Should You Only Own US Stocks?

Ron Baron, Howard Marks, Scott Galloway, David Kelly, Christopher Kirchhoff & More

Author

The Idea Farm
November 10, 2024

Together With

“When you feel like bragging, it's probably time to sell.”

— John Neff

Research

Man advocates for a balanced investment strategy that includes asset and regional diversification and selective market timing to manage risk and reduce potential losses during market downturns, challenging the idea that a purely passive, U.S.-focused stock approach is always best.

As of September 2024

Ron Baron’s does a 50 year look back on why he liked McDonald’s in 1970 (so much so that he named his dog Big-Mac), along with his current thoughts on the impact of AI and the benefit of long-term compounding.

J.P. Morgan shares why higher growth, higher rates and strong capital investment provide a healthier foundation for asset markets, including a 6.4% return for a USD global 60/40 stock-bond portfolio.

Howard Marks explains that asset allocation comes down to deciding between owning assets and lending, each with its own risk and reward profile. He encourages investors to focus on a balance that matches their investment goals and comfort with risk, rather than only aiming for the highest returns.

Facts & Figures

Without Spotify, the audiobook industry in the U.S. grew 14% in unit sales between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023, according to Bookstat. With Spotify, it grew 28%. Link

44% of employer 401(k) contributions accrue to the top 20% of earners. Link

The NFL will now allow its teams to sell a stake of up to 10% to private equity firms. Link

Americans spent $186 billion pets last year, more than was spent on childcare. Link

NVIDIA is now bigger than the total market cap of five of the G7 countries. Link

As of October 24, 2024

While the Tech sector makes up nearly a third of the cap-weighted index, it's only 13.7% of the equal-weight index.

Source: Bespoke Investment Group. As of 9/30/2024

Over 1,000 companies experienced growth of >10% in 2018, but only 35 of those companies were able to sustain that level of growth each year through 2023. Link

Source: FactSet/MSCI, Artisan Partners. As of 27 Sep 2024.

Median S&P 500 valuations vs. 10-year forward returns for S&P 500 equal weight. Link

As of September 2024

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Podcasts

10/23/24 - 26 minutes

Galloway explains which stocks he’s bullish on, which stocks he’s bearish on, and what economic predictions he has for the 2025 economy.

10/30/24 - 56 minutes

The founder of the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley office discusses how advancements in drone warfare, hypersonic weapons, and AI are reshaping military tactics and global power, while highlighting U.S. defense challenges.

What Else Is Happening

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