Here on the blog, and in client meetings (you clients out there), you’ve heard me extol the virtues of investing outside the U.S.. And, yet, it seems like it’s been forever since we’ve earned a premium by holding the stocks of companies that call home to Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, India, South Korea and so on.
Never mind the fact that, as I continually preach, the U.S. market only comprises 36% of the world’s stock market opportunities—and that emerging nations are where, arguably, the greatest economic growth will occur in the years to come—at what point do we throw up our hands and say to heck it! Let’s just move it all to the U.S. market and forget about all that global diversification nonsense—it isn’t working anyway!
Well, take a look at the two charts below. The top represents U.S. Stocks (SP500) in white, Developed Market Stocks (EAFE) in green, and Emerging Markets (MSCI EM) in red—over the past 5 years. The bottom represents the same indices, but for November 1995 to November 2000 (amazing the similarity!).
Clearly, had we been investing (which I was) during that ’95 to ’00 period, we might have expressed that same frustration. And what if we had? And what if we had abandoned our international positions and gone all U.S.?
Well, take a look below. This was the 10-year stretch (November 2000 to November 2010) in between.
Yep, we’ll stay globally diversified!
(NOTE [added 11/12]: The charts are each normalized to zero to illustrate the % change for each index for the time period featured)