International investing is coming of age as super and investment platforms make it easier and cheaper to explore global markets - allowing millennial investors to embrace a world of opportunity.

Australia's millennials could be on the cusp of a seismic shift. As Alex Vynokur, CEO of BetaShares, points out, "The traditional path to wealth in this country has always been about property ownership.

But as property becomes less affordable, millennials can take advantage of important growth opportunities by investing internationally."

As an investor, it can be tempting to stick to familiar home turf, but taking a global outlook makes sense.

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) accounts for just 2.1% of the world's total equity markets. As Vihari Ross, head of core series at Magellan Financial Group, says, "The ASX is based heavily around resources and financial stocks - that's not what the rest of the world looks like."

Tapping into global mega-brands

Diversification is one of the key attractions of global investing.

Matt Heine, joint managing director of Netwealth, explains: "Being able to access overseas markets hugely increases the opportunity set for investors, with exposure to sectors that are barely represented on the ASX."

According to Ross, some of the world's most impressive companies like Nike, Apple, Amazon and Google are not accessible via the ASX, yet millennials can have a valuable advantage when it comes to investing in these global mega-brands as they understand their products and services, they consume their marketing and have a feel for their popularity amongst their peers.

"They use their products and understand how these companies work and what it is that they do, far better than they understand how a local Australian bank operates."

Investing in international markets

In the past, investing offshore has been challenging and expensive, often with access to limited markets, and typically at a higher brokerage cost. That's no longer the case.

Heine explains: "Around five years ago, Netwealth set out to solve a number of those challenges by delivering the technology to make trades in overseas markets both easy and affordable."

The result has been a burgeoning of interest among millennials eager to invest offshore. "We've been surprised by the significant interest in large technology stocks," says Heine. "But we're also seeing good growth in international exchange traded funds (ETFs)."

While many household names are listed on US markets, compelling opportunities lie elsewhere in the world. For millennials, this makes it worth looking at the breadth of overseas markets available on a platform.

International investment does come with other factors to consider, like currency exchange rates and potential tax implications, so investors keen to look at opportunities globally should be aware of possible risks.

Why growth opportunities matter

For any investor, a key question is always, how have global markets performed?

Past returns are no reflection of the future, but as a guide, the ASX 200 Index, which measures the performance of Australia's 200 biggest listed companies (by market capitalisation), has notched up average gains of 6% annually over the past 10 years.

By contrast, the MSCI Index, which measures returns on global share markets excluding Australia, has recorded 10-year gains averaging 11.85% annually.

This reinforces Vynokur's view that, "The growth opportunities are outside our border, and investing internationally gives millennials the ability to get ahead in life, build portfolios and grow their wealth."