Thornburg International Growth tends to include more small- and mid-cap names, and concentrates on fewer sectors, while Artisan International sticks more to megacaps and spreads its bets between more industry sectors.
But even for bottom-up stockpickers who are focused on balance-sheet fundamentals, it is a troubling world out there that remains impossible to predict. In that way, the task of an international fund manager can be likened to walking through a minefield.
"There are problems in Egypt, problems in Turkey, and almost everyone seems to have problems with their currencies," admits Thornburg's Dunn. "So there are definitely pressures out there. All you can do is own the highest-quality companies you can find."