text: where do returns on foreign investments come from? what generates the wealth?   foreign investments work just like any other kind of investments.  the only difference is that changes in currency value can have an added impact, either plus or minus.  an investment in a company increases in value when more people want to buy the stock.  supply and demand interaction pushes the stock price up.  what's behind that?  people normally want to buy a stock when it is earning profits and increasing profits.  if the company is making enough money, it may also pay dividends out of those profits.  business is what generates the wealth, plain and simple.