Aussie investors looking offshore despite volatility


More than half of Australian high net worth (HNW) investors expect global markets to rise over the next year, while cooling their outlook on the domestic front.
Those were the findings of Certitude Global Investments' investing intention index, which collected data over the month of June via a survey of 770 online respondents.
The respondents included HNW investors, self-managed superannuation funds and high income earners.
According to the survey, 68 per cent are bullish on the global market outlook, with Australian investors looking to increase their international allocation in their portfolios by around 70 per cent.
Certitude chief executive Craig Mowll said the research shows that Australians are recognising the limitations of their current allocation to assets, particularly the strong bias to domestic assets.
"Many institutions actively topped up their overseas allocations some time ago either through locally based managers or by dealing directly with offshore funds or investing directly in offshore assets," he said.
"The leading [HNW] investor is now following that lead."
The survey found that 52 per cent of investors are planning to make overseas investments in the next six months.
Among the key concerns for investing internationally were market (32 per cent) and exchange rate volatility (27 per cent), followed by lack of knowledge (21 per cent).
Listed equities was the investment of choice for nearly three quarters of Australians looking offshore over the next 12 months, with the US/North America as a key destination (50 per cent) followed by a diversified allocation to the Asia region (28 per cent).
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