The Australian share market is a wonderful place to invest. There are lots of great options for income or growth.
However, Australia is just a small part of the huge global market. If you expand the investment scope to include other share markets then you have countless more opportunities.
However, that could sound overwhelming. The ASX already has a lot of options and investing directly overseas could cost more in brokerage, it could require more research and mean your tax return gets more complicated.
Perhaps the best way to gain exposure to overseas investments is to invest in an ASX-listed entity that will do the investing for you. The below three are great options in my opinion:
Vanguard All-World ex-U.S. Shares Index ETF (ASX: VEU)
This is a low-cost Vanguard exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in hundreds of companies in many different countries except the USA. European and Asian countries are its main focus, though there are companies from other countries, such as Canada.
Some of its top holdings include Nestle, Samsung Electronics, Royal Dutch Shell, Roche Holdings, Toyota and HSBC.
The USA won't always have the top performing market and I think it's worth holding this fund which could give exposure to some of the best companies of the future.
The fund is currently trading with a trailing distribution yield of 1.93%.
MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF)
This is a listed investment company run by Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG).
It focuses on overseas stocks and has performed very well. Over the last five years it has grown its portfolio by an average of 24% per year.
In its latest monthly report it revealed that some of its top holdings included Visa, Home Depot, Lowe's, MasterCard and Bank of America.
It's currently trading with a partially franked dividend yield of 1%.
iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)
This is the high-performing S&P 500 index, a group of 500 businesses selected by Standard & Poors to create good diversification.
It has been one of the best places to be invested in over the last few years thanks to the growing and global nature of its biggest constituents including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobil and Berkshire Hathaway.
It's currently trading with a trailing distribution yield of 1.78%.
Foolish takeaway
I think most investors who aren't retirees should have at least some exposure to overseas investments, as that's where some of the best growth opportunities are.
At the current prices, I would be happy to make a long-term investment in MFF Capital or the Vanguard (excluding USA) index. I think the S&P 500 index may be a bit too expensive at the moment.
If indexes aren't your thing, this stock could be the perfect investment for you as it expands overseas AND has a huge dividend yield.
