Get your free personalized podcast brief

We scan new podcasts and send you the top 5 insights daily.

As the world de-globalizes and countries become more economically isolated, correlations between international stock markets decrease. This falling correlation makes global diversification more powerful and essential for investors, not less, as was the case in the 1970s.

Related Insights

The move toward a less efficient, more expensive global supply chain is not a failure but a strategic correction. Over-prioritizing efficiency created a dangerous dependency on China. Diversification, while costlier in the short term, is a fundamental principle of long-term risk management.

Current market chatter about reduced demand for U.S. assets is not a sign of a sudden de-dollarization crisis. Instead, it reflects a slow, rational diversification by global investors who are finding better relative value in other developed markets as their local interest rates rise.

After being 'shunned by the world for 10 to 15 years,' emerging market assets are benefiting from a slow-moving, structural diversification away from heavily-owned U.S. assets. This long-term trend provides a background source of demand and support, contributing to the asset class's current resilience against short-term volatility.

A more robust diversification strategy involves spreading exposure across assets that behave differently under various macroeconomic environments like inflation, deflation, growth, and contraction. This provides better protection against uncertainty than simply mixing asset classes.

While US equities have traditionally been a bellwether for global sentiment, a significant rotation is underway. Stagnant US tech stocks are being overshadowed by strong performance elsewhere, with European equities up 6% and Emerging Market equities up 13%. This suggests capital is flowing into other markets, reducing EM's dependence on US performance.

As the world splits into economic spheres, the investment thesis shifts from simply selling the US to buying the entire Americas. Latin America offers advantages like resource wealth, educated populations, and proximity to the US, making it a key growth area for the next decade.

Bridgewater's Co-CIO argues the winning formula of the last 15 years—concentrating capital in US equities and illiquid assets—is now a dangerous trap. He believes most investors have abandoned diversification because it hasn't worked recently, creating a risky setup that calls for a globally diversified portfolio.

The entire modern financial system was built on the historically anomalous assumption of a negative correlation between stocks and bonds. The market is now reverting to its historical norm of positive correlation, invalidating traditional portfolio construction like 60/40.

While the S&P 500's 19% gain since last year seems strong, it significantly lags global performance. An ETF tracking worldwide stock markets is up 42% in the same period, with markets like South Korea and the Eurozone showing even larger returns. This indicates a potential "sell America" trend among global investors.

According to famed investor Ray Dalio, the single most important investment principle is holding a portfolio of 8 to 12 assets that don't move in tandem. This sophisticated diversification drastically cuts risk by up to 80% without sacrificing returns.

Deglobalization Makes Global Portfolio Diversification More Powerful, Not Less | RiffOn