INVEST IN THE ASIAN CENTURY

InvestAsian has helped millions of readers grow their wealth and diversify their portfolio into the world’s most dynamic region.

ABOUT INVESTASIAN

Reid-Kirchenbauer

My name is Reid Kirchenbauer and I started this company back in 2013.

I’ve spent half my life in Asia. Soon after graduating from one of the region’s top universities, I learned several languages, bought over a dozen properties, and started a successful real estate fund by the time I reached my mid-20s.

Asia will be the main driver of growth in the 21st century. During my time here, I’ve seen firsthand the dramatic rise of an affluent class that didn’t even exist a few decades ago.

The streets are filled with economic activity. Unemployment is generally low, demographic trends are strong, and the future looks bright across much of Asia.

Similarly, governments in the region are opening up and taking personal freedom more seriously. They’re friendly to foreign investors while a lot of the western world continues moving backward.

Our future will be dominated by the rise of China and India. Increasingly, some of Asia’s frontier markets such as Cambodia and Mongolia will lead as global manufacturing hubs.

Lots of promising countries are overlooked by investors. After all, few people are talking about buying property in Vietnam or trading stocks in the Philippines.

But that’s precisely why these places have incredible opportunities. Lack of knowledge about investing in Asia combined with entry and language barriers means you’ll find undiscovered gems here.

It’s also why I started InvestAsian. Our company’s goal? Helping investors across the world profit from this dynamic region – no matter where they live.

BeforeAfter

Before-and-after of Bangkok, Thailand in the 1980s compared with today. Urban transformations like this are happening all over Asia.

You may have already done research on investing in Asia. We’re here to tell you that, unfortunately, most of the info online is written by expats who are illiterate in the local language and have no clue what they’re doing.

InvestAsian is unique because of our analysts, contacts, and translators based across Asia. Together, our staff speaks nine languages and shares a vast array of experience.

That gives our clients the best results possible. For example, you would have a hard time assessing the Thai stock market if you only speak English.

InvestAsian has local experts on the ground who are always searching, networking, and helping our clients find opportunities that they never would have otherwise.

WHY INVEST IN FRONTIER MARKETS?

Uncorrelated Stocks and Property in High-Growth Markets

InvestAsian focuses on frontier markets. These are among the best nations in the world for a globally-minded investor. But why are frontier markets a good asset class?

Economically, we can break down a country into one of three different categories based on its stage of development.

Developed markets which include Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong are perhaps the weakest in terms of future growth prospects. That’s because population growth is tepid, or even negative.

Such developed markets are strictly regulated while multinational firms are already operating in any sector worth doing business in. There’s strong competition in every industry and entry-barriers are high.

Emerging markets, like Malaysia and China, go through change at a quicker pace. Manufacturing and exports are usually play a big role in their economies.

Foreign investment in emerging markets is peaking and local firms are beginning to expand internationally – an attempt to find their own opportunities in less-developed nations. There’s a good reason why Malaysia is investing heavily in Indonesia, for example.

Beyond them are frontier markets: countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Frontier markets are the places where rapid growth and potential for high investment returns have only recently begun.

A middle class is just now beginning to form in frontier markets, making them perfect as a longer-term investment. Furthermore, stronger demographic trends mean their economies are propelled by internal growth factors more than the global financial system and its whims.

The kind of companies that you probably take for granted in your home countries, such as convenience store branches and pharmacy chains, often don’t exist yet. Frontier markets are great places for entrepreneurs because of this.

Cambodia-Minimart

Up until recently, Cambodia didn’t even have a global convenience store chain. Circle K and 7-Eleven both entered the market and are set to reap the rewards in 2024 and beyond.

Frontier markets are also far less correlated with major economies like the US. Several countries in Asia, in fact, have skipped all of the past three global recessions.

Vietnam and Cambodia, for example, haven’t had a recession in over 25 years. They skipped the Asian financial crisis during the 1990s, missed the tech bubble of the early 2000s, and outgrew the recent 2008 global recession.

Today, the world’s economies depend on each other. Multinational firms including McDonald’s and IKEA are found almost anywhere on the planet. Because of this, all the developed and emerging markets get sick when the United States, Europe, or China do.

Frontier markets are often exceptions to this rule. They don’t rely on foreign investment from Starbucks since they don’t even do business in the country yet!

A truly recession-proof economy doesn’t exist, of course. “past performance is not a guarantee of future results” and anything could happen. Regardless, a good frontier market is about as close as you can get.

Plus, either way, you’re making an investment that is uniquely uncorrelated with the global financial system.

In short, frontier markets have a very rare combination of risk and return. They’re not only growing three times faster than your home country, but also probably won’t be involved in the next global recession either.

There’s one minor downside though…

Investing in frontier markets usually isn’t easy. It’s the main reason why these places aren’t swarmed with people scooping up assets already.

You’ll encounter lots of entry barriers. These could be language barriers, cultural barriers, or ones set up by the government. Tasks such as opening a Vietnam brokerage account are difficult, let alone finding an honest real estate agent in Myanmar or researching stocks in the Philippines.

Additionally, most foreign investors don’t want to live in Indonesia or Cambodia, spending their precious time figuring out how to invest in these high-growth markets by themselves.

This is the reason why InvestAsian exists. There’s great potential across Asia’s emerging economies, and we’ve spent more than a decade learning how to invest in them.

ENHANCE YOUR PORTFOLIO

Gain Maximum Diversification

Diversification is key to preserving your wealth. This is common knowledge, and any experienced investor knows this.

Not a single investment advisor would suggest putting your whole net worth into two or three different assets. That would be extremely risky, and you would lose a significant part of your portfolio if one of the investments didn’t work out.

Unfortunately, most people still invest the vast majority of their portfolio into their “home country”. They don’t yet realize that the same concept of diversification applies to investing across countries – not merely across different stocks and sectors.

Imagine this: an Argentinian investor in 2005 wants a diverse portfolio. So they buy a basket of a hundred equities, spread evenly across all industries…

…and every single one of them is listed on Argentina’s stock exchange.

Our investor falsely believes they’re protected because their portfolio consists of many different equities, diversified across all sectors. However, during the next fifteen years, the Argentine peso’s value crashes by over 3000%

By only investing at home, our hypothetical investor (millions of people are facing this situation, in reality) became a victim of country risk.

Putting all your assets in one country isn’t much less risky than investing all your money in a single stock.

USD to ARS Chart

The Argentine peso lost over 200 times its value between 2000 and 2024. Meanwhile, our hypothetical investor’s portfolio is now worth half-a-penny on the dollar.

 

This exact scenario could repeat itself anywhere – even in developed markets. Each and every country in the world has its own unique risks, from potential currency and economic crises to the possibility of war and natural disasters.

InvestAsian was founded on the belief that spreading your portfolio across the world isn’t “unpatriotic”, nor does it have to be a risky endeavor.

Total diversification isn’t dangerous. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Real estate and stocks in developed markets like Singapore and Hong Kong are safe. Meanwhile, currencies including the Singapore dollar and Thai baht are among the world’s top performing over the past decade.

Meanwhile, frontier markets like Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia are great places to diversify outside the mainstream. Frontier economies benefit from natural growth catalysts, such as a low average age and rising urbanization rate.

The whims of the global financial system are difficult to predict. Demographic trends are almost impossible to change once they’re already set in motion though.

If you want to reduce risk while increasing your overall performance at the same time, buying real estate and stocks in Asia is a great way to accomplish both those goals.

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