As trustees look to assets like global equities he said they are also considering hedge funds, infrastructure and even private equity as other ways of diversifying their SMSFs, Mr Mowll said.

“They’re now realising alternatives are a good way of having an investment in markets where there is a fair bit of volatility,” he said.

Mr Mowll said the performance of Australian equities and fixed income is making it more difficult for SMSF trustees not to consider other types of assets in their portfolio.

He said advisers are playing a key role in assisting their SMSF clients to determine what assets they should diversify with and what proportion of their SMSF they should allocate.

“There are a lot of strategies individuals need to get their head around so having an adviser to help them with asset allocation is critical,” he said.

“We’re seeing a lot more contact from advisers asking us lots of questions and even asking for more education material to help them have those conversations with their clients.”