Have you considered trading internationally?

So your portfolio may be diversified, but have you considered how trading internationally could affect your portfolio?

Canstar caught up with Andrew Rogers, Director of Stockbroking from CMC Markets to learn more about their International Share Trading offerings and outlook for investors.

Q. CMC has a focus on International shares at the moment. Why is this important for your clients at this time?

A. Our focus on international shares was born out of client demand looking for better returns. The ASX is typically highly correlated to the US stock market (Dow Jones or S&P 500), with the opening level of the ASX often determined by what the US markets did the previous night. Unfortunately for Aussie investors, the ASX has underperformed the US since the global financial crisis in 2008.

We have recently extended our international offering to include four additional markets – New Zealand, Spain, Denmark and Sweden.

Q. What should the everyday investor consider in their portfolio if they are looking for growth?

A. Diversification.

Choose an established provider with a brand you can trust with access to a wide range of markets. This will provide you with broader diversification across geographies and sectors that aren’t necessarily available on the ASX.

Q. What trends are you seeing in the market?

A. A new generation of younger retail investors with an even balance of males and females from a wide range of occupations.

As such, there is a steady increase in clients executing orders and performing research via our mobile apps.  In line with this demand, our software engineers are busy building two exciting new versions of our apps across IOS and Android operating systems that will be made available early next year.

In addition, amongst our more established client base, we have observed a trend in clients using ASX options to hedge certain stocks in their portfolios that have performed well recently.

Q. What makes CMC stand out from competitors?

A. Our design and overall solution was based on clients wanting international shares tightly integrated with their CHESS Sponsored ASX holdings on the same account, with the same functionality and no additional cumbersome forms to complete.

Our platform allows clients to quickly switch their asset allocation to another country if they see an emerging trend developing.

Our clients are now able to trade globally with $0 brokerage in the US, UK, Japanese and Canadian stocks on our award-winning platform.

Q. What sectors do you see performing well?

A. We are not a general advice broker – however, I can tell you the sectors that have been popular recently.

Most notably TESLA and several semiconductor companies such as TAIWAN SEMI ADR and NVIDIA CORP.

We have seen a steady increase in companies who are perceived to benefit from a COVID-19 vaccine.

These include the large global pharma companies like Astra Zeneca PLC in the UK or Gilead Sciences, Modernda Inc in the US and CSL. In addition to some local stocks that are aligned to changes in consumer spending – Afterpay, JB Hi-Fi or Temple and Webster.

Q. What would you say investors should be doing over the next 12 months?

A. Invest regularly with a dollar-cost averaging approach – many experts often state picking the top and bottom of the market is notoriously difficult even for the most professional of investors.

If you don’t know what to buy/sell seek the help of an online research house and use this conjunction with your online broker.

To find out more about the international share trading options discussed in this interview, visit CMC Markets.

Main image source: Who is Danny (Shutterstock)