SMSF investors have the most flexibility in where to put their money. Interestingly, it's ASX shares that have the biggest allocation, followed by direct property, cash and term deposits, managed funds and then unlisted trusts.

Let's take a look at which ASX shares are the most popular within SMSF portfolios.

The most widely held ASX shares

SMSF cloud accounting software provider Class recently released its 2025 annual benchmark report, giving insights into the SMSF landscape.

As of 30 June 2025, there were 12 ASX shares that featured in at least 20% of SMSF portfolios. They were as follows:

• BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) – 49%
• Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) – 41.8%
• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) – 36.7%
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) – 36.2%
• ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) – 36.1%
• Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) – 35.7%
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) – 34.3%
• CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) – 33.2%
• Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) – 30.7%
• Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) – 29.4%
• Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) – 25%
• Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) – 21.2%

Perhaps it's no surprise that virtually all of these businesses are known for paying a pleasing dividend yield because of the appeal that may have for income investors.

Curiously, while it's BHP and Woodside that have the highest number of SMSFs invested in them, it's a different order for the most dollars invested in each stock.

Below is the biggest percentage of total SMSF ASX share investments, according to Class, with a weighting of at least 2%:

• CBA – 8%
• NAB – 4.1%
• Westpac – 4%
• BHP – 3.9%
• Wesfarmers – 3.3%
• Macquarie – 3.1%
• ANZ – 3%
• CSL – 3%
• Telstra – 2.2%

This goes to show that the big ASX bank shares still have significant backing by a smaller group of SMSF investors.

What about international shares and ASX ETFs?

Some SMSFs have invested in a range of assets, with international shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) becoming increasingly popular.

Of the funds that hold international shares, the five most widely held international shares were Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple and Nvidia.

Visa, Tesla and Berkshire Hathaway are the other international shares that are held by at least 9% of SMSFs that own international shares.

Of the SMSFs that are invested in ETFs, the following are the most widely held funds:

• Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS)
• VanEck MSCI International Quality ETF (ASX: QUAL)
• iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)
• Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)
• Vanguard Australian Property Securities Index ETF (ASX: VAP)
• Vanguard All-World ex-US Shares Index ETF (ASX: VEU)

By utilising a mixture of different types of investments, SMSFs can create an ASX share portfolio that provides strong returns and diversification for portfolios.

The post Here are the most popular ASX share superannuation investments in SMSFs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Step One generated good growth in the FY24 first-half result, which was much more than the market had expected a year ago.

Earnings recap

The ASX dividend share reported 25.5% revenue growth to $45.1 million, a gross profit margin improvement from 80.7% to 81.2%, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) growth of 35.6% to $10.1 million, and net profit after tax (NPAT) growth of 34.7% to $7.1 million.

Revenue growth in Australia was only 8.9% to $26.2 million, while the United Kingdom saw 38% revenue growth to $14.7 million, and revenue in the United States jumped 256% to $4.1 million. Amazon sales have played an important part in sales growth in the UK and US, with the platform accounting for 6.1% of HY24 revenue, up from 4.9% in the prior year.

The company advised the number of customer orders increased by 25.1%, while the average order value (AOV) increased by 4.7% to $94.47. this was driven by a "greater emphasis on upselling and volume-based promotional discounts."

It paid a dividend per share of 4 cents.

Is the Step One share price a buy?

The company is doing a number of things to try to grow in Australia, the UK and the US, while ensuring a balance between growth with profitability across all markets.

The ASX dividend share wants to grow its women's line, expand the customer funnel through partnerships with retailers and other organisations, broaden sales channels and marketplaces, expand the distribution of the women's lines to the US, invest in its capabilities and product innovation, and continue to improve the customer experience.

Based on the forecast numbers on Commsec, the Step One share price is valued at 30x FY24's estimated earnings and 27x FY25's estimated earnings.

The business will need to keep growing at a good pace to justify the current valuation, but the outlook is bright, particularly if Step One can expand in other countries such as Canada, New Zealand and so on.

The post This ASX dividend share has soared 450% in a year! Is it still a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.