Does investing in international market funds is a safe bet?

The Chinese markets are falling and I would like to consider investing in mutual funds that have exposure to China and other South Asian markets. Can you please suggest some funds that are good investment bets for above criteria? - Kunal Jain, Bhopal

Ideally, you should consider diversifying your investments outside of India only when you have an existing well diversified investment in Indian markets. There is a wide variety of international funds available to Indian investors. There are funds like Templeton India Equity Income, Reliance Natural Resources, Mirae Assets India-China Consumption, ICICI Prudential Indo Asia Equity and Tata Indo Global Infrastructure, which are all funds with Indian as well as foreign exposure. Then there are funds that are thematic in nature with investments in commodities such as Birla Sun Life Commodity Equities - Global Agri, DSPBR World Agriculture, DSPBR World Energy and DWS Global Agribusiness Offshore.

As you are looking for geographical diversification, you need to be aware that diversification is more of a return-optimising tactic as some markets will go down and some will go up, and that is what you should keep in mind than blindly look for investing in the Chinese markets just because it is witnessing a downfall.  

olmdesk@outlookindia.com