Australians keep faith in local equities – survey

Australian shares have been tipped by 61 per cent of Australians to be the best performing asset class over the next 12 months, according to a new survey by market research company ACNielsen.

Its latest bi-annual Retail Brokerage Report also found that the ongoing strength of the local share market has resulted in surging growth in retail brokerage client numbers, particularly for online trading accounts.

The report found Australian shares far exceed owning a home (15 per cent), international shares (13 per cent), managed funds (11 per cent) and investment property (9 per cent) as a preferred investment among the 23,000 canvassed Australian consumers.

A total 63 per cent of new trading accounts are being opened online, with last year’s increase of 27 percent to 690,000 online accounts representing the largest annual increase in the past five years.

“The booming Australian equities market has acted as a magnet in attracting new clients to share trading,” Finance director Glenn Wealands said.

He cautioned, however, that the “threat of a downturn in markets means that brokerage firms need to maintain their relevance by keeping their clients engaged and aware of future trading opportunities”.

“The firms that have been most successful in acquiring new market entrants have been those able to demonstrate ease of use, good quality market information, a reputation for being trustworthy in the market and competitive pricing.”

The report revealed Commsec continues to hold the lion’s share of the online market, although it had experienced a decline in its market share over the past year.

ETrade experienced the strongest growth of the top 20 brokers in the past two years, securing the largest percentage of new accounts over the period.