Advisers can help clients in a multitude of ways as they build global share portfolios – not just through asset allocation, writes David Harvie, Director of Wholesale Distribution at AUSIEX. 

Financial planners can offer clients far more than product recommendations as the number of Australians investing offshore grows. 

The Australian market's lower returns relative to global shares over the past few years – driven by gains in AI-related companies – have accelerated a trend in which investors are considering allocating more of their capital internationally. 

The recently-released ASX Australian Investor Study 2026 found 22% of investors are likely to buy shares listed on an overseas exchange over the next 12 months, compared to 15% when the ASX released its previous study in 2023. In addition, 33% of high value investors (the top 10% of the 2026 study’s respondents by wealth and trading frequency) were found to have made or traded overseas listed shares within the last 12 months 

A growing number of online brokers are offering relatively affordable access to global markets, making it easier for investors to do so. People can trade offshore direct equities and exchange traded funds (ETFs) with a few clicks.  

But the apparent simplicity of those trades can mask inherent complexities of offshore investing. The sheer size of global sharemarkets, time zone differences, currency considerations and differing regulations means potential investors may need to absorb considerably more information when investing offshore versus locally. 

That is where advisers can play a significant role. 

For example, the AUSIEX platform offers access to more than 7,000 ETFs on global exchanges, compared to the approximate 250i international equity funds available via the ASX and TMX Australia Exchange (formerly Cboe). 

Those approximately 7,000 offshore ETFs may offer a broader universe of investments but may also come with different regulatory and tax requirements that local investors could struggle to comprehend without professional advice. Consumer protections or ability for recourse may not always be available to foreign investors. 

Investors could lack access to the same publicly available third-party advice that typically exists for local ETFs, meaning they could again benefit from professional advice to help make decisions and avoid undue risk. 

Likewise, the 19 markets that can be traded via AUSIEX may providqeprovide opportunities for investors to broaden their exposure beyond the narrower range of industries in the local market to companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, major European exchanges and major Asian markets. However, it can take considered analysis to sift the optimal opportunities from others with which Australians are unfamiliar. 

Beyond investing 

In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests that investors derive far more value from financial advice than just product selection. And the intricacies of global investing provide a good illustration of those findings in practice. 

The technical expertise described above – in regard to issues like tax and currency – is one skill that Russell Investments includes every year in its Value of an Adviser report. The report calculates the value that advisers offer across five key areas: asset allocation, behavioural coaching, choices and trade-offs, expertise (technical and emotional) and tax-savvy planning. 

In its estimate, the value of advisers’ technical and emotional expertise is “priceless” to clients. This year the report also ranked the value of their behavioural coaching more highly than their asset allocation or tax planning abilities. Behavioural coaching could prove critical if today’s AI-heavy US market suffers falls of a significant magnitude to seriously unnerve retail investors – tempting them to sell holdings rather than stay the course of a long-term strategy. 

Russell Investments’ modelling shows that investors who regularly adjusted their exposure to the S&P500 index (perhaps due to volatility) would have given up roughly 2.8% per year over the past decade – potentially earning a return of 11.99% instead of the 14.82% they may have gained by remaining invested in the index over the entire period.  

Likewise, Vanguard measures the value of advice through four pillars that weight emotional benefits and time considerations as importantly as portfolio construction and financial outcomes. 

All this shows an adviser’s role extends beyond asset selection to helping clients stay calm when markets are volatile, enabling them to avoid the typical decisions that can undermine investment gains over time.  

The rise of international investing through both direct shares and offshore-listed ETFs presents an opportunity for advisers to diversify both their clients’ portfolios and the breadth of advice they offer.  

The addition of discrete global equity information to regular client catch-ups may deepen advisers’ relationship with existing clients and help attract new clients, including younger generations who, according to the ASX, already hold more direct global shares than other age groups. 

Contact us today to learn how to activate international trading and start building truly diversified portfolios.

 

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