In this episode, we look at a question many investors are asking right now: why own international stocks when U.S. stocks have done so well for so long? We start with the reality behind the question. Over the past decade, the S&P 500 has far outpaced developed international markets, and that gap has made investors wonder whether international exposure still matters. Ed explains that this skepticism is understandable. Many large U.S. companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Amazon, already sell products around the world and benefit from global growth. That makes it easy to think a U.S. stock portfolio already provides enough global exposure.
But the other side of the issue is concentration. The U.S. market now represents roughly 60 to 65 percent of global market capitalization, which means a U.S. only investor is choosing to leave out about 35 to 40 percent of the global stock market. Now, this is not an anti U.S. argument. U.S. companies remain dominant, innovative, and important. The point is that diversification asks whether it makes sense to concentrate entirely in one country, even one as strong as the United States.
The discussion then turns to history. Alex explains that market leadership is never permanent, even though it often feels permanent in the moment. Investors are shaped by what they have recently experienced. Today, many younger investors have only known an environment where U.S. equities beat international markets. That can make diversification feel unnecessary. But in earlier periods, international stocks, emerging markets, and even fixed income led for meaningful stretches of time. The lesson is not that international stocks are guaranteed to outperform next. The lesson is that no one knows what will lead next.
Alex describes diversification as an exercise in humility. We do not diversify because we know what is going to happen. We diversify because we do not know. Trying to build a portfolio around yesterday’s winners can turn investing into performance chasing. That may work for a while, but history shows that trends change, valuations shift, currencies move, and leadership rotates.
Our main takeaway is that diversification can feel frustrating during long periods when one asset class dominates. But its purpose is not to win every year. Its purpose is to build a portfolio that can handle many different market environments over time. International exposure remains part of that discipline because it adds different currencies, economies, industries, demographics, and market cycles to a long term investment plan.