Closed-end discounts cut your foreign risk

Article Excerpt

Investing outside of Canada and the U.S. can expose you to more volatility and risk. The sharp downturn in many foreign markets during the global recession proves this. But there are still countries and regions that offer lots of growth potential and opportunities for diversification. We still think that mutual funds, rather than individual stocks, are the best way for most investors to access these areas. And you can cut your costs by buying closed-end funds. Below are four foreign closed-end funds that trade on the New York exchange at discounts to their net asset values. All have risen lately, but we still see them as buys for aggressive investors. CENTRAL EUROPE AND RUSSIA FUND $27.69 (New York symbol CEE; CWA Fund Rating: Speculative) is a closed-end fund that mostly invests in larger cap stocks from Russia and central Europe. The fund’s manager is Deutsche Asset Management. The $394-million fund’s holdings are invested in Russia (55%), Poland (13%), Turkey (13%), Czech Republic (11%),…