If I gave you a hot tip about an asset class with an annualised return of more than 30 per cent over the past five years, there is a better than even chance you would walk away. The reason? The “hot tip” is emerging markets. And according to a recent nationwide study of investors in the US, most are reluctant to invest overseas, choosing instead to overweight their portfolio with domestic assets.

However, this condition – known as “home-country bias” – is about to enter a secular decline. For one, investors will eventually realise that investing internationally makes sense. More important, the increasing consolidation and globalisation of stock exchanges will promote the rise of borderless investing.