In selecting the Kiplinger 25, our annual list of the best mutual funds, we found four outstanding choices among funds that specialize in overseas investments.

• Julius Baer International Equity II (symbol JETAX; expense ratio, 1.34 percent; 800-387-6977). Manager Rudolph-Riad Younes says about a third of the fund is allocated to stable blue chips, such as Nestle, the Swiss multinational food giant. Most of the rest is in stocks that Younes figures can double in three years and triple in five. For example, Younes is bullish on Eastern Europe, and he is investing in companies that will help former Eastern-bloc countries catch up with their cousins in Western Europe. Similarly, he believes that Indian banks are a screaming buy because their market values are tiny compared with the burgeoning Indian economy.

Younes is also upbeat about the prospects for luxury-goods makers, which serve the rising nouveaux riches in emerging markets such as Russia, China and the Middle East. So Younes has loaded up on bauble-maker Bulgari and the parent companies of Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Cartier. Over the past year, the fund has returned 19.9 percent.

• Oakmark International (OAKIX; 1.08 percent; 800-625-6275). David Herro is on a roll. The fund he manages has returned 14 percent annualized during his nearly 15-year reign. These days, he's finding value in European drug stocks; Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline are two large holdings. He also loaded up on DaimlerChrysler shares, betting (correctly) that the German automaker was in the early innings of a restructuring that would include unloading Chrysler. And he likes the way his food-and-drink holdings, such as Nestle and Diageo, generate steady earnings gains.

• Dodge & Cox International Stock (DODFX; 0.66 percent; 800-621-3979). It's hard to find fault with this gem. Its performance is excellent, and its risks and fees are relatively low. Dodge & Cox's team of analysts and managers study purchase candidates intensively and subject the companies to a range of scenarios to assess what could go wrong. "If we lock this portfolio away for five years in a box, what's the likelihood that we would find it diminished in value?" asks Diana Strandberg, one of nine portfolio managers. "We think of ourselves as part-owners of the businesses." The fund has returned an annualized 20.2 percent over the past five years.

• T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Stock (PRMSX; 1.26 percent; 800-638-5660). London-based Chris Alderson, who steers the fund with three co-managers based in London and Singapore, manages risk by holding a diversified portfolio of about 140 stocks and focusing on steady growers that are selling at reasonable prices. Some of his favorite plays are Brazilian and Mexican banks and Indian-infrastructure companies. Over the past five years, the fund has returned an annualized 25.2 percent. Over the past decade, it outpaced its benchmark by an average of three percentage points per year.