In which I moot a foreign adventure and then get cold feet

As the end of the year approaches, I'm having some end of year thoughts. How can I improve the Thrifty 30? Maybe you can tell me'

It must be coincidence. On Monday I mooted adding foreign shares to the Thrifty 30 portfolio in a discussion with the editor and the editor-in-chief of the Interactive Investor mothership. Yesterday fellow value blogger John McElligott suggested it to me.

John was responding to my own, somewhat frustrated, search for value in the UK and proposing that I broaden my search by looking abroad. I was responding to the value instinct, which tends to take you wherever value might be. It took Geoff Gannon to Japan, for example, last year, and it's bringing other value investors to Europe now.

Having mooted a foreign adventure, I'm having second thoughts now. I doubt many UK investors would join me in the adventure, and whether I actually want to embark on it myself.

There are four reasons why I don't follow that value instinct abroad:

1. Tax. The necessity of claiming tax relief against tax paid in foreign jurisdictions is an administrative burden I haven't relished when I've done it.
2. Familiarity. Reading annual reports and calling the financial director of a company is easier if you speak the same language and live in the same time-zone. Experiencing the product or service is easier if it's available locally.
3. Cost and opportunity. UK brokers are inconsistent in the selection of foreign companies they trade, and in the associated fees. Often, where the selection is limited, it's limited to large American and European companies, which may not offer the best value.
4. Mistrust in Jonny Foreigner. My apologies for the use of a pejorative term but it accurately sums up the prejudicial nature of this objection. We have little choice to put our faith in the British legal and regulatory system and, on the presumption it's one of the better ones, I doubt I have the stamina to evaluate others.

Reasons like these lead most UK investors who buy shares in individual companies to use funds to diversify abroad (I think). That's what I do in my self-invested pension.

So, with a foreign campaign postponed, I must redouble my efforts in the UK, and that means embracing the full spectrum of value, hence the title of yesterday's post. That's the plan any way, I'll elaborate as it evolves as this year closes and the new year begins.