Apr 22, 09:58 AM

S&P 500 ETF Declines 8.1% in April as Investor Exposure Drops 53 Points Amid Largest Global Underperformance in 32 Years

The US stock market, represented by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ($SPY), has experienced notable underperformance relative to global peers in April 2025. Since the beginning of President Trump's term in January, the US market ranks as the second or third worst performer among 45 country ETFs. In April alone, the S&P 500 has declined by approximately 8.1%, while a comparable measure of international stocks has only dipped 0.4%, marking the largest monthly lag for US equities against global peers in 32 years. The S&P 500 has underperformed the MSCI All Country World Ex-US Index by 7.7% this month, a disparity not seen even during the 2007-2009 recession. Investor confidence in US stocks has diminished significantly, with net exposure among 164 investors managing $386 billion in assets dropping by 53 percentage points over two months, the largest recorded decline. These investors are currently 36% underweight US equities, the lowest exposure since May 2023. Systematic traders and macro hedge funds have reduced their US equity exposure to levels not seen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating a broad de-risking trend. Despite this, some hedge funds retain capacity to increase long positions if market conditions improve. Comparatively, other major country ETFs such as India (+3.8%), Mexico (+6.4%), Argentina (+6.0%), Japan (+1.5%), and Germany (+1.7%) have posted gains since early April, while China and the US have seen declines of approximately 6.0% and 6.6%, respectively. The overall market environment in April has been described as the worst for US equities since the Great Depression, with international stocks showing positive returns during the same period.