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Should I cover global markets or focus on Australia

Investing strategy

I believe Australian stocks make up about 4% of the world market, but I could be wrong. Should I cover global markets or focus on Australia? I'm setting up my investments and currently have about 30% in Australian stocks. Is that too high?

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Amir Ibrahim

Asked on 3 September 2024

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Pearlie

Tue, 3rd September 2024

You’re correct in noting that Australian stocks represent a relatively small portion of the global market, typically around 2-4%. Despite this, many Australian investors tend to have a higher concentration of local stocks in their portfolios. This can be attributed to several factors, including familiarity with local markets, currency considerations, and tax benefits such as franking credits.

When deciding whether to focus more on Australian stocks or to diversify globally, it’s important to consider a few key aspects:

  1. Diversification: Investing globally can help reduce risk by spreading your investments across different economies and industries. For instance, sectors like technology are underrepresented in the Australian market but heavily weighted in the US markets.

  2. Home Bias: This is the tendency for investors to favor their own country’s markets. While this can feel more comfortable, it may lead to a concentration risk. Balancing this with international investments can potentially offer better risk-adjusted returns.

  3. Currency Risk: Investing internationally introduces currency risk. If the Australian dollar strengthens against other currencies, your returns could be negatively impacted when converting back to AUD. Conversely, a weakening AUD could enhance returns.

  4. Tax Considerations: Australian equities come with franking credits, which can be beneficial for tax purposes. This is unique to Australia and can make local stocks more attractive from an after-tax return perspective.

Given that you currently have about 30% of your investments in Australian stocks, you’re actually aligning closely with a balanced approach that many Australian investors adopt, often varying between 20% to 40% in local equities. Whether this is too high for you might depend on your individual risk tolerance, investment goals, and time horizon.

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