IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/mfj/journl/v9y2005i3-4p237-269.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sector Integration and the Benefits of Global Diversification

Author

Listed:
  • Mitchell Ratner

    (Rider University, New Jersey, USA)

  • Ricardo P. C. Leal

    (COPPEAD Graduate School of Business, Brazil)

Abstract

One of the main reasons that investment advisors recommend international investments is that foreign stocks are not highly correlated with U.S. stocks. As world economies become increasingly interrelated, it may become more difficult for investors to achieve effective diversification. This research investigates international stock market correlation, and assesses whether global diversification on a sector basis is beneficial to U.S. investors. This analysis includes 38 developed and emerging stock markets from 1981-2000. In addition to demonstrating a potential loss of diversification benefits, this paper utilizes an optimal global asset allocation model to illustrate the effects of sector diversification on portfolio performance over time.The results indicate that although the correlation between most foreign sectors and U.S. sectors is increasing over time, there are still substantial international diversification benefits. Further, the inclusion of emerging market sectors may significantly enhance the return-to-risk performance of international portfolios.

Suggested Citation

  • Mitchell Ratner & Ricardo P. C. Leal, 2005. "Sector Integration and the Benefits of Global Diversification," Multinational Finance Journal, Multinational Finance Journal, vol. 9(3-4), pages 237-269, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:mfj:journl:v:9:y:2005:i:3-4:p:237-269
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.mfsociety.org/modules/modDashboard/uploadFiles/journals/MJ~730~p16tpqe5vnufm1ta11d01ldjf2m4.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.mfsociety.org/modules/modDashboard/uploadFiles/journals/googleScholar/751.html
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geert Bekaert & Campbell R. Harvey, 2000. "Foreign Speculators and Emerging Equity Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 565-613, April.
    2. Harvey, Campbell R, 1995. "Predictable Risk and Returns in Emerging Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 8(3), pages 773-816.
    3. William N. Goetzmann & Lingfeng Li & K. Geert Rouwenhorst, 2005. "Long-Term Global Market Correlations," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(1), pages 1-38, January.
    4. Levy, Haim & Sarnat, Marshall, 1970. "International Diversification of Investment Portfolios," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 60(4), pages 668-675, September.
    5. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R., 1997. "Emerging equity market volatility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 29-77, January.
    6. Bekaert, Geert, 1995. "Market Integration and Investment Barriers in Emerging Equity Markets," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 9(1), pages 75-107, January.
    7. Henry, Peter Blair, 2000. "Do stock market liberalizations cause investment booms?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 301-334.
    8. Roll, Richard, 1992. "Industrial Structure and the Comparative Behavior of International Stock Market Indices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(1), pages 3-41, March.
    9. Hiroyuki Kawakatsu & Matthew R. Morey, 1999. "An Empirical Examination Of Financial Liberalization And The Efficiency Of Emerging Market Stock Prices," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 22(4), pages 385-411, December.
    10. Heston, Steven L. & Rouwenhorst, K. Geert, 1994. "Does industrial structure explain the benefits of international diversification?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 3-27, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Basu, Anup K. & Huang-Jones, Jason, 2015. "The performance of diversified emerging market equity funds," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 116-131.
    2. Umutlu, Mehmet & Yargı, Seher Gören & Zaremba, Adam, 2023. "Market segmentation and international diversification across country and industry portfolios," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Umutlu, Mehmet & Bengitöz, Pelin, 2020. "The cross-section of industry equity returns and global tactical asset allocation across regions and industries," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Ignatius Roni Setyawan & Buddi Wibowo, 2021. "Does Entropy Index Explain the Determinant of Capital Market Integration in ASEAN?," Capital Markets Review, Malaysian Finance Association, vol. 29(1), pages 17-39.
    5. Pelin Bengitöz & Mehmet Umutlu, 2023. "Are return predictors of industrial equity indexes common across regions?," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(5), pages 396-418, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R., 2002. "Research in emerging markets finance: looking to the future," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 429-448, December.
    2. Dennis P. Quinn & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2008. "A Century of Global Equity Market Correlations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 535-540, May.
    3. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R., 2003. "Emerging markets finance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(1-2), pages 3-56, February.
    4. Voth, Hans-Joachim & Quinn, Dennis, 2008. "Free Flows, Limited Diversification: Explaining the Fall and Rise of Stock Market Correlations, 1890-2001," CEPR Discussion Papers 7013, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Phylaktis, Kate & Xia, Lichuan, 2006. "Sources of firms' industry and country effects in emerging markets," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 459-475, April.
    6. Donadelli, Michael & Persha, Lauren, 2014. "Understanding emerging market equity risk premia: Industries, governance and macroeconomic policy uncertainty," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 284-309.
    7. Lieven Baele & Koen Inghelbrecht, 2005. "Structural versus Temporary Drivers of Country and Industry Risk," International Finance 0511005, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Cheol S. Eun & Sandy Lai & Frans A. de Roon & Zhe Zhang, 2010. "International Diversification with Factor Funds," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(9), pages 1500-1518, September.
    9. de Jong, Frank & de Roon, Frans A., 2005. "Time-varying market integration and expected returns in emerging markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(3), pages 583-613, December.
    10. Fuinhas, José Alberto & Marques, António Cardoso & Nogueira, David Coito, 2014. "Análise VAR dos índices bolsistas SP500, FTSE100, PSI20, HSI e IBOVESPA [Integration of the indexes SP500, FTSE100, PSI20, HSI and IBOVESPA: A VAR approach]," MPRA Paper 62092, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Feb 2015.
    11. Umutlu, Mehmet & Akdeniz, Levent & Altay-Salih, Aslihan, 2010. "The degree of financial liberalization and aggregated stock-return volatility in emerging markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 509-521, March.
    12. Kent Hargis & William F. Maloney, 1997. "Emerging Equity Markets: Are They For Real?," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 20(2), pages 243-262, June.
    13. Campa, Jose Manuel & Fernandes, Nuno, 2006. "Sources of gains from international portfolio diversification," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(4-5), pages 417-443, October.
    14. Vieito, João Paulo & Wong, Wing-Keung & Chow, Sheung Chi, 2016. "Stock Market Liberalizations and Efficiency: The Case of Latin America," MPRA Paper 68949, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R., 1997. "Emerging equity market volatility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 29-77, January.
    16. repec:vuw:vuwscr:19136 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Lee, Chia-Hao & Chou, Pei-I, 2020. "Structural breaks in the correlations between Asian and US stock markets," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    18. Ana Paula Serra, 2003. "The Cross-Sectional Determinants of Returns: Evidence from Emerging Markets' Stocks," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 2(2), pages 123-162, May.
    19. Hock-Ann Lee & Kian-Ping Lim & Venus Khim-Sen Liew, 2009. "Is There Any International Diversification Benefits in ASEAN Stock Markets?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 29(1), pages 392-406.
    20. Garg, Reetika & Dua, Pami, 2014. "Foreign Portfolio Investment Flows to India: Determinants and Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 16-28.
    21. Andrade, Sandro C., 2009. "A model of asset pricing under country risk," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 671-695, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    sectors; optimal portfolio; international diversification; co-movement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:mfj:journl:v:9:y:2005:i:3-4:p:237-269. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Theodossiou Panayiotis (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/mfsssea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.