As Latin American countries began to allow for the creation of private pensions in the 1980s and 1990s, they faced a new dilemma on how to maximise domestic investment by these new funds.

While they initially opted for a policy of strict capital controls and limits on overseas investments, everyone has to face economic reality eventually. So gradually in more recent decades, these countries have slowly opened up their markets. While many still maintain domestic investment minimums, they are at least moving in the right direction by allowing their pension funds to invest overseas to increase diversification and maximise returns for savers.

In Britain, of course, we had our own experience of capital controls until 1979. In one of her first acts as Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher abolished them all together, including the limitation on Britons purchasing foreign equities.

Until recently, to suggest that Britain would........

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