Australia has seen a much more modest decline in the average investment per capita held in managed funds than other countries.

In Australia the average amount held in managed funds per capita fell by 1.8 per cent to $62,632 in the period from June 2007 to June 2008, according to research by AFG Financial Planning.

This compares with a decrease of 8.1 per cent to $39,947 in the US - the country with the second-largest amount held in managed funds per capita after Australia - and a drop of 20.4 per cent to $13,949 in the UK.

An explanation for the difference in trends could be found in the way investors allocated money to managed funds. Australia has a higher proportion of managed funds held in superannuation accounts than in most countries.

"It would be reasonable to assume that fewer investors have exited managed funds," AFG Financial Planning dealer principal Ross Nayler said.

But the compulsory super contributions regime in Australia, which ensures a steady inflow of money into managed funds not found in most other countries, has also halted the fall of average investments.

The research does not include the steep decline in share prices seen in the last six months.

But Nayler expects the modest declines in managed funds investments to show a similar movement in the period after June 2008, although the decline of the Australian dollar will have caused a steeper fall.

"The fact that the Australian dollar has fallen alone will mean that other countries such as the US will move up closer to us," he said.