Retirement & Financial Planning Report

For a conservative approach to international investing, you might put half of your foreign money in European mutual funds, specifically those that favor Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Scandinavia rather than those that invest in volatile Russia or Eastern Europe. The other half might go to Asia, emphasizing those markets where accounting principles are acceptable and there’s adequate disclosure of corporate finances — Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore are in that category. As always, you should look at a fund’s record and whether the manager who achieved that record is still in place.