EPFR data shows European equity funds lost $2.5 billion during the last week of May as the prospect of a populist Italian government and fears of a wider economic slowdown chased investors from the market.
Elections in Italy and the ouster of the Spanish prime minister will keep these countries in the headlines, and their markets unsettled. Investors should proceed with caution.
A century and a half later, closed-end funds continue to be an efficient way for investors to access some of the biggest growth opportunities in emerging markets.
U.S. stocks, and the funds that invest in them, have been boosted by the pace of corporate buybacks as companies recycle their profits and money is being repatriated under the reformed tax code.
