What happens if you only invest in the U.S. stock market and it goes no where over a longer period of time, say a lost decade? Your stock allocation, built to grow your money, just failed. Something needs to pick up the slack. And there’s no guarantee your bond allocation will come through.
Enter international stocks.
At first sight, it may not seem like it matters when you compare the long term returns of U.S. stocks (S&P 500), international stocks (MSCI EAFE), and a 50/50 split since 1970. As the table below shows, having a portion of your stock allocation diversified internationally doesn’t improve your returns, but you don’t really lose much either. Continue Reading…