Four International Dividend Stocks to Consider

International diversification is often cited as a must have for US investors, especially during periods when the dollar index is weakening and the US economy is soft. The rationale behind this idea is that a recession in the US is less likely to lead to recession in all countries. With the increased globalization and ease of capital movements across borders however the benefits of diversification can be rather elusive. This being said however, there might still be an ounce of truth behind the idea of diversifying globally, which might be beneficial to dividend portfolios.Investing internationally does come with its own peculiarities however. For example the rest of the world seems to be following IFRS accounting standards, while US companies report under US GAAP. In addition to that, US investors could be subject to withholdings on foreign dividends received, which could only be deducted in taxable accounts. Furthermore, most foreign companies pay dividends in local currency, which is then translated into US dollars, before being remitted in investors’ brokerage accounts. This could lead to volatility in the US dollar dividend incomes of investors, whereas the dividend income could have been flat or rising in the foreign currency.... Read more