Being smart with $$ -- Buy American, AND Foreign

Maybe you like to buy goods made in America. But when it comes to your portfolio don't ignore international stocks. Maybe you're turned off by the horrible returns of international stocks vs. US stocks in the past 5 years. Many analysts say that makes foreign stocks cheaper by comparison. And a decade ago foreign stocks had trounced US stocks in a similar fashion. Gerstein Fisher says (in Money Mag, Sept'16) that over the last few decades a portfolio with 25% international stocks did equally as well as one without but with substantially less volatility along the way. So while you are buying American, don't forget to also buy foreign.
- Larry Pike, CFA, Client Priority Financial Advisors LLC
- www.clientpriority.com