Job loss. School rejection. Failed business. Cancelled plans.
These setbacks are often remedied by the encouraging phrase, “When one door closes, another one opens.”
But when it comes to investing, I like the alternative phrase…
When one door closes, a window opens.
That’s because, sometimes, being a smart investor means looking for opportunities where the crowd is not. While everyone is waiting for a closed door to open, it’s much better to look for the unexpected window.
The dot-com bust is a perfect example. After the rise of tech stocks in the early 2000s, the internet-based stock market experienced a dramatic collapse. Valuations soared, tech companies went out of business, and investors faced steep losses.
In other words, the door on tech stocks slammed shut.
But I was publishing investment research throughout the dot-com boom and bust. And with few exceptions, my most successful recommendations during the bust phase were non-tech stocks with low valuations…
Where an investment “window” opened.
Just as it was possible to make money during the dot-com bust of the early 2000s, it will be possible to do so this time around… especially during the current administration. We investors simply cannot know exactly which doors it will close, which it will open, and how long they’ll stay that way.
And if the current market environment “rhymes” with the dot-com bust phase of the early 2000s, then, I believe that the next “window” of opportunity lies in select foreign stock markets.
That is why in today’s Smart Money, I will detail why two lowly valued, foreign stock markets will provide some of the best investment opportunities right now… and how you can get in on them.
President Trump’s tariffs are only the tip of the iceberg. A growing threat is poised to widen the gap between the Haves and the Have Nots… Permanently change our economy… And dramatically affect your money, the value of your home, your investments, and your ability to retire. Click here to watch Louis Navellier’s urgent warning.
A Window to South America
The two countries I’ve been looking at are Argentina and Brazil. And as it turns out, they are also among the ones with the world’s lowest stock market valuations.
To the extent that global consumers avoid American products in response to President Trump’s tariff regime, these two countries could benefit.
Here’s why…
Broadly speaking, both Argentina and Brazil sustain themselves by exporting agricultural and natural resource products to the rest of the world. Fortunately for them, Trump’s new tariff regime assigned the minimum 10% duty to their U.S. imports.
But even that “baseline” duty could disappear quickly, once the administration takes a breath and examines its new tariff policy country-by-country. For example, many of the products we import from South America are products that we cannot produce for ourselves, no matter what the tariff levels might be.
We cannot grow coffee, cocoa, or cashews in the continental U.S. Nor can we grow large, commercial volumes of tropical fruits like mangoes, guavas, or bananas. Placing a duty on products like these does not protect any domestic industries, it simply increases prices at the grocery store.
Additionally, most countries in South America are major exporters to both China and the U.S. Therefore, to the extent that the world’s two largest economies reduce their bilateral trade, countries like Argentina and Brazil could attract additional demand from both of them.
For example, China might choose to buy soybeans from Brazil, wheat from Argentina, and copper from Chile, at the expense of American producers. Brazil also produces commercial jets, which China might soon prefer buying to the ones The Boeing Co. (BA) produces.
The list goes on and on.
A monster trade war between China and the U.S. could also deal a punishing blow to the economies of both fighting countries, while “non-combatants” like Argentina and Brazil benefit.
Here’s how I’m taking advantage of this “window” of opportunity…
Finding the Right Foreign Stocks
After President Trump announced his new tariff regime early this month, I recommended a course of action to Fry’s Investment Report subscribers: “Buy Brazil.”
As I mentioned, because Brazil lies far away from the front lines of this new trade war, and because it is uniquely equipped to export a wide range of products that the entire world desires, it could become a major new “swing producer” in various industries.
But even without that “bonus” business, continuing Brazilian economic growth should enable Brazilian stocks to deliver a world-beating performance.
Brazilian GDP grew a solid 3.4% last year, thanks largely to strong domestic demand. A tight labor market enabled consumer spending to power strong economic growth. Employment growth remains strong, at the same time that export growth could re-accelerate.
To capitalize on this opportunity, I recommended an ETF that invests in a broad range of Brazilian companies to my Fry’s Investment Report portfolio. This play is already up around 10% in the few weeks since I recommended it.
But my focus isn’t just on South America. I also found an “opportunity window” with our neighbor to the north. It’s a Canadian luxury and lifestyle brand that has increased nearly 20% since I made my initial recommendation in early April.
