When it comes to investing in ASX shares, everyone is different. Some investors like to invest in the shares they think have the most potential to climb further in value. Others will buy the shares most likely to pay large, fully franked dividends.
But some ASX investors (although not as many as I think should) also trade in international shares. That is, those companies listed on exchanges beyond our shores.
On that note, let's look at the 5 most popular international shares that were traded on Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)'s CommSec platform. CommSec is the largest and most popular brokering platform in Australia. This makes it pretty representative of the entire ASX investing community. This data comes from CommSec's website and covers the period between 29 June and 3 July.
Which international shares are ASX investors buying?
1) Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)
If you haven't heard of Tesla and its eccentric CEO, Elon Musk, then you may have been living under a rock. This electric car maker has been grabbing worldwide headlines in recent weeks as its share price has exploded to unprecedented highs. Just one month ago, Tesla shares were trading around US$949. Today, those same shares are touching US$1,390, up more than 46% in just 4 weeks. And anyone who bought Tesla exactly a year ago is looking at a 5-bagger stock today.
2) Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB)
Just like Tesla, everyone knows Facebook and its (slightly infamous) CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook is easily the largest social media company in the world. Not only does it own the ubiquitous Facebook platform, but it also owns Instagram, Messenger, and Whatsapp – all among the most frequently used apps on the planet. Facebook has certainly had its fair share of controversies over the years, but that hasn't stopped Facebook shares climbing ~65% since mid-March.
3) Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)
Apple is the largest company in the world right now for a reason. It has probably the world's most valuable brand and makes one of the most popular consumer products of all time in the iPhone. But Apple has also been expanding into services over the past few years with offerings like Apple Pay, Apple Music, and Apple TV. It's been a great performer for over 2 decades now, so it's no surprise Apple shares remain popular with Aussie investors today.
4) Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
Apple may currently be the largest company in the world, but Microsoft is a close second. Owning the world's most popular productivity programs in Microsoft Office, as well as the most popular computer operating system in Windows, is just part of Microsoft's success story. It's also a heavyweight in the lucrative world of gaming with its Xbox consoles as well as a formidable player in the rapidly-growing cloud space with its Azure platform. Not a bad stable of operations for this tech titan.
5) Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
Last but certainly not least is Amazon. Amazon is one of the most striking American success stories in history. It was started as an online bookstore back in the late 1990s by Jeff Bezos. Today, Bezos is the world's richest person (worth around US$166 billion) and Amazon is a US$1.5 trillion behemoth. How else would you describe a company that turns over hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue each year? Furthermore, Amazon continues to expand, push boundaries and disrupt industries to this day. With Amazon shares rocketing past US$3,000 per share in just the last week, no wonder Aussie investors are getting interested in sharing some of the pie.
Foolish takeaway
So there you have it, Aussies' top 5 favorite international shares. No real surprises in this list, but all of these shares have done exceptionally well for their investors over the past few months. It just goes to show how a household name can also make a phenomenal investment.
