Singapore: An Asian Tiger

Investors worrying about how currency fluctuations impact their investments, may want to take a look at Singapore's emerging market nation. The country’s currency uses a managed float against a basket of top trading partners' bank notes. This reduces large fluctuations in the Singaporean dollar against the greenback and the currency has been stable throughout the year. While this limits much upside in currency appreciation, it does protect against the downside as most currencies are falling vs. the U.S. dollar as investors seek safety. Investors can also take comfort in the nation’s politically stable government and debt to GDP ratio of 1.1 percent. In addition, Singapore’s GDP surged 32.1 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, exceeding even the most bullish analyst forecasts. The iShares MSCI Singapore Index EWS is the easiest way to add the fast moving economy to a portfolio. Shares of the exchange traded fund yield nearly 3 percent and trade around 4 million shares daily.