ADRs make international investing safer

Article Excerpt

Global stock market investing still remains riskier in many ways than investing in North America. That’s because many foreign countries, particularly China and other emerging markets, have language barriers and weaker investor-protection laws. They may also have less commitment to openness, fairness and so on. You can lower your risk by sticking with American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). An ADR is an investment unit for foreign companies that trade on U.S. stock markets. These units can represent fractions of shares, whole shares or multiple shares in the foreign company. They help investors simplify their international investing by letting them buy foreign shares on U.S. exchanges without the complications of foreign transactions. They also help investors cut risk, because ADRs have to follow some U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules, as well as the rules of the U.S. stock exchange on which they trade. Above all, we think the best way to invest in foreign markets is through the high-quality ADRs we recommend. Diageo is an…