Financial
Counseling and Planning

The Journal of the
Association for Financial
Counseling and
Planning Education

Volume  15(1),
2004

Advances in computer and telecommunications technology have contributed
to the emergence of more integrated global financial markets, allowing
for the dissemination of information and the execution of transactions
on a real-time basis around the clock and around the globe. To
determine if an investor can gain additional diversification benefits
by investing in today’s increasingly integrated global financial
markets, returns on four different indices – Standard & Poor’s
Composite 500, Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index;
Europe, Australia and Far East Index; and the MSCI Europe Index – are
analyzed for a 22-year period, from 1978-2000.

Keywords: Diversification, Mutual fund selection, Risk reduction