Welcome back to the halftime report. I'm Dominic Chu with your ETF edge. While some have called recent outperformance of international markets just a catch-up trade, there's a case for more fundamental investing changes a foot.Joining me now is John Mayer, the chief ETF strategist over at JP Morgan. So, John, let's talk a little bit about what is driving that international outperformance. Is it just dollar weakness or can we count on more momentum.>> Uh, thanks for having me. Um I think that international m ...

Core Insights - The article highlights the expertise of James Foord, an economist with a decade of experience in analyzing global markets, and his leadership role in The Pragmatic Investor, which focuses on building diversified investment portfolios [1] Group 1: Company Overview - The Pragmatic Investor aims to preserve and increase wealth through robust portfolio construction [1] - The investment group covers various sectors including global macro, international equities, commodities, technology, and cryptocurrencies [1] Group 2: Services Offered - The Pragmatic Investor provides features such as a dedicated portfolio, weekly market updates, actionable trades, technical analysis, and a chat room for investor engagement [1]

Core Insights - The article discusses the expertise of James Foord, an economist with a decade of experience in analyzing global markets, and his leadership role in The Pragmatic Investor, which focuses on building diversified investment portfolios [1] Group 1: Company Overview - The Pragmatic Investor aims to preserve and increase wealth through robust portfolio construction [1] - The investment group covers various sectors including global macro, international equities, commodities, technology, and cryptocurrencies [1] Group 2: Features and Offerings - The Pragmatic Investor provides a portfolio, weekly market updates, actionable trades, technical analysis, and a chat room for investors [1]

Group 1 - U.S. stock futures and international equities are mostly down, indicating a negative market sentiment among traders [1] - Traders are focusing on a mix of geopolitical, economic, and industry developments, which are influencing market movements [1]

Core Insights - The article highlights the expertise of James Foord, an economist with a decade of experience in analyzing global markets, and his leadership role in The Pragmatic Investor, which focuses on building diversified investment portfolios [1] Group 1: Company Overview - The Pragmatic Investor aims to preserve and increase wealth through robust portfolio construction [1] - The investment group covers a wide range of sectors including global macro, international equities, commodities, technology, and cryptocurrencies [1] Group 2: Services Offered - The Pragmatic Investor provides features such as a dedicated portfolio, weekly market update newsletters, actionable trades, technical analysis, and a chat room for investor engagement [1]

Market Performance & Outlook - Equity markets experienced a strong year, with the market up 16% [1] - The market has increased by 80% over the last three years [3] - S&P and Russell 2000 constantly hit new highs [2] - International and emerging market equities are up over 30% year-to-date [2] Portfolio Strategy & Recommendations - Rebalancing portfolios is recommended to address overexposure to benefiting indices [4] - Repositioning portfolios to reduce risk is suggested [4] - Overweighting small caps is favored [5] - International developed and emerging market equities are attractive [5] Small Cap & M&A Activity - The IPO calendar in 2025 doubled that of 2024, and is expected to be even stronger in 2026 [5] - M&A activity has increased, with small cap stocks often being targets [5] International Market Considerations - A significant portion of the 30+% return in international and emerging markets is due to the weakening US dollar [6] - In Europe, the return in US dollar terms is over 30%, while in local currency, it's about half of that [6]

Core Insights - The international ETF space has shown strong performance in 2025, with a focus on the Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF (AVDV) as a notable investment option [1][2] - AVDV has achieved a year-to-date return of 47%, significantly outperforming its ETF Database Category average of 33.1% [1][2] - The fund's strategy combines active fundamental research with passive investment benefits, emphasizing flexibility and low costs [1][3] Performance Metrics - AVDV has consistently outperformed its category average over various time frames, including three- and five-year periods [2] - The fund's performance has been bolstered by its focus on small-cap value companies, which may thrive amid geopolitical and economic uncertainties [4] Investment Strategy - The management of AVDV employs fundamental criteria to identify highly profitable value firms, focusing on metrics such as shares outstanding, cash flow, revenue, expenses, and price-to-book value [3] - The appeal of international equities lies in their potential for diversification away from domestic U.S. uncertainties, making AVDV a compelling option for investors as the new year approaches [5]

Core Insights - The article highlights the expertise of James Foord, an economist with a decade of experience in analyzing global markets, and his leadership role in The Pragmatic Investor, which focuses on building diversified investment portfolios [1] Group 1: Company Overview - The Pragmatic Investor aims to preserve and increase wealth through robust portfolio construction [1] - The investment group covers various sectors including global macro, international equities, commodities, technology, and cryptocurrencies [1] Group 2: Services Offered - The Pragmatic Investor provides features such as a dedicated portfolio, weekly market updates, actionable trades, technical analysis, and a chat room for investor engagement [1]

Group 1 - The article discusses the expertise of James Foord, an economist with a decade of experience in analyzing global markets, and his leadership role in The Pragmatic Investor, which focuses on building diversified investment portfolios [1] - The Pragmatic Investor covers various sectors including global macro, international equities, commodities, technology, and cryptocurrencies, aiming to guide investors at all levels [1] - Features of The Pragmatic Investor include a dedicated portfolio, weekly market updates, actionable trades, technical analysis, and a chat room for investor interaction [1]

Core Insights - The article discusses the investment strategies and focus areas of The Pragmatic Investor, led by economist James Foord, emphasizing the importance of building diversified portfolios to preserve and increase wealth [1] Group 1: Company Overview - The Pragmatic Investor is an investing group that covers various sectors including global macro, international equities, commodities, technology, and cryptocurrencies [1] - The group aims to guide investors of all levels through features such as a dedicated portfolio, weekly market updates, actionable trades, technical analysis, and a chat room for discussions [1]