A record 11.5 million Australian adults now hold investments outside their superannuation and their main home, a new survey by the stock exchange operator finds.
The ASX Australian Investor Study 2026 has revealed an estimated 2.5 million Australians have joined the investor population since 2020.
Investors, the survey showed, now represent 54 per cent of the adult population.
"Australia is a nation of investors," ASX chief executive Anthony Attia said.
Market participation in Australia is at a record high, the ASX says. (ABC News: Darryl Torpy)
Who are Australian investors?
Most investors were middle-income earners and middle-aged, with a median gross income of $110,000 and an average age of 46.
Younger people, aged 18-29, made up 21 per cent of investors.
For the first time, the ASX survey looked at how investors are using AI tools for investment information and advice.
The bourse said investors continued to use professional advisers, brokers, online investment platforms, family and friends, social media, podcasts and other digital sources.
It found AI uptake was strongest among younger investors, used by 14 per cent of investors aged 18 to 29.
Mr Attia said Australia's public participation in share trading is among the highest in developed markets.
Anthony Attia took over the top job at the ASX last month. (Supplied)
The survey, which polled roughly 4,500 people in January and February this year, found shares were the most widely held assets, followed by residential property, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), term deposits and cryptocurrency.
"What is particularly encouraging is the next generation of investors entering the market,"
Mr Attia said.
"Almost one million more Australians are looking to start investing.
"The rapid growth of ETFs, with ownership more than doubling since 2020, shows how innovation is opening new opportunities for investors."
Australian ETF monthly inflows hit $7 billion for the first time in August, says Betashares. (Reuters: Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
ETF boom as money pours into stocks
Since the ASX survey, money has continued to increasingly flow into ETFs.
Data from investment firm Betashares showed the Australian ETF industry experienced $7 billion in cash flowing in during September after monthly inflows surpassed $7 billion for the first time in August.
The industry hit a record $388 billion in assets under management.
Recent tax changes appear to be behind the enthusiasm for stocks in general, but ETFs in particular.
The government announced in the May budget that it planned to replace the current 50 per cent capital gains tax (CGT) discount with a discount based on the actual rate of inflation.
It also said it would introduce a minimum 30 per cent tax on gains from July 1, 2027.
Forager Funds chief investment officer Steve Johnson said ETFs were popular under the new settings as net gains and losses were contained inside the investment, so a surge in an individual company that might attract capital gains tax could be offset by another loss-making stock.
Betashares agreed investors have paid more attention to the relative tax effectiveness of index-based investment strategies and ETFs following the CGT changes.
The firm also said the continued fall in Australian house prices was giving investors more reason to look at other asset classes like shares, bonds and commodities.
Global X ETFs senior strategist Marc Jocum said the scale of investing over the past quarter had been "significant".
"Australian ETFs have just delivered a record $21 billion quarter, demonstrating that they are becoming a core building block in Australian portfolios," Mr Jocum said.
"Investors are no longer using ETFs for one purpose.
"They are using them to build the foundations of their portfolios, access opportunities around the world and create more diversified sources of growth and income."
Regulator watching market evolution
As more Australians turn to investing, more are exposed to digital assets including cryptocurrencies.
Corporate watchdog ASIC is looking to firm up the regulation of digital assets, today beginning consultation on guidance and standards to accompany new laws which commence April 8, 2027.
ASIC is preparing guidance to accompany upcoming laws governing digital assets. (Reuters: Dado Ruvic)
ASIC wants digital asset platforms (DAPs) and tokenised custody platforms (TCPs) to hold an Australian financial services licence, provide customer disclosure documents and platform rules, and comply with asset holding standards, transactional and settlement standards, and net tangible asset requirements where relevant.
ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland said that ASIC's proposal recognised the rapid evolution of global markets and "the increasing role of digital assets and tokenisation, including in traditional parts of the financial system".
"Our approach is based on the principle of 'same activity, same risk, same regulatory outcome' to align Australia with the approach of comparable overseas jurisdictions."
'Investors in waiting'
ASIC's job is only likely to get bigger with the pool of investors projected to keep expanding.
The ASX survey found an estimated 950,000 Australians who do not currently invest plan to start within the next 12 months.
Women, the survey showed, represented 61 per cent of this group.
Australians aged 18 to 29 account for almost four in 10 "investors in waiting".
The ASX said demand for financial advice is also increasing, with knowledge listed as the number one barrier to entering the market.
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