A broad index fund is one way to get international exposure in your portfolio, but index funds aren’t perfect. One alternative is to pick single country funds but how do you choose which countries to own?
The problem with picking any fund is our reliance on recent performance. This is a common mistake investors make – chasing returns. Without a plan, the best performing funds are the first ones picked every time.
The investing world we live in tempts us with one, three, and five-year returns on every stock and bond fund around. We love to own what’s going up, we hate to miss out, so we chase returns of the best performing funds of the recent past. Sometimes it works, but not always. Continue Reading…

Much of the discussion around investing involves managing costs. Taxes need to be part of that talk. Like fees and expenses, dividend and capital gains tax eats away at your returns.