Emerging markets and other international, non-US asset classes experienced significant growth in 2025. While a weakening dollar provided tailwinds, global stocks also provided high returns in local currencies.
The MSCI Japan index delivered roughly a 25% gain in 2025 for U.S. dollar–based investors, despite the yen trading broadly in line with the dollar over the year. South Korea’s benchmark rose by about 100% in dollar terms. In Europe, the euro appreciated strongly against the dollar, but even excluding the currency effect, Spain’s equity index still posted returns of over 60% in euro terms.
Non-US stocks were underweight for a long time by asset managers across the world, and it doesn’t make any more sense now to be overweight in US assets. Yardeni Research noted that non-U.S. equities remain more attractively valued on a forward price-to-earnings basis, while corporate earnings worldwide have shown notable resilience.
Amir Khamidullin 
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