Fund Radar: International investing is still possible, but comes at a price

All major roads to international stocks are currently blocked. First, it was the mutual funds investing overseas that hit a dead end for crossing the regulatory limit of $7 billion on international investments in 2022. Later, the gates re-opened when they went below the limit, but only slightly. That said, this option has become very erratic for investors of late. Fast-forward to April 2024, funds investing in overseas ETFs (exchange-traded funds) met a similar fate, as they crossed their separate limit of $1 billion. The squeeze on such funds was a big blow for investors, as they were often touted as the last route available to invest overseas. Sure, directly investing in international stocks through the LRS (liberalised remittance scheme) still remains an option, but it doesn't suit smaller investors since it is inconvenient and complicated. Essentially, the only gali left for smaller investors is to explore the ETFs tracking international indices. While these ETFs can be bought and sold on the Indian stock exchanges, given their recent surge in demand and limited supply, they are being traded to investors at a si