After the U.S. stock market was under pressure for most of the last decade, international stocks have come back, and investment experts say the opportunity is likely to remain.
A brutal decade-long period of underperformance ended at the end of 2024 and has maintained its momentum into the start of 2026. After years in which global allocations remained low for most U.S.-based investors due to weak returns, recent gains amid changing macroeconomic conditions and growing concerns about U.S. market concentration are prompting investors to take another look at the lack of international exposure in their portfolios.
According to Tim Seymour, Chief Investment Officer of Seymour Asset Management and also Portfolio Manager at Seymour Asset Management, it’s not just about chasing current top performers Amplify CWP International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF (IDVO). “That doesn’t mean people are saying … this is a time for trading in global markets,” he said on CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week.
Over the past decade, global equities outside the U.S. have significantly underperformed domestic markets, with Seymour noting that a key benchmark global equity ETF, the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI)about 60% below average. This gap shaped investor behavior and capital flowed into US stocks, particularly mega-cap technology stocks. Seymour described it as a generational dynamic among investors, with U.S. market capitalization growth “strangling a lot of international investment.”
But he says the structural underweight that many U.S. investors have to global markets is now a tailwind. While international stocks account for about 30-40% of global market capitalization, Seymour estimates that U.S. investors’ exposure to overseas markets is 12-15% at the high end of the range, and in many cases much lower.
International stocks began outperforming U.S. stocks in November 2024 and have beaten U.S. stocks by about 15% since then, Seymour said. While this doesn’t erase the decade of declining returns, it does mark a significant turning point. “Within 14 months, you saw international markets outperform the U.S.,” Seymour said. While the 10-year chart still looks paltry compared to the U.S. stock market, “it’s really a story where global growth has picked up again,” he added.
Dominic Chu and Tim Seymour on ETF Edge on January 28, 2026.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
A popular exchange-traded fund choice for many US investors to gain international exposure is the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM)which has assets of $26.55 billion and returned 42% last year. The iShares MSCI ACWI ETF is up 20% over the past year, outperforming the S&P 500’s return by about 5%. Seymour said that while potential returns from emerging markets are higher, investors looking to diversify abroad should lean more heavily into developed market allocations, citing a 70% to 30% allocation as a useful example.
Part of the renewed interest in foreign markets is tied to currency. A weaker U.S. dollar has improved returns for dollar investors with foreign assets. Meanwhile, metals have risen sharply as investors look for stores of value, an investment development that Seymour described as global trading rather than a U.S.-only phenomenon.
“All of this is a tailwind and of course a weakening dollar, which is causing investors to diversify their overall portfolios, which were previously U.S.-centric portfolios,” Jon Maier, chief ETF strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, said on “ETF Edge.”
Seymour said the most important point investors should understand when thinking about adding international stocks to a portfolio is that fundamentals are improving. Earnings growth is showing up where stagnation once dominated the outlook. Japan is a key example, he said, where years of corporate governance reforms and a focus on shareholders are starting to boost returns.
Europe also benefits from lower interest rates, government spending and regulatory changes. Seymour argued that deregulation in Europe may be a stronger catalyst than similar efforts in the United States because it represents a clearer departure from the past. Banks, utilities and industrial stocks all experienced renewed momentum. He added that in addition to a decade of underperformance making these stocks relatively cheap, many European bank stocks will benefit as much from central bank policy as U.S. banks and are better dividend stocks, such as Barclays, Santander and SocGen.
Maier echoed that general sentiment, saying that “developed international markets are certainly areas of interest for our clients.”
International markets also provide access to recently successful trades, including precious metals. Latin America was one of the best performing regions this year, driven by Gold And copper. Seymour said Chile and Peru are examples of international markets that have benefited from increasing commodity demand. Meanwhile, Brazil has gained on both commodity strength and changing political expectations.
“Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America,” Seymour said. “Part of that is due to the dynamics around commodities, but part of it is also due to the dynamics around geopolitics.”
The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ)which has assets of $8.91 billion, has risen nearly 49% over the past year, while the iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF (EPU) is up nearly 118% over the same period.
Dollar and metals trading came under pressure on Friday after President Trump announced Kevin Warsh as his nominee to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chief. The market believed in Warsh as a person who will maintain the Fed’s independence rather than cutting interest rates at the president’s behest. Gold, Silver And platinum everyone crashed. However, these metals posted huge returns last year: gold rose over 90%, silver rose around 200% and platinum rose 120%.
Market strategists expect the Trump administration’s global policies to continue to serve as a tailwind for international trade in the longer term. “Whether India and the EU strike a trade deal or Canada pulls out of oil deals with China, the rest of the world is repositioning itself,” Seymour said.
Technology leadership is another area where investors are reassessing the balance between U.S. and foreign holdings. Seymour cited South Korea as an example, noting that the country’s market is heavily dominated by memory chip leaders such as Samsung and others SK Hynixwhich account for around 46% of the South Korean stock market benchmark tracked by the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY)which represents an increase of 125% in the last year. “Memory burns,” he said, making country-level ETFs a practical way to get exposure. Apple said in its earnings call Thursday that it couldn’t secure enough chips to meet iPhone demand, another sign of strength in the memory trade.
Seymour pointed to other companies that are among the world’s largest chip players: ASML And Taiwan seedsare also based outside the US, and there are also many data center operations abroad.
The renewed interest in international stocks reflects a broader shift after years of neglect. Investors are responding to valuation gaps, earnings growth and a world where capital and trade are increasingly multidirectional. “These are global businesses, not just U.S. businesses,” Seymour said.