International Investing Provides More Investment Choices If you invest exclusively in the U.S. market, you miss the opportunity to share in the potential growth of some of the leading companies in the world. Scan the list of products below, and you'll see many manufactured by non-U.S. companies that are "household names" in America. Aquafresh Beecham Baskin Robbins Allied Lyons Burger King Grand Metropolitan Carnation Nestle Close-Up Unilever Dannon Yogurt BSN Dewars Guinness French's Mustard Reckitt & Colman Frigidaire Electrolux Glidden Paint Imperial Chemical Holiday Inn Bass Lean Cuisine Nestle Dunkin' Donuts Allied Lyons Lucky Strike BAT Mighty Dog Nestle Panasonic Matsushita Pillsbury Grand Metropolitan Purina Dog Chow British Pete Q-Tips Unilever Ragu Unilever Sudafed Wellcome Sunkist Cadbury Schweppes Tetley Tea Allied Lyons Travelodge Trusthouse Forte T.V. Guide Newscorp Valium Hoffmann-La Roche As you are probably well aware, a diversified portfolio gives you the opportunity to enhance your overall return while reducing risk. So it's only logical that going beyond your border to invest would produce the same results. Trends in foreign stock markets generally do not always correlate highly with bull or bear market cycles in the U.S. stock market. While one or more foreign stock markets may at any time be moving in the same direction as its U.S. counterpart, longer-term correlations are low. This means that diversifying beyond a single market, such as the U.S., should reduce the overall volatility of your stock portfolio over time. In addition equity markets in one or more foreign countries almost always outperform U.S. stocks each year. Some American investors dismiss investments in overseas companies as risky, but they are living in yesterday's world. Many overseas investments are more conservative than their U.S. counterparts. For example, Swiss drug stocks typically have a price-to-earnings ratio less than half that of U.S. companies. (Dividing a share's price by the company's earnings per share is a basic way to compare stock prices.) Think of brand names known worldwide for investment potential. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Boeing, Disney, Ford, Citicorp, and Philip Morris are so multinational that they are not dependent on the U.S. economy, which is one of the things an investor would like to achieve. A number of Canadian resource stocks are traded in the U.S. over-the-counter market, and on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Most of these are highly speculative, but a certain small part of every portfolio should be devoted to speculation. For more information on techniques for making money in small speculative stocks, send for a brochure from Penny Stocks, Dept. 70197, P.O. Box 5385, Cleveland TN 37320. Putting Your IRA or Pension Plan into International Investments U.S. law requires that assets in pension plans be physically held by a trustee in the United States. For two products -- foreign currency certificates of deposit and Swiss annuities -- a service is available that will let you place these products in your U.S. IRA or pension account. International Financial Consultants of Rockville, Maryland, using the services of the venerable Delaware Charter Guarantee and Trust Company, can provide the required custody and accounting services. Delaware Charter was founded in 1899 and now manages over US$8.5 billion in trust assets, the largest of any non-deposit U.S. trust company. However, they will not offer their services directly, but only through intermediaries. Michael Checkan and Glen Kirsch of International Financial Consultants provide a service in which IFC handles all the year-end currency conversion accounting required by IRS rules, and Delaware Charter compiles the annual reports to the IRS. They are well known in the financial newsletter industry and at one time or another have been recognized as a "recommended vendor" by many of the writers in the newsletter industry. The principals, Michael Checkan and Glen Kirsch have been in the foreign exchange business for a combined total of 50 years. For further information write to International Financial Consultants Inc., Suite 400A, 1700 Rockville Pike, Rockville MD 20852 and ask for information on the offshore retirement account service.