A client called and asked somewhat nervously if, with all the turmoil going on in Northern Africa, were we invested in Egypt and Libya? The implication was that if we were invested in one of these two countries, should we sell? Or, if we were not invested in one of these countries, should we buy?
The short answer to my client’s question is no, we are not in Libya, and yes, we are in Egypt – but in just a handful of stocks that pass the concerns filters. I explained that we are also invested in South Korea, Brazil, Taiwan, China, India, South Africa, Mexico, Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Chile, Turkey, Thailand, Poland, Hungary, The Czech Republic, The Philippines, Peru, Columbia, Hong Kong, Israel, and Singapore. These countries are defined as The Emerging Markets, and all of our managed portfolios own stock in three Emerging Market asset classes, according to each portfolio’s risk tolerance. There are another 18 countries that comprise the International Market asset classes. These countries are considered more developed than the Emerging Markets. But that’s for another discussion. In total, each of our managed portfolios holds around 13,000 different stocks.
As to the question of buy or sell, I think the three concurring opinions offered in the video linked below answers that quite well. Click on the link below, and let me know what you think.