international trading? ›

Comparison of international online brokers in India
BrokerOverall scoreMinimum deposit
Interactive Brokers4.9 /5$0
Saxo Bank4.9 /5$0
NinjaTrader4.5 /5$0
CMC Markets4.5 /5$0
6 more rows
Mar 28, 2024

What are the disadvantages of international finance? ›

Disadvantages of international finance

Political turmoil in one country which is a stakeholder of international trade can affect the other stakeholder of the same trade-in another country. Depending on other country's exchange rate is always risky given that all the currencies have significant volatility.

What are the benefits and risks of international trade? ›

Benefits and Risks of International Trade
  • Growing Your Business. ...
  • Diversifying Risk. ...
  • Receiving Earlier Payments. ...
  • Less Competition. ...
  • Not Fully Defining and Understanding the Risks. ...
  • Assuming Laws Are Similar. ...
  • Not Communicating with Local Business Partners. ...
  • Unstable Profits.

Are international funds high risk? ›

International fund investing can offer higher returns, but usually with more risk. Some factors that can increase risk include: Currency volatility can affect the real returns of an investor's portfolio.

What are the major factors influencing the foreign investment flows to a country? ›

Institutional aspects of the investment climate particularly cover the political stability of the government of the host country, its economic policies (especially policies and behavior toward private investment, both domestic and foreign), the degree of sophistication of its financial and administrative institutions, ...

Is investing in foreign currency a good idea? ›

For one, investing in foreign currencies can add a degree of diversification to an investor's portfolio. That means that while an investor may have built a portfolio with a number of other investments, such as stocks, bonds, and ETFs, foreign currency can be another element in the mix.

What are three factors that impact a company's decision to invest in a country? ›

Answer and Explanation:
  • Cost - One of the most common reasons is the cost level. ...
  • Raw Materials - There are raw materials that can only be found in specific countries. ...
  • Market - Another important factor is market size.

What attracts foreign investors to a country? ›

Economic development also plays a key role in terms of FDI attraction (see Figure 3). Low-income countries are mostly categorized as “unfree” and are less likely to attract FDI. Macroeconomic factors—trade freedom, quality of infrastructure, market size, and human capital, for instance—positively impact FDI.

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