The dominance of US equities has been one of the most significant features of financial markets over the last decade. The sheer magnitude of outperformance makes it easy to claim that it has simply been a case of an in-vogue market enjoying a substantial and unsustainable valuation re-rating, but that’s not quite true. Although a material multiple expansion has been influential, fundamental factors – better growth and improving margins – have also been significant. There is a problem, however, with using these earnings advantages to justify the compelling relative returns produced by US equities. Implicit in these arguments is often the idea that it was obvious that this would happen, and now it is equally obvious that it will continue. This is where investors will likely come unstuck.
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