intercst wrote:

[ Can the average Japanese person invest in mutual funds and stocks in the United States? Could be a
bonanza for us if they can. - Art ]

Yes they can. The parts of the article that I "snipped out" described what the big investment houses like
Fidelity and Morgan Stanley are doing to sell their wares in the Japanese market.

However, I suspect few Japanese will venture overseas with their funds. As a group, the Japanese are
probably even less interested in International investing than Americans.

intercst

Perhaps not in the future. I have heard that the Japanese are big investors in US bonds because of their own low interest rates. I also recall that when they were flush with cash in the 80's they were investing heavily in real estate and collectibles in the world markets. When their equities markets started to dive in the early 90's, I remember reading some very weird stories about how equities had been frequently sold door-to-door Amway/Tupperware style. The story line was that the people placed a lot of value on personal trust as a part of a business relationship and that was the way to sell equities in those countries. After 10 years of falling markets and a lot of Japanese investors feeling let down by the people who sold them stocks in the past, and by the huge gains in Europe and the US, they may now be willing to take a fresh look at those international equities markets.

Fidelity and MS may have the right idea. Time will tell.

-- John