Self managed super fund (SMSF) investors are ploughing their cash into global exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as strategists predict Australia will lag the global rebound in equity markets. Average daily trading volumes worldwide increased by 53.5 per cent to US$91.6bn in the four months from December 2007 to April 2008, according to Morgan Stanley.

Almost half the investors in Barclays Global Investors’ iShares locally (around 45 per cent) are SMSF investors, according to recent analysis by the firm. Tim Bradbury, co-head of iShares Australia, says it is difficult to gauge the percentage of SMSF inflows that is advised versus self-directed. “Private wealth, private banks and independent financial planners are likely to be the early adopters because there is already that mindset around buying and selling listed securities on an exchange,” he says.

“There is a move away from heavy allocations to Aussie equities and people are thinking more about asset allocation and what they are paying to get these [global] exposures.” Some 14 iShares ETFs are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)