Portfolio Diversification provides an update on the practice of combining several risky investments in a portfolio with the goal of reducing the portfolio's overall risk. In this book, readers will find a comprehensive introduction and analysis of various dimensions of portfolio diversification (assets, maturities, industries, countries, etc.), along with time diversification strategies (long term vs. short term diversification) and diversification using other risk measures than variance. Several tools to quantify and implement optimal diversification are discussed and illustrated. - Focuses on portfolio diversification across all its dimensions - Includes recent empirical material that was created and developed specifically for this book - Provides several tools to quantify and implement optimal diversification

"There is a wide cross-country variation in the institutional structure of bank failure resolution, including the role of the deposit insurer. The authors use quantitative analysis for 57 countries and discuss specific country cases to illustrate this variation. Using data for over 1,700 banks across 57 countries, they show that banks in countries where the deposit insurer has the responsibility of intervening failed banks and the power to revoke membership in the deposit insurance scheme are more stable and less likely to become insolvent. Involvement of the deposit insurer in bank failure resolution thus dampens the negative effect that deposit insurance has on banks' risk taking. "--World Bank web site.

It is an established fact that investors favor the familiar%u2014be it domestic securities or, within a country, the securities of nearby firms%u2014and avoid investments that would provide the greatest diversification benefits. While we do not rule out familiarity as an important driver of portfolio allocations, we provide new evidence of investors%u2019 international diversification motive. In particular, our analysis of the security-level U.S. equity holdings of foreign and domestic institutional investors indicates that institutional investors reveal a preference for domestic multinationals (MNCs), even after controlling for familiarity factors. We attribute this revealed preference to the desire to obtain %u201Csafe%u201D international diversification. We then show that holdings of domestic MNCs are substantial and, after accounting for this home-grown foreign exposure, that the share of %u201Cforeign%u201D equities in investors%u2019 portfolios roughly doubles, reducing (but not eliminating) the observed home bias.

This timely volume addresses three important recent trends in the internationalization of United States equity markets: extensive market integration through foreign investment and links among stock prices around the world; increasing securitization as countries such as Japan come to rely more than ever before on markets in equities and bonds at the expense of banks; and the opening of national financial systems of newly industrializing countries to international financial flows and institutions, as governments remove capital controls and other barriers. Eight essays examine such issues as the current extent of international market integration, gains to U.S. investors through international diversification, home-country bias in investing, the role of time and location around the world in stock trading, and the behavior of country funds. Other, long-standing questions about equity markets are also addressed, including market efficiency and the accuracy of models of expected returns, with a particular focus on variances, covariances, and the price of risk according to the Capital Asset Pricing Model.

This book addresses the importance of diversification for reducing volatility of investment portfolios. It shows how to improve investment efficiency, and explains how international diversification reduces overall risk while enhancing performance. This book is a crucial tool for any investor looking to improve the profit gain from their investment.

This book presents the economic foundation of international equity investments providing a practical guide to invest in international equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It shows how to gain exposure to foreign stock markets through both theoretical foundations of international diversification and in-depth characteristics of global, regional, country-specific, and international sector/thematic ETFs. Unlike other books in the field which broadly discuss different aspects of the ETF market, this book explores one specific market segment, offering the first in-depth and state-of-the-art analysis of international equity ETFs and including, in particular, ETFs with global, regional, single-country, and international sector/thematic exposures. The number and variety of such financial instruments are constantly growing. Hence, it seems obvious that there is an urgent need for a book that will help investors who are willing to diversify their portfolios outside the domestic market—in both developed and emerging/frontier markets. International Equity Exchange-Traded Funds presents a comprehensive review of investment possibilities offered by international ETFs for stock market investors.