Invest Overseas Now More Than Ever

Diversification, one of the bedrock principles of investing, didn't work in 2008.

There was simply no place to hide in the global slowdown, and international stocks struggled more than U.S. shares: The S&P 500 fell 38.5% last year, and benchmark international indices did even worse.

The MSCI EAFE (Morgan Stanley Capital International/Barra Europe, Australasia and Far East Index), a basket of large-company shares in developed markets outside the U.S. and Canada, dropped 45.1%. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index, meanwhile, slid 54.5%.

Still, it's wise to include a broad mix of stocks in your portfolio: growth and value, large-cap and small-cap, a variety of sectors and, yes, international shares. Diversification provides the best opportunity for long-term growth, while minimizing risk. And many advisers believe investing internationally can maximize those benefits.

Historically, that's been the case. Consider these numbers through the end of 2007. Foreign stocks, and those in emerging markets, offered the best long-term returns.

Making Money Abroad As much as double the returns over 10 years Index 5-year annualized return 10-year annualized return Total, for $10,000 invested, after 10 years S&P 500 11.0% 5.5% $17,081 MSCI EAFE 18.8% 6.6% $19,332 MSCI EM 33.7% 11.7% $30,237 MSCI BRIC* 47.5% 13.6% $35,792 *Brazil, Russia, India and China Source: MSCI Barra, S&P

Why invest internationally? Since more than half the world's stocks are outside the U.S., spreading your money can reduce risk and allow you to invest in global growth. It can also protect your portfolio when the dollar weakens. Diversification usually works because foreign markets tend to move differently than ours, and may offer gains when U.S. stocks retreat.

While foreign markets can add risk, they also offer greater potential. In late 2008, T. Rowe Price(TROW Quote) portfolio manager Ray Mills pointed out that European and emerging-market stocks were trading at 9.2 and 8.7 times earnings, compared with 12.5 for Japan and 11.6 for the U.S.

"Valuations are exceptionally cheap, with many companies selling for less than book value or at extremely low historical P/E ratios," Mills said in a press briefing. "Emerging markets are on sale."