Global equities in developed markets ex-US led continued to lead the major asset classes in August, based on a set of ETFs. Last month’s rally strengthened the year-to-date leadership for these stocks, which continue outperform the rest of the field by a wide margin.
rallied 4.4% last month, the fund’s best monthly advance since January. A strong second-place performer in August: foreign property securities (), with a 4.2% increase. VEA and VNQI are also 2025’s first- and second-place return leaders, respectively, for the major asset classes through last month’s close.
A broad measure of commodities () was the only loser for the major asset classes last month via slight loss. Meanwhile, US small-cap shares (IJR) continue to struggle this year while gold extended a sizzling year-to-year rally.
The Global Market Index (GMI) extended its strong run so far this year with a 2.6% rally in August. The monthly advance marks the fifth straight monthly advance. Year to date, GMI is up 12.4%, reflecting a robust rally for this multi-asset-class benchmark.
GMI is an unmanaged benchmark that holds all the major asset classes (except cash) in market-value weights via ETFs and represents a competitive benchmark for globally diversified multi-asset-class portfolio strategies.