Lasting top stocks love affair for SMSFs

AUSTRALIANS with selfmanaged super funds are finding it tough to take their eyes off blue chip local companies.

New research by CommSec has revealed 60 per cent of all SMSF share trades in the six months to June were for ASX200 companies, with Telstra the most preferred stock for fund members.

Separate data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that the nation’s 1.1 million SMSF members still shy away from international investments – which have performed strongly in recent years – but CommSec’s numbers suggest they are warming to investing offshore.

“SMSFs are listening to the narrative that says they need to be more diversified,” said the Commonwealth Bank’s head of SMSF customers, Marcus Evans.

He said some SMSF investors were investing directly into single offshore stocks, such as Apple or Amazon, if they strongly believed in them.

SMSFs increased their holdings of international asset ETFs by 15 per cent in the first six months of the year, CommSec found.

ATO figures show that international shares and property represent less than 2 per cent of total SMSF investments. In typical super funds, this proportion can be 30 or 40 per cent.

CommSec, which has an almost 50 per cent share of the nation’s online stockbroking market, found that Telstra shares were bought twice as many times as they were sold in the first six months of 2017.

Recent history shows this strategy was premature, with Telstra shares diving 18 per cent since June 1. However, the telecommunications giant remains one of Australia’s top dividend payers despite its recently announced cuts.

Other popular stocks where “buys” outnumbered “sells” include Transurban, CSL, Santos and the Commonwealth Bank. SAFE HAVENS: Super investors may need to be more diversified.