Gaucho420

Utilities: Get Dividends Paid in Euros

And to answer David, yes, the only reason these companies aren't on the NYSE are the set of rules and fees required to pay to be officially listed. Most of these companies have fairly light volume on the NYSE and it is cost prohibitive for them to pay fees to be fully listed (as well as meet the disclusore requirements), so they go with the OTC.

GDFZY is the world's 2nd largest utility company behind Russia's behemoth Gazprom, and they were listed fully with the NYSE prior to Sarbanes–Oxley Act becoming law, which required more time & money to stay listed with the NYSE. Once that law became 100% enforeceable, for foreign companies with low volumes in the US, Banes-Oxley proved too cost prohibitive given the low volume, so they went with the OTC.

Utilities: Get Dividends Paid in Euros

I agree with the logic, but you missed one key thing, unless I skipped over it in the article... you didn't mention the fact that most of these countries will deduct their dividend tax prior to getting your dividend, so the true return dividend wise is lower than you state in the artcle, as France, for example, takes out up to 30% from GDF stock the moment its issued. Most of the time, the foreign governments tax is higher than what you would've paid in the US.

I still beleive in the philosophy and have been investing in it for a while, but your readers should know about the taxes taken out up front as well. I do beleive, however, that you are not double taxed from the US government either, but the foreign tax will probaby be a higher % than what the US government would've taken out on its own.