“As a rule SMSF investors tend to be active investors and at the forefront of seeking out tools to assist with their investment decisions,” Skaffold general manager Chris Batchelor said.

“It is estimated that, on average, SMSFs now have 45 per cent of assets in direct shares, up from around 35 per cent in 2007.

“This compares with non-SMSF investors who typically hold less in direct shares, due in part to holdings in managed products.

“Additionally, Skaffold members with SMSFs are three times more likely [to] research stocks in offshore exchanges than members without an SDMSF, as indicated by the take up of Skaffold’s Global product,” he added.

Mr Batchelor said more than 35 per cent of Skaffold members have an SMSF and have indicated that they use the system as a primary tool to make investment decisions. Flight Centre remains the top stock of SMSF members.

Mr Batchelor said he expects SMSF interest in overseas markets to continue.

“SMSF trustees are the fast growing sector of the Skaffold client bases,” he said. “We would expect SMSF interest in offshore markets to continue on an upward trend as data out of major international economies show improvement.

“There’s also likely to be a slipstream effect with non-SMSF investors following suit.”