The outlook for the U.S. economy and exchange traded funds (ETFs) remains pretty grim: inflation, weak currency, stagflation, you name it. Does this mean we should shift our investing focus to other countries?

If you share an “anything but the United States” sentiment when it comes to investing, there are several all-world ex-U.S. ETFs available. These funds offer overseas exposure with plenty of diversification, so your risk factor is lowered even as the recession spreads globally.

For diversification purposes, it is important to focus on countries or regions that are not as correlated to the United States, such as Brazil, suggests Gary Gordon for ETF Expert. The simplicity of an all-in-one ETF is great, but is not a substitute for staying on top of market trends. Be sure to diversify within asset classes as well, and not to rely on an all-world ETF to be a do-all, end-all answer to a questionable investment future.

• Vanguard FTSE All World-ex U.S. (VEU): down 8.7% year-to-date

• iShares MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. (ACWX): down 9.1% year-to-date

Tags: ACWX, All-World ETFs, Global ETFs, VEU