Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
Support MFO
Donate through PayPal
John Waggoner: International Funds Continue To Disappoint
@Ted: We're both happy with the performance of Kristian Heugh's global and foreign large-cap growth funds; however, the majority of investors who have also chosen other foreign funds have seen disappointing returns, myself included.
Yep ... I'm seeing it much the same as you. While MSOPX is a fine fund I'm also seeing it as a global fund and not international for the reasons you state. Morningstar has it in the World Large Stock category with investment style as Large Growth.
My point about the difference between holding a successful global fund and a pure foreign fund may have been expressed with too much understatement. My point was that there are several large-cap growth global funds that have thrived recently; they hold FAANG stocks and Chinese internet companies. No manager in this category has done better than Kristian Heugh of MS. It's worth noting that his foreign fund also relies on the same type of stocks that have fueled the global fund's rise. As a shareholder, I am aware that they will not provide any diversification when LCG stocks tank. The original linked article points out that US investors saw no benefit to holding LC foreign stocks over the past 10 years, with the exception of a few funds, namely Kristian Heugh's. I must say I am skeptical of putting new money into the category, but it's hard to argue with Heugh's success since 2008.
@Maurice: my statement came from Waggoner’s article that lead off this discussion. For my part, I don’t think I have been rewarded for the risk taken in foreign securities since EMs went nuts in 2007. 2017 was a decent year for international in general, but the most generous thing I could say about maintaining a healthy allocation to foreign stocks in the intervening 10 years is that I was “early.”
Comments
Yep ... I'm seeing it much the same as you. While MSOPX is a fine fund I'm also seeing it as a global fund and not international for the reasons you state. Morningstar has it in the World Large Stock category with investment style as Large Growth.