International Equities Take the Spotlight

After spending years overshadowed by surging US equities markets, international stocks stepped into the limelight in 2025 and early 2026. Major foreign-stock indexes finished 2025 ahead of those in the US, especially when measured in US-dollar terms, and the run continued in the first two months this year. Among the notable winners were European banks and defense firms, along with Asian technology stocks.

Four of the better-known funds that focus mainly on non-US companies are highlighted below, and we evaluate their performance since attaining their current Morningstar Medalist Ratings. They come from all three of the foreign large-cap Morningstar Categories.

Dodge & Cox International Stock DODFX

This foreign large-value fund received a Gold rating when Morningstar initiated its Medalist Ratings in November 2011 and has held on to it ever since. With long-tenured managers and a large team of research analysts, it provided an annualized total return of 9.2% from Dec. 1, 2011, through Feb. 28, 2026, that handily beat the 8.2% average for the foreign large-value category and the 8.0% gain posted by the MSCI ACWI ex USA Value Index.

The Dodge & Cox team has achieved this success with a patient, low-turnover approach; current top holding Banco Santander SAN, a big winner in 2025, has been in the portfolio for 15 years. But the team isn’t overly conservative, consistently investing a higher-than-average percentage of assets in emerging markets.

Vanguard Total International Stock Index VTIAX

This passively managed stalwart, which lands in the foreign large-blend category, tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index. Like the Dodge & Cox fund, it earned a Gold rating in November 2011 and has maintained it since then. With a 8.2% annualized return through Feb. 28, 2026, it edged out the category average of 7.9%. It also topped the 8.1% return posted by the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index, a more widely used benchmark.

With China as one of its top country weightings, that market’s revival helped this fund beat the category norm in 2025. Over the longer term, the minimal fee level typical of Vanguard’s index offerings paid off. The current expense ratio of its Admiral shares is just 9 basis points, compared with the foreign large-cap average of 81 basis points.

First Eagle Overseas SGOVX

This unusual fund, which resides in the foreign large-blend category, was downgraded to Bronze from Silver in October 2014, owing to the departure of a manager and concerns that a growing asset base could hamper the team’s ability to own smaller stocks. From Nov. 1, 2014, through Feb. 28, 2026, the A shares’ 8.2% annualized return topped the category average of 7.2%.

This offering consistently devotes a meaningful portion of its assets to gold bullion and miners. The aim is to insulate the fund against losses when stock investors panic and turn to traditional hedges. Indeed, the fund’s 10-year standard deviation, a measure of volatility, is much milder than the category average. In 2025, though, rather than minimizing losses, the metals holdings provided monstrous gains in a rally year, helping boost the fund to a 38.6% gain that easily topped the category average.

T. Rowe Price International Stock PRITX

This fund’s Process Pillar rating earned an upgrade to Above Average from Average in September 2023 as we gained more confidence in its approach. That prompted its Medalist Rating to rise to Silver from Bronze.

T. Rowe Price International Stock’s managers favor growth stocks but aren’t overly aggressive. That mixture fared well for the most part, but the past two years were tough, and since its upgrade, the fund has fallen short. From Oct. 1, 2023, through Feb. 28, 2026, its 17.2% annualized return lagged the foreign large-growth average of 18.1%. Several laggards among lesser-known healthcare names bear some of the blame. But the long-tenured lead manager has a sound approach that should bounce back.

This article first appeared in the February 2026 issue of Morningstar FundInvestor. Download a complimentary copy of FundInvestor by visiting this website.