Amidst Economic Turmoil, Younger Investors See Opportunity in Emerging Markets

Views on international investing vary dramatically by age.

Wilmer Gibson, a leading financial services firm providing world-class wealth management services, today announced results from an internal survey of its youngest investor demographics. Results show a wide opinion gap between investors age 22 to 30 vs. those over 55 when it comes to international investing:

• More interested: Three times more interested when it comes to investing in companies in emerging markets.
• More likely to have taken action: Nearly three times more likely to have increased their portfolio exposure to emerging markets.
• More likely to think the time is right to increase their exposure: Four times more likely to believe that the health of markets worldwide makes for good conditions to invest abroad today.

For those investors interested in finding the right international investments, Ms. Brigitte Wei, Director of Investment and Savings at Wilmer Gibson, offered the following:

• Modify expectations: Emerging markets can lack basic elements that many take for granted in developed markets, and these markets can be more easily affected by forces political, economic, social or otherwise.
• Stay current with the news and politics: Not only can emerging markets be sensitive, but they also tend to move quickly relative to developed markets. It is imperative to stay up-to-date with local and regional developments in order to best manage exposure and make informed investment decisions.
• Keep a focus on long-term goals: Consider a core-satellite investing approach wherein a portion — usually 10 to 40 percent — of a portfolio is devoted to specific sectors like emerging markets, keeping the remainder of the portfolio well-diversified across sectors and assets, mapped to investing objectives, time frame and risk tolerance.