Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)’s 2012 Share Ownership Survey shows that 6.7 million people or 38% of the adult Australian population invested in the Australian share market, in 2012, this is a decline from 43% total share ownership when the study was last conducted in 2010.
Total share ownership peaked in 2004 prior to the global financial crisis when 55% of adult Australians owned shares either directly or indirectly.
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Despite the overall decline, the 2012 study found that 43% of those surveyed believed it was a good time to hold on to shares. Investor confidence was slightly lower, with 42% saying they intended to buy shares in the short-term, down from 62% in 2010.
However, the average number of share trades increased to 22 in 2012, up from 15 when the survey was last conducted.
According to the survey report, share ownership remains the preferred asset class for personal investments, with 34% of those surveyed stating they invested in shares, ranking above residential property (22%) and other listed investments (3%).
The study found that 40% of investors were on incomes of between $100,000 and $200,000 a year, while 58% had incomes of over $200,000. That left only 2% of investors at under $100,000 a year.
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By GlobalDataThe use of online retail brokers continues to grow. Of those who had purchased shares in the last two years, 65% used an online broker, up from 52% in the 2010 study.
The typical direct share owners were tertiary-educated men investing through an online broker. Men, the study found, were significantly more likely to own shares than women, with a ratio of 40% of men to 28% of women owning shares.
