After greater than a decade of US market dominance, 2025 could have marked a turning level for international traders. Worldwide equities have surged forward of their US counterparts, evidenced by sturdy earnings development and supported by coverage reform momentum and a reassessment of “American exceptionalism.”
This broad-based outperformance throughout Europe, Japan, and rising markets has prompted traders to ask whether or not the tide is popping in favor of world diversification. Is that this the beginning of a brand new structural cycle in market management, or just a short-term correction after years of imbalance?
Because the international monetary disaster (GFC), US equities have been the centerpiece of world portfolios, benefiting from a robust mixture of greenback power, technological innovation, and financial resilience.
This “solely recreation on the town” narrative has been bolstered by a report bull market in each the greenback and the expertise sector, drawing unprecedented capital inflows and leaving traders structurally chubby US property.
This submit is the primary in a sequence exploring whether or not this outperformance marks the beginning of a structural pattern or merely a brief shift, and the way international traders can place for it.
A Historic Perspective
Historical past reminds us that market management is cyclical, not everlasting. Every decade brings its personal defining theme—from the Nifty Fifty increase of the Nineteen Sixties and early Nineteen Seventies, when a handful of blue-chip development shares traded at excessive valuations earlier than dramatically underperforming—to rising markets and commodities within the 2000s. Dominant markets usually give method to new sources of development and worth as soon as the cycle turns.
In 2025, that cyclical sample appeared to reassert itself. Worldwide equities outperformed US shares by roughly 17 factors, with broad-based positive factors throughout Europe, Japan, and rising markets, primarily based on the MSCI indices and Bloomberg.
Whereas such dispersion could seem abrupt or transient after years of US dominance, it displays a mix of narrowing development differentials, bettering company fundamentals internationally, and renewed coverage momentum in key economies.
The query now confronting international allocators is whether or not this shift marks the start of a sustained management transition or merely a brief recalibration inside a long-running US bull cycle.
The US Has Confronted Challengers
Evaluation going again 75 years reveals that the dominant investing theme modifications every decade, from the Nineteen Sixties to Nineteen Seventies increase to US expertise within the Nineteen Nineties and to rising markets and commodities within the 2000s. In actual fact, a given funding theme (early expertise, for instance), usually reverses sharply within the subsequent (see Chart 1 under).
Chart 1: Funding Themes (Cumulative, % Return)
Supply: Bloomberg, Breakout Capital
Latest reminiscence finally ends up taking part in a task in shaping narratives, and thus the USA’ 8% annualized out-performance for the reason that GFC appears a given. Nevertheless, historical past reveals that US market outperformance just isn’t the norm. Because the 1900s, US equities have lagged worldwide friends about half the time per UBS analysis and DMS database (Chart 2). extra excessive frequency Bloomberg knowledge, US annualized returns have been broadly much like the worldwide markets within the 4 many years, pre GFC.
Chart 2: Common Annual Inventory Market Returns by Decade, US vs Remainder of World
Supply: UBS, DMS Database, 2024, Breakout Capital Calculations. Notice: Expressed in actual USD phrases
Pay Consideration to Fundamentals
Based mostly on the most recent Bloomberg knowledge, US shares are buying and selling at greater than 22 occasions ahead 12-month earnings, barely in need of the acute ranges final noticed in the course of the dotcom bubble and submit pandemic. This compares with 13 occasions for rising markets, and 15 occasions for worldwide markets outdoors US.
Investor sentiment mirrors this valuation hole: Per EPFR fund circulate knowledge, greater than three-fourths of fairness fund flows on this decade have gone into US property, despite the fact that the USA represents 65% of the MSCI international fairness index and fewer than 50% of world earnings primarily based on knowledge from MSCI and Bloomberg. Such an excessive valuation differential affords little margin for security if fundamentals weaken, even when comparatively.
US elementary outperformance now reveals indicators of normalization. A key driver of prior greenback power and earnings development was US financial momentum, which outpaced about half of rising markets over the previous 5 years.
Worldwide Financial Fund projections point out this benefit is fading as greater than 80% of main rising markets are anticipated to develop quicker than the US over the following 5 years.
Consensus forecasts echo this pattern: rising markets are projected to ship 17% earnings development in US greenback phrases over 2024-2026, in contrast with 12% for the US, and simply 8% for the US equal weight index (Chart 3).
Chart 3: Annualized Earnings Development, USD
Supply: MSCI, Bloomberg, Breakout Capital Calculations
Can the US Defend its Exceptionalism?
There are lots of parts of US Exceptionalism together with a free market-based economic system, power of establishments, and an innovation ecosystem that gives it a structural benefit. Nevertheless, monetary markets transfer in cycles as investor sentiment will get overstretched. US equities’ dominance during the last 15 years was helped by procyclical loop between enticing submit disaster valuations for shares and US greenback and stability sheet clean-up for personal in addition to public sector.
We imagine we’re in a brand new regime the place there might be an elevated recognition that worldwide markets are on the mend and provide sturdy earnings development and coverage enchancment at less expensive valuations.
The sturdy cyclical benefits that the US supplied 15 years in the past are more and more being chipped away creating the circumstances for a multi-year tailwind in favor of worldwide markets.
Function of US Greenback: Worldwide market outperformance has traditionally aligned with intervals of US greenback weak point. Whereas a lot commentary focuses on the greenback’s reserve standing, historical past reveals it has endured a number of multi-year bear markets, usually lasting round seven years and averaging a 40% decline (see the DXY Index from Bloomberg in Chart 4). After a 13-year bull run and amid softer fundamentals and rising debt, the chance of one other sustained greenback upswing seems low.
Chart 4: US Greenback Index
Supply: Bloomberg
US has develop into one huge guess on AI now: Synthetic intelligence has develop into the dominant driver of US fairness efficiency, accounting for almost 70% of market returns in 2025. Its affect now extends past inventory markets and flows to the true economic system: AI-related investments have contributed roughly 40% to GDP development final 12 months, with extra positive factors from consumption by way of the wealth impact. This optimism has supported decrease bond yields and sustained elevated valuations. For traders, continued US outperformance more and more hinges on the sturdiness of this AI-driven development narrative, as was additionally mentioned in a current FT Opinion Piece.
Reform momentum has picked up within the worldwide markets: After a decade of coverage stagnation, many economies are getting into a brand new section of structural reform. In Asia, company governance initiatives in Japan, Korea, and China are gaining traction, whereas Europe is increasing fiscal capability by means of elevated public funding. Rising markets are additionally deepening regional commerce hyperlinks and strengthening institutional frameworks. These shifts counsel that worldwide markets aren’t solely catching up cyclically but in addition bettering structurally, an evolution that would assist slender valuation reductions relative to the US.
Wanting Forward
After 15 years of US market management, the worldwide funding panorama seems to be getting into a brand new section. Valuations, development prospects, and coverage reform momentum now level towards a extra balanced distribution of alternative past US borders.
As worldwide markets strengthen structurally and the bounds of America’s AI-led growth are examined, fairness management could broaden over time. For traders, this shift suggests not merely a tactical adjustment, however the early levels of a longer-term rebalancing in international market efficiency.
References
J.P. Morgan: The tide is popping for rising markets:https://am.jpmorgan.com/gb/en/asset-management/per/insights/portfolio-insights/investment-trust-insights/emerging-markets/tide-is-turning-for-emerging-markets
RBC Wealth Administration Asia Insights:https://www.rbcwealthmanagement.com/en-asia/insights/the-us-dollar-in-transition-cyclical-volatility-meets-structural-shifts
MSCI Rising Markets in a World Past US Exceptionalism: https://www.msci.com/research-and-insights/blog-post/emerging-markets-in-a-world-beyond-us-exceptionalism
UBS World Funding Returns Yearbook 2024:https://www.ubs.com/international/en/investment-bank/insights-and-data/2024/global-investment-returns-yearbook.html
Ninety One, The Nice Rebalancing: A New Cycle Reshaping World Fairness Management Hyperlink: https://americanbeaconfunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/91-the-great-rebalancing-a-new-cycle-reshaping-global-equity-leadership-US-en.pdf
Monetary Occasions, Ruchir Sharma: America is now one huge guess on AI
Overseas Affairs: Rising Markets Are the Subsequent Comeback Nations | Overseas Affairs
This text displays the non-public views and opinions of the writer and is supplied for informational and academic functions solely. It doesn’t represent funding recommendation, a suggestion, or a proposal to purchase or promote any securities or funding methods. The views expressed don’t essentially mirror these of CFA Institute or any group with which the writer is affiliated, together with any SEC-registered funding adviser. Any references to market efficiency, valuations, forecasts, or third-party knowledge are illustrative in nature and shouldn’t be relied upon as a foundation for funding selections.
