Report On U.S. Portfolio Holdings Of Foreign Securities At End-Year 2014

The findings from the annual survey of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2014 were released today and posted on the Treasury web site at http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Pages/fpis.aspx.

The survey was undertaken jointly by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

A complementary survey measuring foreign holdings of U.S. securities is also conducted annually. Data from the most recent such survey, which reports on securities held at end-June 2015, are currently being processed. Preliminary results are expected to be reported on February 29, 2016.

Overall Results

This survey measured the value of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities at year-end 2014 as approximately $9.6 trillion, with $6.8 trillion held in foreign equity, $2.5 trillion held in foreign long-term debt securities (original term-to-maturity in excess of one year), and $0.4 trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities. The previous such survey, conducted as of year-end 2013, measured U.S. holdings of approximately $9.1 trillion, with $6.5 trillion held in foreign equity, $2.3 trillion held in foreign long-term debt securities, and $0.4 trillion held in foreign short-term debt securities. The largest gain occurred in equities, largely reflecting gains in global stock markets during 2014.

U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities by country at the end of 2014 were the largest for the United Kingdom ($1.30 trillion), followed by the Cayman Islands ($1.15 trillion), Canada, ($844 billion), and Japan ($689 billion) (see Table 2). These four countries attracted 41 percent of total U.S. portfolio investment, the same share as in the previous year.

The surveys are part of an internationally coordinated effort under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to improve the measurement of portfolio asset holdings.

Table 1. U.S. holdings of foreign securities, by type of security, as of survey dates [1]

(Billions of dollars)

Type of Security	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014

Long-term Securities	8,777	9,271
Equity	6,473	6,762
Long-term debt	2,305	2,509
Short-term debt securities	353	369
Total	9,130	9,640

U.S. Portfolio Investment by Country

Table 2. Market value of U.S. holdings of foreign securities, by country and type of security, for the countries attracting the most U.S. investment, as of December 31, 2014 [1]

(Billions of dollars)
Country or category	Total	Equity	Debt
Country or category	Total	Equity	Total	Long-term	Short-term
United Kingdom	1,300	922	378	312	66
Cayman Islands	1,150	858	292	289	2
Canada	844	417	427	379	48
Japan	689	592	97	83	14
France	485	318	167	129	38
Switzerland	424	409	15	10	4
Netherlands	388	233	155	142	13
Ireland	387	332	55	53	2
Germany	375	274	101	85	16
Australia	311	140	171	128	44
Bermuda	227	198	30	30	*
Korea, South	178	141	37	36	1
Brazil	166	109	56	56	*
Mexico	166	67	99	92	7
Sweden	165	85	80	40	39
Rest of world	2,385	1,667	718	645	75
Total	9,640	6,762	2,878	2,509	369
* Greater than zero but less than $500 million. [1] The stock of foreign securities for December 31, 2014, reported in this survey may not, for a number of reasons, correspond to the stock of foreign securities on December 31, 2013, plus cumulative flows reported in Treasury’s transactions reporting system. An analysis of the relationship between the stock and flow data is available in Table 4 and the associated text of the “Report on U.S. Portfolio Holdings of Foreign Securities” at end-year 2014. Report on U.S. Portfolio Holdings of Foreign Securities at End-Year 2014.pdf