Australians are continuing to lead the world in terms of their investment in managed funds, according to the latest AFG Global Funds Management Index.

The research, released this week, revealed that at the end of June, last year, Australians had an average of $63,794 per person invested in managed funds compared to $43,458 in the US, $37,451 in France and $24,567 in Sweden.

AFG said that while current volatility in global share markets would affect per capita figures, it was unlikely to have changed Australia’s leading position in terms of managed funds.

It said that the average Australian investment was 46.8 per cent higher than that of the average US citizen, with a growth figure for the past 12 months of 32.4 per cent compared to the USA’s 8.5 per cent.

The research said that during the same time, however, the value of the Australian dollar against the US dollar had increased by 17.4 per cent, indicating that about half the reported growth could be attributed to the relative strengthening of the Australian dollar.

Commenting on the research, AFG Financial Planning dealer principal Ross Nayler said the strengthening of the Australian dollar had boosted performance relative to the US, but, even so, Australia continued to be significantly ahead of the rest of the world in terms of managed funds ownership.

“Our performance was probably boosted towards the end of the last financial year, when some of the over-50s had the one-off opportunity to invest up to $1 million in superannuation, although the 9 per cent superannuation contribution continues to underpin Australia’s leading position,” he said.