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Strategies & Market Trends : Three Amigos Stock Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ditchdigger who wrote (21656)	10/29/2000 6:09:11 PM
From: Sergio H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29382

Ditch, we had our first snowfall and its mighty chilly all of the sudden. I can only imagine how it must be in your refrigerated part of the world. Keep an eye on the Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets Free Index when considering investing in overseas funds. Current growth rate for companies included on the index = 17%. Not too shabby these days. I know that you are interested in using Janus funds to play sector rotation, but I think that a better vehicle for trading foreign stocks is to buy individual country funds, such as Canada (about to be included in Morgan Stanley's index) and Mexico (where there is much enthusiasm and respect for the new president). Sergio

To: Ditchdigger who wrote (21656)	10/29/2000 6:53:22 PM
From: Sergio H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29382

Ditch, continuing on overseas funds, I found an article in today's WSJ that miracolously mirrors my opinion. <October 29, 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To Diversify, Invest in Foreign Companies That Don't Track Course of U.S. Markets By KEN BROWN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL If you think the U.S. stock market is having a bad year, look overseas. The average international stock fund has tumbled 16.7% since Jan. 1, compared with just a 0.3% drop for the average diversified domestic fund, according to Lipper, which tracks mutual-fund performance. That's been bad news for U.S. investors, many of whom have invested in overseas funds hoping to diversify their holdings and boost returns. Part of the problem is that many foreign funds don't provide as much diversification as you might think. Most of them own big-name stocks such as Sony, Nokia and Total Fina, which are subject to the same ups and downs in their industries as major U.S. companies. "You don't own Nokia because you're bullish on Finland," says Ed Rosenbaum, a research director at Lipper. If you want real diversification, consider foreign funds that own companies that can benefit from the growth in, say, Finland. That means funds that invest in small and midsize companies, which don't track the U.S. market the way big companies do. And the performance of these funds hasn't been bad either. According to Lipper, international small-cap funds have had an annualized return of nearly 15% over the past three years, compared with a 5.9% gain for large-cap foreign funds and nearly 12% for U.S. diversified stock funds. So before you buy into a foreign fund -- or if you're already in one -- check the fund's Web site or annual report to see what stocks it holds. If you recognize most of the names, you may have a problem. Also, if the companies in the fund have an average stock market value above $5 billion, they're probably too big. Some well-regarded funds that own small-company foreign stocks include Acom International and Pilgrim International Small Cap Growth.>