Last year we looked at the 20 largest actively managed international and U.S. mutual fund portfolios, and the median number of stock holdings per portfolio was 115, or less than a 1% stake on average in any particular holding.

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For example, American mutual-fund investors are switching from international equities into domestic bond funds.

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Entrepreneurs or international conglomerateurs, or large financial institutions buy or create mutual fund management companies to create a return on their own capital.

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An international bond exchange-traded fund (ETF) or a mutual fund can help facilitate this.

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Fidelity Investor, specializing in Fidelity mutual funds, likes actively managed Fidelity International Small Cap Opportunities Fund.

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If you load up on too many international ETFs and mutual funds you can wind up with a very expensive, and inefficient, index fund.

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The list of ETFs is growing every day, but for now, many of the best choices for these sectors can be addressed with mutual funds, namely the Oakmark International Small Cap I ( OAKEX) and the Wasatach Micro Cap Fund ( WMICX), both found on the Forbes Honor Roll.

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The company, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, manages 13 no-load mutual funds in the U.S. Global Investors fund family, as well as funds for international clients.

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