Net foreign buying of US stocks rose 134% to $720.1 billion in 2025 from $307.5 billion in 2024, according to data released by the US Treasury Department on Wednesday, February 18.
The surge in overseas inflows challenges the “Sell America” narrative that gained traction last year amid fears that tariffs would disrupt global trade and concerns over potential political pressure on the Federal Reserve.
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Owen Lamont, senior vice-president and portfolio manager at Acadian Asset Management, told Bloomberg, “Sell America is an overstated story, at least for equities,” adding, “What we see is American exceptionalism.”
“That process of the extreme love for American tech stocks seem to be continuing,” he said.
Although tariff tensions and policy uncertainty weighed on sentiment, enthusiasm around AI, widely viewed as a driver of future corporate earnings until recently, helped support demand for US equities.
Also read: Asian shares gain after tech boosts US stocks
Nevertheless, US stocks underperformed global peers. The S&P 500 delivered a 16% return in 2025, lagging the MSCI World ex-US Index by 13 percentage points.
A breakdown of flows shows Norway emerged as the largest buyer of US stocks in 2025, excluding jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands and Ireland, where many global funds are registered.
According to a Bloomberg News analysis, Norway purchased a net $81.8 billion, nearly triple its 2024 total. Singapore followed with $79 billion in net purchases, while South Korea bought $73.6 billion, almost five times its previous year’s level.
Mainland China was a net seller for the third consecutive year, offloading $34.1 billion in US equities. Only Kuwait sold more, reducing its holdings by $36.5 billion.
Canada, which had been the largest net seller in 2024, reversed course in 2025, buying a net $10.6 billion worth of US stocks despite trade tensions and domestic political criticism of US policies.
