How to go about investing in Asia

In today's global economy, investments aren't confined to domestic companies. And there are many good reasons for wanting to hold overseas stocks. But how do you go about it? Here, Cris Sholto Heaton gives in-depth advice in his guide to buying foreign shares and funds, with a focus on the booming economies of Asia.

This week's article is a bit different. In our recent reader survey, many of you asked questions about investing in Asia, so I've put together a 'how to' guide on buying shares and funds, with the focus on British investors.

The full guide is quite long, so for ease of reading, this is a shortened version. You can get a more detailed PDF version here.

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Hong KongHSBCABF Hong Kong Bond Index (HK:2819)0.12%G,L
RegionState StreetABF Pan Asia Bond Index (JP:1349)0.30%G,L
MalaysiaAmBankABF Malaysia Bond Index (KL:MBIF)0.20%G,L
RegionState StreetABF Pan Asia Bond Index (HK:2821)0.21%G,L
SingaporeDBSABF Singapore Bond Index (SG:SBIF)0.15%G,L
RegionAberdeenAsia-Pacific Income (US:FAX)1.22%C & G, L & USD
RegionAberdeenGlobal Asian Bond (min $1500)1.75%G, L
RegionBlackRockGlobal Asian Tiger Bond (min $5,000)1.21%C & G, USD
RegionBNP ParibasParvest Asian Convertible Bond1.46%CB
RegionCredit AgricoleCAAM Funds Asian Income1.15%C & G, USD
RegionFidelityAsian High Yield (min $2,500)1.47%C, USD
RegionFirst StateAsian Bond Fund (min $1,500)1.00%C & G, USD
RegionLegg MasonWestern Asset Asian Opportunities (min $1000)1.24%C & G, L
RegionLombard OdierLODH Invest Convertible Bond Asia1.50%CB
RegionManRMF Convertibles Far East1.71%CB
RegionPictetAsian Local Currency Debt1.58%C & G, L
RegionSchroderISF Asian Bond (min $1,000)1.74%C & G, L
Hong KongSchroderISF Hong Kong Dollar Bond1.10%C & G, L
RegionTempletonAsian Bond (min $1,000)1.39%C & G, L
RegionTree TopConvertible Pacific1.60%CB
C=corporate bond, G=government bond, CB=convertible bond, L=local currency bonds, USD=US dollar bonds
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Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.