I want the names and websites for specific no-load mutual funds that
invest only in high quality, short-to-medium term, fixed-income
securities in a variety of currencies other than the US Dollar. I want
currency diversification, excluding US Dollars. I am pessimistic about
the USD. Since I am a US citizen, I prefer to invest in a US fund, but
this is not an absolute requirement. There are many "international"
funds that offer bonds of non-US investors, but these are frequently
denominated in USDollars and are of no interest to me. Thanks.

3 comments:

Richard:
I haven't followed any of the links, but the search should be for
"international fixed income", not "global fixed income", because
"global" includes the US.

dickfeynman:
International funds denominated in US Dollars are fine for your
purposes as long as they are not hedged back into the USD. As foreign
currencies appreciate against the USD, the international funds will go
up in value in USD terms.

Richard:
The clarification does not indicate the currency denomination of the
bonds listed. I haven't looked them up, but I suspect they are all
Euro-Dollar bonds (i.e. non US borrower, but denominated in USD)

Regards,
drappier

Dr appier-
You say "International funds denominated in US Dollars are fine for
your
purposes as long as they are not hedged back into the USD. As foreign
currencies appreciate against the USD, the international funds will go
up in value in USD terms". Of course. Richard may have been a little
confused on this.

As I said in my original question, "I prefer to invest in a US fund,
but
this is not an absolute requirement". Since I haven't been able to
find what I want among US funds so far, I may have to buy a foreign
fund, probably UK, Ireland, or Swiss. I prefer not to because of the
tax reporting is a pain (foreign tax credit, reporting, possible FX
fees,etc.)

Richard-
As I said in my question, I am looking for "high quality" securities.
As far as I know, there are no high quality issues denominated in the
curencies of "Bulgaria, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Lebanon, Malaysia,
Nigeria", as per your comment.

First, before sinking money into any kind of fund, do a google search
on "Passive Foreign Investment Company" and read up.  This is a
special tax trap in the US, which any foreign HQd mutual fund would
fall into.  Beware, as it is nasty.  It is better to hold bank
accounts, foreign stocks or bonds directly because of this trap.

New Zealand is a favourable place, in my opinion, because:
the interest rates are good, they speak english, their government is
highly ranked on a scale of economic freedom (e.g. top 10 in the
world, with US, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc...), and they have
reasonable tax policies.

A number of banks and riskier finance companies offer interest rates
much higher than in the US, on deposits in NZ$.  A 90 day CD at a bank
pays around 5%.  2 years at a finance company might be 8% (unless they
make bad loans...)

The NZ$ has appreciated from US$0.40 to US$0.55 from 2001-2003. 
Anyone's guess whether that is a high or not.  You could, of course,
lose more money than you make in interest were that trend to reverse.
You pay your money and you takes your chances.

Approved Issues Levy vs. Non-resident Withholding Tax
A number of banks and finance companies are able to tax your bank
account at
a 3% 'approved issuer levy' (3% of interest).  I suppose you could
take a foreign tax credit in the US but it is almost negligible.
Otherwise there is a foreign withholding tax of around 15%.  No tax
return needs to be filed in NZ if you've paid AIL or NRWT.

Sites to check out
www.interest.co.nz - list of interest rates at various banks
www.search.co.nz  - new zealand search engine (for finding a banks'
web site)

Two largest banks in NZ
www.anz.co.nz
www.bnz.co.nz

A finance company
www.dorchester.co.nz

A stock brokerage
currently pays 4% or so on NZ$ cash account, can take foreign
customers
they also have a cash account for AU$ and access to the australian
market.
www.accessbrokerage.co.nz
There is no capital gains tax in NZ, but of course if you are a US
citizen then you owe it back in the us on your worldwide investments.