Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• INTERNATIONAL FUND
  
  This type of mutual fund invests in stocks or bonds that are traded in overseas markets, or in indexes that track international markets. Like other funds, an international fund has an investment objective and strategy, and poses some level of risk, including the risk that fluctuations in currency can significantly affect the value of the fund. Some international funds focus on countries with established economies, some on emerging markets, and some on a mix of the two. US investors, for example, buy funds that invest in other markets to diversify their portfolios, since owning a fund is usually simpler than investing in individual securities abroad. A different group of funds, called global or world funds, also invest in overseas markets but typically keep a substantial portion of their portfolios in US securities.
  
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