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Chasing the fastest
The US investor may be getting frustrated or envyous over the momentum in foregin markets. That said frustration and envy is dangerous feelings in investing.

Quote: “Investors in Brazil shouldn’t complain these days. IShares Brazil, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that closely tracks that country’s stock market, is up 74 percent during the past year and 495 percent over three years.

It’s also been a great time to invest in South Africa. The iShares South Africa fund is up 45 percent during the past 12 months.

Or try the iShares Japan fund — up 30 percent in a year.

Individuals may want to invest 20 percent to 40 percent of their total portfolios internationally, depending on their age and risk tolerance, according to James Breen. “Exposure to markets all over the world does provide investors with a more diversified portfolio than just investing in the United States,” Breen said.”

Investing in foreign markets are easy
Quote: “Exchange-traded funds have become a popular, low-cost way to play the international card. These funds are made up of a basket of stocks tracking a widely followed index in a particular country. The iShares Malaysia fund, for example, is made up of 74 leading Malaysian stocks that would be far more expensive, and impractical, for American investors to buy individually on the open market.

“Since you are buying an index for the whole country, you have less risk than buying one or two stocks,” Colby said.

Barclays Global Investors is a major provider of exchange-traded funds through the iShares brand. About 25 iShares products track countries that range from China to Australia to Germany. Investors can also buy iShare ETFs for regions such as Asia, Latin America or Europe.”