Reference News Network, February 15 report: According to the Japan Economic News website's report on February 11, global investors are beginning to re-examine their investments in the U.S. Survey results show that 40% of institutional investors have reduced or plan to cut their dollar asset allocations. This is mainly due to concerns about the sharp fluctuations in U.S. Treasury prices and the policies of the Trump administration leading to a weak dollar. In the context of foreign governments steadily reducing their holdings of U.S. Treasuries to reduce dependence on the dollar, if private funds also accelerate "leaving the U.S.", it could pose a challenge to the Trump administration.
The report states that in 2023, Morningstar, a U.S. company, conducted a survey for the first time among approximately 500 institutional investors globally with a combined management scale of about $19 trillion, including pension funds, foundations, and family offices, regarding their dollar asset allocations. The results showed that 40% of respondents, including those from Europe and Canada, stated they had reduced or planned to reduce their investment in U.S. assets. Investors who said they would increase their allocations accounted for 26%, while those planning to maintain their current levels accounted for 28%.
When asked about the most important factors in their investment strategies, 76% of respondents indicated concern about the U.S. tariff policy and trade conflicts, which was the highest percentage; 73% of respondents were concerned about the overall policies of the U.S. government; and 62% of respondents were concerned about exchange rate fluctuations and the depreciation of the dollar. The policies of the Trump administration became the most worrying factor in the market.
Amid tensions between Denmark and the U.S. over the issue of Greenland, Danish academic pension funds announced plans to sell about $100 million in U.S. Treasuries by the end of January. Academic pension funds mainly manage pension funds for groups such as university staff, and their chief investment officer stated that they have always held U.S. Treasuries for purposes of liquidity management and risk control, but given the deterioration of the U.S. government's financial situation, it is necessary to seek alternatives.
As one of the largest private pension funds in the Nordic region, Sweden's Alecta Pension Fund pointed out that "the decline in the predictability of U.S. policy and the emergence of massive fiscal deficits occurred simultaneously," and has gradually reduced its holdings of U.S. Treasuries, selling most of its U.S. Treasuries after 2025.
It is reported that funds from the sale of dollar assets have mostly been redirected to gold, Swiss francs, or emerging markets. Canada's Ontario Investment Management Corporation also recommended in early January that Japanese yen, gold, and Swiss francs should be chosen as alternative assets to the dollar.
The dollar index has fallen more than 10% since January 2025, while gold prices have surged, and the Swiss franc has appreciated nearly 20% against the dollar. The company pointed out: "The recent performance of the dollar has strengthened the perception that 'the U.S. is no longer a stable partner.'"
According to a report by the UK's Financial Times, the largest asset manager in Europe, CACEI Asset Management, is reducing its exposure to dollar assets and shifting towards Europe and emerging markets. Data from the U.S. research firm EPFR shows that the average allocation of U.S. bonds such as U.S. Treasuries, corporate bonds, and agency bonds in the portfolios of global bond funds managed by overseas institutions has decreased from a peak of 49% at the end of 2021 to about 42% currently, a decrease of nearly 8 percentage points. (Translated by Ma Xiaoyun)
Original: toutiao.com/article/7607019439595094578/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.