Of course, international investing is a staple of the defined benefit world. In the last two to three years, we have seen larger plans begin to supplement their investment options, and international funds are among the first to be added. This situation has been addressed, and there has been a substantial increase in the number of investment options offered in most plans. These include small cap domestic funds and international equity funds. We are also seeing emerging markets equity being added as a dedicated option.
International equity is so much a part of institutional investing today that it is almost a given.
But in many ways international diversification makes as much sense for individual participants as it does for large institutional investors. That makes very little sense. It's like being in a supermarket, but being denied access to more than half the food on display. The global markets seem to be in turmoil now. It shouldn't change it at all.