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Swiss
bankers are often called "gnomes", after the
trolls of Swiss mythology. They are said to have great power,
but are seldom seen-and are discreet to the point of being elusive
and enigmatic. The Swiss banking industry has centuries of experience
as a safe haven for international deposits and investments.
Its competitive strengths are based in strong rights to privacy, a highly stable currency, and a virtually impenetrable system of military defense that
exploits Switzerland's mountainous terrain. Switzerland's
version of democracy also prevents the accumulation of power,
making its political order highly stable and conservative. In
Switzerland, change occurs very slowly - if at all.
International
commerce is thousands of years old, yet most investors still
concentrate their attention on their home turf. Global investing
does involve a number of complicating factors (such as currency
risk, language barriers, variances in accounting practices and
legal systems, ect.) But the truth is that global, investing
can reduce risk by diversifying your portfolio beyond one economy, and
it can increase returns
by putting your money in faster growing markets (e.g. Asia and
Latin America). Technology is making the world a smaller place,
and some of tomorrow's best success stories will be found in
foreign markets. This presentation puts forward the case for
global investing, and discusses the techniques and insights
of John Templeton, George Soros, Jim Rogers, and other gurus
of international investing.
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