Who needs Johnny Foreigner? British companies can give you all the exposure you need to the most exciting investment ideas, whether it be ageing baby boomers in North America (AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline), Chinese expansion (Standard Chartered) or Brazilian offshore oil prospects (BG Group). Anything else can be dealt with through funds.
That at least is the traditional UK asset allocation view, and most of the time it's true. But sometimes you really need that one unique company. Take Warren Buffett. If Berkshire Hathaway shares had been listed in London, UK investors would have been able to ride on the coat-tails of the world's best investor, who has turned $100 into $100bn since 1955. From 1976 to 2008, Berkshire Hathaway returned 25 per cent each year on average. No fund manager can come close to that record.
Likewise, if you want to ride the Wii game phenomenon you can only do it directly by owning Nintendo, the Japanese manufacturer of gaming consoles. And what do you do if you want to share in the recovery in the global car industry?
Ford's American shares have soared by 600 per cent in the past year-and-a-half, yet the UK, with little but ancillary car assembly plants and no listed indigenous manufacturers, offers no direct way to play that recovery. While Britain has some good technology plays, none can match the power, breadth and innovation of Google, Apple and Intel.
