The worries that cropped up last year intensified with the start of this year, leading to brutal trading in stocks across the globe. This is especially true aas Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU – ETF report) targeting the international equity market has lost about 5.8% from a year-to-date look compared to a loss of 5.5% for iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI – ETF report), which targets the global stock market including the U.S.

In particular, the collapse in oil price to below the 12-year lows and persistent weakness in China are the major culprits of the woeful performance. Emerging markets have been struggling while developed markets are also exhibiting slow growth amid streaks of volatility and uncertainty. The U.S. economy has also started to feel the pain of an ongoing financial instability and global growth concerns given that GDP growth came to a standstill in 2015.