European investors face "decoupling" from $10 trillion US stocks, potentially rewriting the global capital landscape

Wall Street is facing a tricky problem: one of the largest buyer groups of U.S. stocks may be quietly exiting. According to the latest news, European investors’ appetite for U.S. stocks is shrinking, and this is not a minor adjustment but a long-term process that could change the global capital flow.

Large-Scale Shift of European Capital

Vincent Mortier, Chief Investment Officer of Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager managing €2.3 trillion in assets, bluntly stated that the trend of clients reducing their holdings of U.S. stocks is accelerating. This trend started in April 2025 but has noticeably sped up in the past week.

The driving force behind this is clear: Trump’s hostility towards Europe and tariff threats. Although Trump has recently eased his rhetoric towards Europe, Wall Street fears that this long-term uncertainty will lead European investors to gradually withdraw from the U.S. market.

How Shocking Are the Numbers

A set of data makes the scale clear:

What does this mean? European investors are nearly half of the foreign ownership of U.S. stocks. If this $10 trillion begins to shift in an orderly manner, the market impact will be profound.

Why the acceleration now

Timing is critical. The “acceleration this week” mentioned by Vincent Mortier refers to recent remarks and policy movements by Trump. While he has eased his rhetoric towards Europe, investors from the eight countries threatened with tariffs are especially nervous because they hold more than half of European U.S. stock investments.

From London to Berlin to Madrid, client inquiries received by fund managers are increasing around a common theme: how to reduce U.S. assets. This is not panic selling but an orderly risk diversification.

Where Is the Real Threat

Hugo Ste-Marie, strategist at Scotiabank Canada, pointed out the key issue: although Europe is unlikely to act in unison to sell off massively (which would hurt itself), diversified reduction actions will also have a significant impact.

Any form of “decoupling” will be a long and complex process. This means:

• U.S. stocks may face sustained selling pressure from Europe
• This pressure will not be released all at once but will gradually accumulate
• The market needs to adapt to a new era where “European investors are no longer the largest buyers”

Where Will Capital Flow

This is the most interesting question. When $10 trillion of capital begins seeking new investment directions, where will it go?

Based on personal observations, possible directions include:

• Domestic European assets (supporting local economies)
• Emerging markets (seeking higher yields)
• Alternative assets (including cryptocurrencies and other risk assets)
• Gold and other safe-haven assets

For the cryptocurrency market, this could mean an opportunity window. European investors tend to prioritize compliance and institutional-level allocations, and if they start allocating to crypto assets, it could bring more stable and larger-scale capital inflows.

Summary

The shrinking appetite of European investors for U.S. stocks appears to be a manifestation of geopolitical risks on the surface, but deeper down, it reflects a subtle shift in the global capital landscape. The potential reallocation of $10 trillion is enough to rewrite the global financial map. This process will take time, but once it starts, it will be hard to reverse. For everyone paying attention to global capital flows, this signal deserves serious consideration.