Financial Alternatives News and Insights

Cycles of US stock outperformance and underperformance vs. International stocks are normal.

The international equity outperformance from. 2000 to 2009 was especially painful for US investors because US stocks averaged negative returns for 10 years - now known as “The Lost Decade.”

Valuation measures such as price-to-earnings ratios lead some to believe that International stocks may outperform US stocks over the coming yearsmay outperform US stocks over the coming yearsmay outperform US stocks over the coming years

The US equity market posted positive returns for the quarter and outperformed non-US developed markets, but underperformed emerging markets.

The Bloomberg Commodity Total Return Index returned +2.89% for the second quarter of 2024.

Interest rates generally increased across global developed markets for the quarter.

The US equity market posted positive returns for the quarter and outperformed both non-US developed and emerging markets.

Interest rates generally increased in the US Treasury market for the quarter.

US real estate investment trusts outperformed non-US REITs during the quarter.

In only six out of 97 years from 1926 to 2022 did the market have an annual return that came within two percentage points of the market’s long-term average returns of 10%.

It’s extremely important for investors to understand market volatility so they do not get too excited about a “good year” and too worried by a “bad year”.

The allure of trying to be in the market when it’s rising - and out of the market when its falling - is completely understandable. But timing decisions can often result in lower returns and increased stress.

The US equity market posted positive returns for the quarter and outperformed both non-US developed and emerging markets.

US real estate investment trusts outperformed non-US REITs during the quarter.

US government debt reached 121% of the value of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year. Many investors have expressed concern over the impact that servicing this level of debt could have on the stock market. But the historical data show little relation between the two.

The US equity market posted negative returns for the quarter and outperformed non-US developed markets, but underperformed emerging markets

Interest rates increased across all bond maturities in the US Treasury market for the quarter

Emerging markets posted negative returns for the quarter and outperformed both US and non-US developed markets.