If you’re a US stock investor, you might be disappointed by your portfolio’s performance in 2026. S&P 500 The index is mostly sideways (up 0.5% year to date), and tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 The index is down about 1.2% year-to-date after being hit hard by artificial intelligence (AI) fears and a sell-off in software stocks.
While US stocks are in decline, the rest of the world is picking up speed. According to Reuters, LSEG/Lipper research shows that U.S.-based investors pulled about $75 billion from U.S. stocks over the past six months. And of those withdrawals, $52 billion has come out since January 1, 2026. This is the fastest pace of U.S. investor flight in the first eight weeks of the new year since 2010.
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Could this be the start of a long-running “Bye, America” business? Let’s look at a few reasons to buy international stocks as part of a diversified portfolio.
Over the past year, the US stock market has been strongly boosted by international ETFs in Europe, the Pacific, and emerging markets. Some individual countries’ stock markets have done even better – South Korea’s stock market is up about 177% over the past year. US investors have poured $26 billion into stock markets so far this year, with South Korea and Brazil the top destinations, according to LSEG/Lipper data cited by Reuters.
Possible reasons for the strong performance of international stocks include the weakening of the US dollar, investor concerns about the high valuations and risks of AI stocks, and investor-friendly policy changes in other countries. But the biggest reason may be optimism for continued economic growth and rising incomes in other countries beyond the US. Even if the U.S. stock market continues to rise, global stocks can rise even faster.
If you want to get into the “Buy, America” business, d Vanguard All Global Stock ETF (NASDAQ: VXUS ) Could be a good choice. This global stock ETF lets you buy 8,691 stocks at once, with a low expense ratio of 0.05%.
With this fund, you don’t need to try which country’s stock market is the best place to invest. Instead, you can have the rest of the world’s main stock markets, in the regions of Europe (37.9% of the fund), emerging markets (26.6%), Pacific (26.4%) and others.
