Investor profiles

The changing face of Australian investing

The increase in new investors over the last few years has seen a marked shift in investor demographics, particularly among those who hold listed investments. Driven by the number of women and younger Australians actively investing, this trend looks set to accelerate over the next few years, as a new wave of investors intends to enter the market.

Meanwhile, a cohort of older Australians have cemented their place as the country's highest value individual investors, with large portfoliors and high trade volumes, many of them executed through an SMSF.

• Female investors
• Next generation investors
• High value investors

Female investors

The increase in new investors entering the market has seen a sharp rise in the proportion of women investing. Forty-five per cent of those who began investing in the last 12 months were female, up from 31% among those who started five to 10 years ago. It is a trend that looks set to accelerate, with women accounting for 51% of intending investors. 

Next generations investors

The last two years have seen an influx of younger investors into the market. Among those who began investing on a securities exchange within the last two years, a quarter are Next Generation investors. This development looks set to continue, with 27% of intending investors (those planning to begin investing within 12 months) aged 25 or younger.

High value investors

Defined as those in the top 20% of investors by both wealth and trading volume, high value investors (HVIs) are a group apart. Typically over 55 and male, with 43% aged 60 or over, they hold larger, more diversified portfolios than other investors, managed through a wider range of investment vehicles.