Harding Loevner International Developed Markets Equity Q4 2024 Report

2025-02-18 10:00:00 ET

Summary

• For the quarter, the Harding Loevner International Developed Markets Equity composite fell 8.4% gross of fees.
• For the year, Financials led the market, followed by strong gains in Information Technology. Materials and Consumer Staples declined the most.
• The hazards of sticking to a long-term investment horizon in a world increasingly subject to government policy changes may seem daunting, but we think it’s essential.
• Some of our holdings stand out for their exceptional growth histories and outlooks, achieving what we call a “double-double.”.

Market Review

International developed stock markets finished the final quarter of 2024 on a down note, while US stocks significantly outpaced the rest of the world, in both the quarter and the year, boosted by strong returns from growth-oriented index heavyweights and continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. In the US, the rising share prices of the so-called “Magnificent Seven”—Nvidia ( NVDA ), Apple ( AAPL ), Amazon ( AMZN ), META , Microsoft ( MSFT ), Alphabet ( GOOG , GOOGL ), and Tesla ( TSLA ), all in some respect seen as leaders in a AI—played a pivotal role.

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election gave US equities a bump during the quarter, as investors looked forward to some business-friendly policies, such as tax cuts and deregulation, while perhaps overlooking the consequences to US companies of some potentially less business-friendly ones. International equity markets took a more cautious view of the incoming administration, as did US bond investors, who sent bond prices lower presumably anticipating further fiscal largesse. The ICE US Treasury Core Bond Index, which maintains exposure to Treasuries ranging from one to thirty-year maturities, fell 4% after peaking in mid-September....

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