Symbol: ILF, 3 year chart.
WE SEEM TO SHARE A PASSION. We like to observe global trends and invest in them.
For 3 years now, my most powerful source for investment ideas? The IBCircle members - half of whom seem to be just stepping off a plane from doing business somewhere in the world. Many come to meetings straight from the airport. In April for example, Carson just flew in from Mexico, Stephanie was jet-lagged from Hong-Kong, and Rich just got in from Argentina.
Its a powerfully direct way to find out where the action is and what's happening where. Hearing about each others' trips yields great insight into which countries and industries are buzzing and where everyone is investing.
The conversations made me see and bet on 2 key global trends:
TREND #1: CHINA is booming and needs natural resources. Who's got them? Latin America and Africa.
Bought ILF - S&P Latin America 40 Index. Companies from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Result: 291% (3 years), 62% (1year).
Bought EZA - Basket of publicly traded securities in the South African market. Result: 142% (3 years), 29% (1 year).
Bought FXI - FTSE/Xinhua HK China 25 Index. Represents the performance of the mainland China equity market available to international investors. Result: 54% (1year. It's only 1 year old).
TREND #2: EASTERN EUROPE is happening and buzzing. Which country is a former empire, has a highly skilled work force, and is perfectly located between Eastern and Western Europe? Austria!
Bought EWO - Aligns with the Austrian market index. Result: 165% (3 years), 35% (1 year).
I ALSO LIKE: Malaysia (EWM) and a broader emerging market fund (EEM). For individual stocks I'm fascinated with Dave Cole's company (EMU). You first learned about it on this blog. Read 'Dave's fascinating uranium story'. EMU is the largest Uranium company in North America. Since China is supposedly building 36 nuclear power plants right now this feeds right back into Trend #1.
What are YOUR TIPS?
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