A History Lesson on Secular Cycles In late 1990s, US stocks were loved ("US exceptionalism" sentiment) and emerging markets were hated. The US bubble popped in March 2000 and over the next 7 years, $EEM tripled vs. no gain for $SPX. It took $SPX 13 years to decisively surpass its all-time high recorded in March 2000. $SPX bottomed in March 2009 and thanks to ZIRP + QE, US stocks recovered and $SPX finally broke out above its March-2000 peak in 2013. It is notable that in 2009-2010 (when US stocks were a screaming buy), hardly anyone wanted to own them. Back then, most market participants were enamoured by emerging markets equities. So, what happened next? Over the next 15 years, US stocks advanced and $EEM made no progress! Today, after a 12-year secular bull market in $SPX, the "US exceptionalism" sentiment is back and the majority is now convinced that the US is the only place to invest and after a 15 year secular bear market, emerging markets are dead. Anything can happen in the near-term but the reality is that the secular bull market in US stocks is now mature, valuations are rich and we are likely in the latter stages of this run. Conversely, the emerging markets are likely in the early stages of a secular bull market, valuations are low and sentiment is very negative. As sure as night follows day, at some point the pendulum will swing again and US stocks will enter a secular bear market and the emerging markets will be loved again. We are mindful of these secular cycles and have already started increasing our exposure to disruptive companies outside the US (which are trading at reasonable multiples), and we intend to reduce our US allocation further should we get a blow-off in 2026, which is looking likely given that the Fed is cutting rates amidst the AI boom, which is reminiscent of the internet boom in late 1998. Time will tell.