You know that old karmic saying, “What goes around comes around?”

Well, in the world of global stock investing in 2014, it was the U.S. stock market that attracted the attention of stock market bulls, alongside a handful of markets in Asia and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, once-robust global stock market performers such as Germany, the United Kingdom and Latin America all had a bearish go around in 2014  proof once again that investors readily shift to the markets where the money is.

In 2014, the global capital merry-go-round was especially concentrated in the handful or so of the biggest winning countries.

Only nine markets out of the 46 (including the United States) that I monitor daily at my firm, Global Guru Capital . generated double-digit percentage gains this past year. That was by far the lowest number since 2011, when the United States was the only stock market in the world to eke out a gain.

Another result of this concentration of capital was that 28 of the 46 markets over 60% actually finished the year in the red.

Europe was particularly weak, with all but two markets the iShares MSCI Denmark (EDEN). with a total return in 2014 of 7.85%, and the iShares MSCI Belgium (EWK). with a slight 0.63% total return for the year ending in the minus column. Latin America fared even worse, with no market able to end 2014 in the black.

Meanwhile, the United States, as measured by the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI). finished in the top 10 (eighth this year) for the third time in the past four years. This makes the U.S. stock market the most consistent performer on the planet over the recent past.

For all the handwringing about the U.S. economy in decline, this confirms that, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, the United States has remained a bullish beacon for global investment capital.

The Best of the Best

Topping the 2014 global market merry-go-round was the WisdomTree India Earnings ETF (EPI). which rose 27.84% for the year. Undoubtedly, one of the primary drivers of the Indian equity market was the election of pro-business reformist Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His promises of turning India’s bullish demographics and tech-savvy workforce into an economic success story made this market the biggest star of 2014.

Other big winners for the year include the iShares MSCI Philippines (EPHE). +22.09%, iShares MSCI Turkey (TUR). +15.76%, iShares MSCI Thailand (THD). +15.50%, and Market Vectors Indonesia ETF (IDX). +14.50%.