Foreign investors now hold a record $39.19 trillion in US long-term securities, up roughly $16 trillion since 2022. The buyer base is also shifting from central-bank reserves toward private funds that can exit positions faster, raising the stakes for Treasury yields and US borrowing costs.
Foreign holdings of US long-term securities have reached $39.19 trillion, according to data from the US Treasury International Capital system. That figure has climbed by roughly $16 trillion since 2022, an increase alone larger than the entire GDP of China, accumulated in roughly four years.
Equities and Treasuries pull in the capital
US equity markets have been on a historic run, and foreign investors have chased that performance, with overseas holdings of American stocks frequently reaching $19 trillion to $22 trillion in recent assessments. Debt markets have pulled their weight too: foreign holdings of US Treasuries reached approximately $9.2 to $9.3 trillion by early 2026. That is about 31% of all publicly held federal debt.
The largest concentrations come from a familiar roster: the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. The Cayman Islands' prominence largely reflects offshore fund structures rather than local savers buying American stocks directly, though the capital flowing through those vehicles is real.
The gap with US holdings abroad keeps widening
US investors held approximately $19.3 trillion in foreign securities by the end of 2025, meaning foreigners now own roughly twice as much in American assets as Americans own abroad. Total foreign holdings stood at around $30 trillion in mid-2024. The jump to $39.19 trillion in roughly two years marks a 30% increase that outpaced growth in the underlying securities markets themselves.
Private funds are replacing central banks as buyers
The composition of buyers is shifting too. Official holdings, like central bank reserves, are giving ground to sovereign wealth funds, pension systems, and hedge funds, which respond faster to returns and risk sentiment and can leave faster than reserve managers who tend to buy and hold.
That shift matters for Treasury yields. Foreign demand has helped keep yields lower than they might otherwise be, reducing borrowing costs for the federal government and, by extension, American consumers and businesses. Analysts say the inflows' durability depends on energy prices, geopolitical stability, and trade policy, factors largely outside the control of US policymakers.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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