Where’s the next place mutual-fund investors might be able to find super stock market growth? Maybe in international and emerging markets funds.

“The U.S. market is very expensive, very pricey,” says Douglas Wilde, international investment strategist at Merrill Lynch. He thinks money will increasingly flow out of the United States and into foreign markets that appear to have more room to grow.

I should mention that that’s what a lot of strategists thought five years ago, and they were wrong. But at some point they’ll be right and you can’t guess when.

Investor interest seems to be centering on two areas: Southeast Asia, where many markets have plunged by 50 percent to 70 percent since their peaks last year, and Europe, whose major companies are undergoing the same sort of profitable restructuring that began in the United States about 15 years ago.

The rout in Southeast Asia was set off by banking and currency crises (bad debt, overvalued currencies and slowing growth). No one can say when the bottom will be reached.

But the drop in their currencies will be good for companies in the export business there, as long as they don’t have a lot of dollar-based foreign debts, says Mark Holowesko, portfolio manager for such Templeton funds as Templeton Foreign and Templeton Growth.

“The competitive position for many of these countries on a stock-by-stock basis is incredible,” he told my associate, Kate O’Brien Ahlers. Some Asian stocks are selling at five to seven times this year’s earnings, and at only 60 percent of the company’s book value.

That compares with an average of 22 times earnings in the United States, and 550 percent of book value.

As for Europe, it looks much like the United States 10 or 15 years ago, Holowesko thinks.

Europe’s major companies have been having trouble competing around the world. So they’re starting to sell off marginal assets, cut costs, reinvest in core businesses and distribute surpluses to shareholders all signs of higher profits ahead.

Mark Yockey, who runs the Artisan Funds, is also a big fan of European stocks, including companies in Eastern Europe. His other favorite is Hong Kong.

Yockey sees Hong Kong companies expanding rapidly into China’s huge market, while China draws on the business expertise of Hong Kong. “China is moving toward more economic freedom, not less,” he says. “Long term, we see a tremendous growth market more stable than most of Southeast Asia.”

The U.S. dollar has been gaining in value relative to many other currencies not only those of Southeast Asian countries but also of Japan and much of Europe. When the dollar goes up, foreign investments lose value in dollar terms.

On the other hand, when a foreign currency’s value declines, that country’s products get relatively cheaper for American consumers. So its exports, corporate profits, and stock prices usually rise, which at least partly offset your losses from the unfavorable currency change.

Over the past 12 months, the majority of Europe’s bourses have risen by 20 percent to 72 percent in local currency, reports Morgan Stanley Capital International. In dollars, the gains range from 8 percent to 38 percent.

Latin America is also favored, both by Wilde and by John Ford of Rowe Price-Fleming International in London, investment adviser for all T. Rowe Price international funds. Those markets have soared in the past 12 months (up 53 percent in Brazil, up 46 percent in Mexico). But both analysts think the party isn’t over yet.

Other countries getting calls: India, which is opening to more foreign investment; Eastern European countries, which are slowly rejoining the world; and Russia, whose economy seems to be stabilizing.

Many managers don’t yet have a good word to say about Japan (stocks down 11 percent in the past 12 months). But you never know. Maybe they’re quiet because they’re buying in.

Here are some mutual funds suggested by Steve Janachowski of Brouwer & Janachowski, Tiburon, Calif., which invests $500 million of its clients’ money in no-load funds (minimum account, $1 million).

For no-loads (no sales charge): Artisan International (800-344-1770), Harbor International II (800-422-1050), Hotchkis & Wiley International (800-236-4479), Janus Overseas (800-525-3713), T. Rowe Price International Stock (800-638-5660), Vanguard International Growth (800-662-7447), Vanguard Emerging Markets, and Warburg Pincus Emerging Markets (800-927-2874).

For load funds sold by brokers: EuroPacific Growth, GAM International, Merrill Lynch Developing Capital Markets, Templeton Foreign and Templeton Developing Markets Trust.

Finding fee-only planners

If you’re looking for a “fee-only” planner someone who charges fees but no sales commissions it just got harder. A leading financial planning organization recently declared it ethical for planners to advertise as “fee-only,” even though they take commissions, too.

Growing numbers of consumers are looking for fee-only planners. They’re generally considered more objective than those who earn their living from sales commissions.

Fee-only planners charge purely for advice. You pay flat hourly rates for getting questions answered, fees for a financial plan and a fixed percentage of assets for getting your money managed.

These planners don’t take sales commissions in any form. If you need a financial product, they’ll recommend no-load mutual funds and non-commission-paying life insurance.

Commissioned salespeople, by contrast, earn money only if you buy something. Maybe they’ll sell you just the right thing, in which case their commission is well-earned. But you can’t be sure that their advice isn’t influenced by the size of the commission.

High-commission products, such as variable annuities, earn them more than low-commission products. Some salespeople joke that “everyone is a variable annuity prospect until they prove otherwise.”

So establishing exactly who is and is not a true fee-only planner matters to consumers. Here’s where the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has just stepped in.

Planners earn a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation by following a course of study approved by the board. They’re also supposed to adhere to a code of ethics, which the board develops and enforces.

The code says that a CFP “shall not hold out as a fee-only planning practitioner” if he or she receives sales commissions.

So what does it mean when you see “fee-only” in an ad? Exactly nothing. To find someone who sells only advice you have to look for an ad that says “fee-only practitioner” or “fee-only financial planner.” How many consumers are going to understand that?

Bottom line: If a planner claims to be fee-only, ask if he or she also sells commission products.

If the answer is “yes, but for you I’ll do fee-only,” consider whether such a relationship can last. Some salespeople may keep to their bargain, others may not. It’s wiser to shop until you find the kind of planner you want.

Syndicated columnist Jane Bryant Quinn can be reached in care of the Washington Post Writers Group, 1150 15th St., Washington D.C. 20071-9200.