How to Create Your Jet-Set Life

The second of May, 1968 was the beginning of my investment adventures. American born and bred, and only 21 years old, I knew nothing about investing abroad.

Before my life-changing trip to Tokyo I had never boarded a plane. In fact, I had never even left the state of Oregon.

Who could have known how exciting the next 39 years would be? Or how much I would learn about world of global investment? Had I known the mistakes to be made I would probably have run. Thankfully all the trials, tortures, and errors were mitigated by fun and an earnest endeavor to live right and learn.

I was lucky to begin my quest in 1968, as it was the beginning of a new era for world stock markets. When I arrived in Hong Kong the world of investing was dominated by Wall Street. That was about to end. It was the year when the Hong Kong Stock Market began to explode upwards along with Tokyo's market.

The Hang Seng Index was then 100 and rose to 18,000. Anyone who steadily committed money to this market made a fortune.

If you are new to the stock market, I advise you to always have an expansive view and expect the dollar to fall in the long run.

My wife Merri and I track five international portfolios every year. I give some examples on my website.

It's not always plain sailing but from our portfolio figures we can see that investing around the world can be profitable. We'll keep you posted on our latest findings.

Gary Scott,
For International Living

P.S. One tip I would like to share with you for 2007 is to keep an eye on the emerging markets for global real estate in China and India.