Author: Retz Reeves

Searching for value, growth and diversification, investors continued to push up international equities in April, 2025. As viewed on May 1st, the MSCI ACWI ex US index was up 4.55% for the month, while the comparable US index was down 0.51%.Uncertainty over the impact of evolving tariffs on inflation and consumer spending fomented disquiet in US equities. This was reinforced when several companies, such as GM, UPS and Heinz, changed or dropped 2025 earnings guidance. Adding insult to injury, The Bureau of Economic Analysis released data indicating that GDP declined 0.3% in the first quarter – the first decline in…

In aggregate, international equity markets continued to outperform in March as some investors, concerned about tariffs, inflation and economic slowdowns, rolled out of expensive US stocks into foreign stocks with better valuations. For the full quarter, the MSCI ACWI-EX US market outperformed the US equivalent by almost 1000 basis points.Driven by valuation and opportunity, investors turned to Europe in the first quarter of 2025. While concerns about the US economy abounded, Germany announced a €500 billion spending plan that is expected to stimulate growth in the region. According to Garth Friesen of Forbes, defensive, financial and infrastructure stocks attracted the…

Sector rotation was one reason credited for MSCI’s standard aggregate international equity index eking out a small gain in February and narrowly outperforming its U.S. counterpart, which has a high exposure to tech. There was, however, a wide variance in performance between and within regions. For instance, the developed European index was up 3.69% – with Ireland up over 12% and the Netherlands, which has a 36% weight in ASML, in negative territory. The developed Pacific index was down over 1% for the month with HK and Singapore in positive territory and Japan down slightly and New Zealand, significantly.  In…

What are international equities?International equities are stocks of companies that are domiciled in countries outside of the U.S. They may operate in their home country and/or anywhere else in the world. At Bastion we invest in these companies through ADRs – or American Depository Receipts – that trade on U.S. exchanges.Why Invest in international equities?Diversification: Other countries have different economic and political cycles and their stock markets are not always synchronized with those in the U.S.; therefore, investing abroad can lower volatility and risk.Opportunity: There are many attractive stocks with well recognized names that call other countries home, such as:…

2025 started well for International Investors with the Gross Morgan Stanley Standard Indices (MSCI) reporting a 1.56% increase in the US index while the MSCI Ex-US was up 4.05%.There was great dispersion among region and sectors, but Europe led the pack with its All Country (AC) index up 6.93% and the STOXX 600 index reaching a new high. Some analysts credited ECB’s decision to lower rates as the reason for inflows and others anticipated that European companies will release shareholder value with some drastic restructuring. Looking at sector performance,  growth opportunities driven by AI also created interest in European stocks…

International Investors faced minefields or pots of gold in 2024 depending which region, country and industry they searched for value. In aggregate the minefields ruled with the MSCI ACWI-EX U.S. index lagging the U.S. index by almost 2,000 basis points.The dichotomy in returns was especially pronounced in emerging markets. The president of South Korea, the home of Samsung Electronics, was impeached in December following his attempt to impose martial law – he has resisted all attempts at arrest. Three days after parliament impeached Acting President Han Duck Soo, a Jeju Airline crashed in the Muan International Airport making it the…

Buoyed by moderating inflation and interest rates, US equity indices generally ended in positive territory for the third quarter and nine months.  Large cap value indices, however, outperformed comparable growth indices for the quarter, although for the nine months, growth was still ahead. Internationally, value aggregate indices outperformed growth for both periods.  The International Equity Income Portfolio (previously named Frigate) performed well in the third quarter, but still trailed its new benchmark on a gross basis for the first nine months of 2024. Burberry, Adecco and Grifols remained among the biggest detractors. Taiwan Semiconductor was by far the best performer, while…