When domestic and international equity markets tumbled in the first three months of this year, bargain hunters were overwhelmed with possibilities. As price-to-earnings ratios plunged into the single digits, those who follow the Buffett mantra “be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful” were presented with one of the best buying opportunities in recent memory. But since March, equity markets have staged impressive recoveries, making good values hard to come by. [click to continue…]
After decades of flying high and shrugging off crises around the world, U.S. equity markets have fallen on some tough times. The epicenter of the mortgage crisis that evolved into a global recession has scared away many investors away from the U.S. markets, afraid that the worst is yet to come and that the “glory days” of America have passed. Investor reluctance to jump back into the U.S. markets is perhaps best evidenced by the increase in popularity of “ex-U.S.” ETFs, funds that offer exposure to a well-diversified basket of global securities but avoid any investments in the States. Over the last year, many of these funds have experienced strong fund inflows, and have significantly outperformed major U.S. benchmarks. [click to continue…]
