In 2017, I want to stay with small cap companies but also go global, asserts fund expert Jim Lowell, editor of Fidelity Investor.

Recently, crossing the waters has been a recipe for higher volatility and lower returns.

But a sea change is affecting U.S. small caps for the better — a growing economy, a strengthening consumer, and trading with their neighbors rather than getting caught up in cross border currency wars.

These factors are also beginning to manifest themselves overseas — thanks to massive stimulus efforts underway in Europe and Japan.

My recommendation to play this trend is Fidelity International Small Cap Opportunities (FSCOX). Here, veteran multi-cap international stock picker Jed Weiss invests in small-cap companies from around the globe.

In this case, small-cap is defined as having a market-cap of $5 billion or less — so it's what the Street calls a "smid-cap" (small and mid cap) basket.

U.S. investments are present, but come in fourth out of the top five countries: Japan (30.3%), U.K. (19.6%), Germany (6.5%), U.S. (5.3%), and Sweden (5.0%).

Emerging investments make up just 6.8% of the holdings. The top sectors are industrials (21.2%), consumer discretionary (19.6%), and health care (12.9%).

Weiss has returned 170.8% versus 125.7% for his benchmark since he began managing the fund in December 2008. That's an outsized return for this expert small cap investor. Expect more of the same in 2017.

Subscribe to Jim Lowell's Fidelity Investor here...

Click Here for More 2017 Top Stock Picks