Strong Valuation Gains Drive the Increase in Cross-Border Portfolio Investment 

Portfolio Investment Positions by Counterpart Economy (formerly CPIS), Country Data, December 2025

Contributors: Silvia Amiel, Evrim Bese Goksu, Rita Mesias, Wilson Phiri, Annika Suri, and Bedri Zymeri

Cross-border portfolio investment (CBPI) assets increased by 22.8 percent between end-December 2024 and end-December 2025, the largest annual increase since the global financial crisis, reaching $103.6 trillion. Valuation effects from asset price and exchange rate movements accounted for nearly 80 percent of the increase. Equities were the main driver of the overall increase in asset positions, contributing 14.3 percentage points, compared with 8.5 percentage points for debt securities. Strong corporate earnings, expectations related to artificial intelligence- investment, easing global financial conditions, and improved investor risk appetite supported equity valuations across major markets.

The euro area contributed the most to the overall increase (7.7 percentage points), followed by emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) (6.0 percentage points), other advanced economies (excluding the US) (5.1 percentage points), and the United States (4.1 percentage points).

In the euro area, exchange rate effects accounted for about half of the increase in CBPI asset positions, reflecting an approximately 13 percent depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the euro. In the United States and other advanced economies, higher equity valuations were the main driver of the increase.

Developments on the issuer side (liabilities) were somewhat different. Unlike the Assets, the euro area and the United States made similar contributions to the increase in cross-border portfolio investment liabilities, at 7.3 and 7.1 percentage points, respectively. Other advanced economies contributed a further 5.6 percentage points, while the EMDEs contributed 2.9 percentage points. The strong U.S. contribution partly reflected substantial valuation gains in U.S. equities, supported by investor confidence in the prospects of AI-related investment and the robust performance of large technology companies.

Notes: The CBPI aggregates cover only the 80 economies that reported data in this round, including the Survey of Securities Held as Foreign Exchange Reserves (SEFER). Comparisons use a consistent set of reporting economies across periods.

The IMF Portfolio Investment Positions (PIP) survey is conducted semiannually and provides data on CBPI assets by counterpart economy, holder sector, nonresident issuer sector, and currency. Detailed data are available in the PIP database.

The next PIP release, covering end-June 2026, is scheduled for March 2027. Questions or requests for clarification may be directed to cpis@imf.org. 

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