by Peter Rae
Much has been written about the fact that Australian retail investors’ portfolios are heavily weighted to Australian equities, despite the domestic market representing a small proportion of global equity markets. It is not difficult to understand the reasons for this home bias given the benefits of the dividend franking system in Australia, the difficulties of direct investing in foreign markets and currency risks associated with offshore investing. The universe of global equity investment opportunities is vast, but researching and selecting the right shares to invest in is a challenging task for the average investor.
