Gavekal Capital: Weak YTD Returns Are Not Just a US Phenomenon

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Weak YTD Returns Are Not Just a US Phenomenon

The weak start to the year for the domestic stock market has been getting all the press, but the truth is that returns have been lackluster pretty much everywhere. Below we show the equally weighted performance by country for all developed markets and note that only four countries have managed to post YTD gains. The core of Europe is lagging badly (down about 2% so far) while the US is somewhere in the middle (down about .9%). Even last year's darling market (Japan) has posted a YTD loss.

Further inspection also indicates that only 29% of stocks in the MSCI World Index have gained so far this year.

About Gavekal Capital

Gavekal Capital is a US registered investment advisory firm that manages the Gavekal Knowledge Leaders Strategy. Knowledge Leaders are a group of the world’s leading innovators with deep reservoirs of intangible capital. These companies often possess competitive advantages such as strong brand, proprietary knowledge or a unique distribution mechanism. Knowledge Leaders are largely service-based and advanced manufacturing businesses, often operating globally. Gavekal Capital seeks to identify the world’s leading knowledge companies through a proprietary process that analyzes corporate knowledge investments.
We offer the Gavekal Knowledge Leaders Strategy in multiple products for global investors. For more information about our product offerings please visit http://www.gavekalcapital.com.
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