An international mutual fund with a portfolio that consists entirely of securities, generally stocks, of companies located exclusively in a given country.

Investors should be aware that country funds often show up in performance tables with some spectacular results and, because of this phenomenon, will attract a lot of investor attention.

However, along with this type of performance also comes a high level of risk and price volatility, especially in developing countries, which are usually categorized as emerging markets. In this instance, a fund's portfolio may be concentrated in a small number of issues with very low market liquidity.

Even in developed markets like Europe, putting investment funds in a single-country fund means that you are subjecting your risk-return expectations to a relatively narrow market environment.