While 1999 may not be a robust year for Asian economies, it could be the starting point for a regional economic recovery which our Pacific Tiger fund is positioned to benefit from. Whether you're riding the trend in Europe or hoping to catch a low point in Asia or even Latin America, investors must carefully assess the risks. Diversification is one way to minimize risk. The following investment opportunities listed make global diversification easier for American investors, but they don't guarantee profits. Most major mutual fund companies offer international stock funds.
Some funds concentrate only in one geographic area, such as Asia or Europe.
Others concentrate on large companies while offering separate funds to focus on smaller companies. It's important to read the prospectus of each fund to see the allocation of money to different countries and areas of the world. Just as with diversified U.S. mutual funds, these portfolio managers try to beat the popular market averages. That is the price determined at the close of business each day by totaling up the market value of all of the fund's investments and dividing by the number of fund shares outstanding. There are many closed-end country funds listed on the New York Stock Exchange.