72% of Investors Remain Committed to Foreign Stocks

The recent volatility in international markets hasn’t taken the luster off of global investing, USA Today reports. A poll of 668 owners of stock by the newspaper and Gallup found that 72% of those who own foreign stocks plan to “make no changes” to their holdings. Only 12% said they would sell some of these securities. However, only 12% said they would increase their holdings.

Of those polled, 36% own foreign stocks.

In January, three-quarters of the net flows into stock funds went to international funds, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. In all of 2006, a whopping 93% of net flows went to international funds, according to Citigroup.

Some believe investors are making the right choices, even in light of recent volatility in markets around the globe. “The facts are quite simple,” said Robert Froehlich, chairman of investor strategy at DWS Scudder. “If most of the land, people, jobs, economic activity and natural resources reside outside the United States, in my opinion, so should investments. To the extent your risk tolerance can support it, I’d go global, go global and go even more global!”

But then, as a firm, Scudder is tremendously bullish on international markets, recommending that investors put 90% of their holdings overseas, compared to the typical 25% recommendation.