International equities — non-U.S. equities — brought in a record $60 billion in January. Investors are looking abroad for their investment opportunities amid domestic uncertainty like significant concentration risk, Fed questions, and policy concerns. Those investors looking to join the push into international equities for the rest of 2026, then, may want to consider how a focus on fundamentals can set some strategies apart.
See more: ETFs Saw a Record $1.5 Trillion in Net Inflows in 2025
While many investors may be satisfied with passive, market cap-weighted exposure to ex-U.S. equities, others may want more advanced options. Especially as U.S. risk looms over global markets — not to mention geopolitical risk — having more focused investment strategies can help.
International Equities in 2026
Leaning on fundamentals can help find the international equities offerings best positioned for volatility. Managers can leverage their experience and knowledge about a given market to find firms able to withstand headwinds — or embrace tailwinds.
A fund like FFDI, the Fidelity Fundamental Developed International ETF, provides a key example. The strategy charges a 55 basis point fee for an active approach to ex-U.S. developed market equities. FFDI’s managers can invest in companies of any market capitalization so long as the fund’s team has high conviction in securities that also meet liquidity, risk, and other trading standards as part of a quantitative approach.
Together, that has helped the fund return 12.3% over the last three months and 25% over the last one year, per ETF Database data as of February 24. That performance and price increase has helped the fund send a buy signal according to YCharts. The ETF’s price sat above its 50- and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs) as of February 24 suggesting some healthy momentum for the fund.
