Investment Managers Prepare for a Year Focused on Global Stocks
International Stocks Outlook: Bank of America's Global Fund Manager Survey indicates that 42% of fund managers expect international stocks to outperform U.S. equities in 2026, marking a notable shift in investor sentiment.
Emerging Markets Performance: The MSCI Emerging Markets index is anticipated to be the top-performing equity index, with 37% of investors favoring it, while U.S. stocks are less favored at 22%.
Current Market Trends: In 2025, international stocks have gained 24.6%, significantly outpacing U.S. stocks at 11.2%, with gold being the standout performer at a 54.2% increase.
Global Economic Sentiment: For the first time this year, global growth expectations have turned positive, with a net 3% of survey respondents anticipating a stronger global economy, a shift from the previous month's negative outlook.
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India and Brazil: The Anti-AI Trade Markets Poised for Growth.
- Impact on U.S. Stocks: Rising fears over artificial intelligence have negatively affected U.S. stock markets this week.
- Emerging Markets Response: Concerns about AI have also influenced emerging markets that have benefited from U.S. corporate spending on AI.
- Potential Hedge: Certain segments of emerging markets may provide a hedge against the overall market weakness caused by AI fears.
- Broader Market Implications: The situation highlights the interconnectedness of U.S. corporate spending and global market dynamics in the context of AI developments.
Emerging Markets Anticipated to Excel This Year Amid Global Instability
Emerging Markets Outlook: Wall Street strategists predict that emerging markets will continue to outperform in the current year following a strong performance last year.
Confidence Amid Global Changes: The bullish sentiment from strategists persists despite ongoing disruptions in the global order, suggesting a resilient outlook for these markets.
Gresham Partners' Ted Neild: Our Strategy for Outperforming the Index by Overlooking It
Emerging Markets Performance: Emerging markets have significantly outperformed U.S. stocks over the past year, with the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF returning over 39% compared to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's 17%.
Positive Outlook: Ted Neild, CEO of Gresham Partners, believes the favorable conditions for emerging markets relative to developed markets are more promising than in the past decade, attributing this to factors like declining U.S. dollar strength and strong overseas earnings momentum.
Forget Venezuela: Latin American Stocks Have a Promising Outlook.
Current Situation: The U.S. seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has led to significant turmoil across Latin America.
Investor Sentiment: The ongoing instability in the region may deter potential investors from engaging in Latin American markets.
Why Emerging-Market Stocks Continue to Outperform the S&P 500
Emerging-Market Stocks Performance: Emerging-market stocks have significantly outperformed U.S. equities in 2025, marking a notable shift in market dynamics.
Long-Term Trends: This outperformance follows years of underperformance by emerging markets compared to the U.S., suggesting a potential reversal in trends.
Fund Managers Maintain Lowest Cash Levels Ever as Investor Sentiment Reaches Four-Year Peak
Cash Levels Decline: Bank of America's global fund manager survey indicates cash levels have dropped to an all-time low of 3.3%, down from 3.7% in November.
Investor Optimism: The low cash levels reflect a high level of optimism among fund managers, suggesting that investors are heavily invested in risk assets.
Market Implications: According to report author Michael Hartnett, this bullish positioning could pose significant challenges for risk assets moving forward.
Overall Sentiment: The findings highlight a prevailing sentiment of confidence among investors, with many already fully committed to the market.
India and Brazil: The Anti-AI Trade Markets Poised for Growth.
- Impact on U.S. Stocks: Rising fears over artificial intelligence have negatively affected U.S. stock markets this week.
- Emerging Markets Response: Concerns about AI have also influenced emerging markets that have benefited from U.S. corporate spending on AI.
- Potential Hedge: Certain segments of emerging markets may provide a hedge against the overall market weakness caused by AI fears.
- Broader Market Implications: The situation highlights the interconnectedness of U.S. corporate spending and global market dynamics in the context of AI developments.
Emerging Markets Anticipated to Excel This Year Amid Global Instability
Emerging Markets Outlook: Wall Street strategists predict that emerging markets will continue to outperform in the current year following a strong performance last year.
Confidence Amid Global Changes: The bullish sentiment from strategists persists despite ongoing disruptions in the global order, suggesting a resilient outlook for these markets.
Gresham Partners' Ted Neild: Our Strategy for Outperforming the Index by Overlooking It
Emerging Markets Performance: Emerging markets have significantly outperformed U.S. stocks over the past year, with the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF returning over 39% compared to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's 17%.
Positive Outlook: Ted Neild, CEO of Gresham Partners, believes the favorable conditions for emerging markets relative to developed markets are more promising than in the past decade, attributing this to factors like declining U.S. dollar strength and strong overseas earnings momentum.
Forget Venezuela: Latin American Stocks Have a Promising Outlook.
Current Situation: The U.S. seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has led to significant turmoil across Latin America.
Investor Sentiment: The ongoing instability in the region may deter potential investors from engaging in Latin American markets.
Why Emerging-Market Stocks Continue to Outperform the S&P 500
Emerging-Market Stocks Performance: Emerging-market stocks have significantly outperformed U.S. equities in 2025, marking a notable shift in market dynamics.
Long-Term Trends: This outperformance follows years of underperformance by emerging markets compared to the U.S., suggesting a potential reversal in trends.
Fund Managers Maintain Lowest Cash Levels Ever as Investor Sentiment Reaches Four-Year Peak
Cash Levels Decline: Bank of America's global fund manager survey indicates cash levels have dropped to an all-time low of 3.3%, down from 3.7% in November.
Investor Optimism: The low cash levels reflect a high level of optimism among fund managers, suggesting that investors are heavily invested in risk assets.
Market Implications: According to report author Michael Hartnett, this bullish positioning could pose significant challenges for risk assets moving forward.
Overall Sentiment: The findings highlight a prevailing sentiment of confidence among investors, with many already fully committed to the market.
