With Robert Scharar, Senior International Fund Manager – Commonwealth Funds, CPA, Financial Planner
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Robert Scharar manages five international mutual funds that cover Australia/New Zealand, Africa, Japan, real estate and global investments. Robert tells us how international markets have recently outperformed U.S. equity markets, underscoring why a degree of international exposure aids with returns and portfolio diversification.
He sheds positive light on Africa and talks about the region’s vitality that typically gets masked by popular misconceptions about the continent. He shows us how Africa is NOT “one big region of poverty, disease and civil war” and talks about the continent’s developed, frontier and emerging markets – with opportunities that most American investors are missing out on.
While most people associate Africa with natural resources such as mining and gold, Robert sees tremendous growth potential in traditional sectors such as consumer goods, telecom, financial services, healthcare, infrastructure, etc., as many African countries raise living standards and boost per capita income. Many African nations are also quietly moving away from dictatorships to citizen-oriented democracies, with a focus on reducing corruption and improving transparency, making Africa a compelling option for international portfolio diversification.
