Unfortunately, this is the final issue of Pacific Wealth. In investing, timing isn’t everything, but in this case it hastened the demise of this service.  Subscribers’ remaining months will be fullfilled by our excellent Global Income Edge letter, which has proven itself a great source for strong income and international diversification. More on GIE later

Pacific Wealth began as Australian Edge exactly four years ago, and AE’s premise was a good one. China was booming and buying lots of commodities from Australia, whose economy was already thriving in its own right.

As written in the inaugural Australian Edge issue in October 2011, “It’s undeniably true that China’s economic growth has had a direct, beneficial impact on Australia’s fortunes in the 21st century. It’s probably the greatest single reason Australia avoided a recession while the rest of the world sank from 2007 to 2009. Much like Canada, its resource-rich Commonwealth cousin, stable institutions over the long term, coupled with generally responsible recent political management have positioned Australia for further expansion because of China’s still-growing demand for commodities.”

However, as China shifts away from a manufacturing economy to a more consumer-oriented one and needs fewer commodities, Australia has felt the pain. Indeed, commodity prices all over the world have dropped, and although they may have bottomed, there’s no clear rebound in sight.

So we decided to expand Australian Edge to cover the Pacific Basin, the fastest-growing region in the world. And after months of planning, Pacific Wealth was launched in May, and we were lucky to find a seasoned chief investment strategist in Martin Hutchinson to have at the helm. Martin’s knowledge of global economics and politics was honed during his years as an investment banker and as a market commentator.

Given the economies in the region were booming, but its stock markets were not (the MSCI AC Pacific Index has returned only 0.9% annually over the last five years), he found a number of excellent, cheaply priced companies that we thought would take off in the next year.

But then China’s fortunes weakened, and its currency dropped in value in recent months. That alone hurts the Western Pacific, and a general global malaise only added to its troubles. Although we continue to believe the region’s future is bright, launching an investing letter just weeks before the subject of that letter slipped dramatically does not serve you, our subscribers.

The good news for Pacific Wealth members is their subscriptions will be transferred to our Global Income Edge letter. GIE focuses on stocks of strong companies with strong yields the world over.

Even during the last year, when Europe has been weak and many other regions have suffered, Global Income Edge’s chief investment strategist, Richard Stavros delivered three great portfolios with strong yields: Conservative, Aggressive and a real estate investment trust portfolio.

Richard’s financial models help him pick only strong companies, often based in developed countries, for stability, with operations in developing countries for growth. Like Martin, Richard has a great grasp of the world’s economies and recently pivoted more holdings to U.S.-based companies as the United States has once again become the best place for stability and yield.

He deftly has played big trends, such as healthcare and infrastructure spending, and brings his work as a utility analyst to bear to cherry pick the best companies from that sector the world over.

We think you’ll be impressed with your first Global Income Edge issue, which you’ll receive Nov. 12. You’ll have the international diversification you sought as subscribers to Australian Edge and Pacific Wealth, together with the strong yields and the great growth potential of GIE stocks.

• Robert Frick, Editorial Director, Investing Daily