The 2015 Second Half Online Broking Report revealed that 129,000 investors placed their first online trade last year, up from 82,000 in 2014.
Investment Trends senior analyst Irene Guiamatsia said: “The market had robust growth throughout 2015, underpinned by an influx of first-time online investors.”
The report found that 635,000 unique Australian investors placed at least one trade through an online broker in the 12 months to November 2015. This is a 7 per cent increase on the previous year where 595,000 trades were recorded.
“While the Q1 bull run fuelled optimism among those who began trading earlier in the year, the second half of the year was more about investors on the lookout for value and buying opportunities,” Ms Guiamatsia said.
In addition, the report indicated that online brokers are looking to innovation to differentiate their offering.
"Brokers are increasingly seeking to strengthen the value of their product," it said.
“Innovation is helping them achieve this and sustain high client satisfaction levels,” said Ms Guiamatsia.
The report found that 57 per cent of investors noticed at least one innovation by their online broker in 2015.
Ms Guiamatsia pointed out that intense competition within the industry keeps Australian brokers ahead of other nations for innovation.
France led the way in terms of innovation, with 62 per cent of investors identifying an innovation. In the UK and US this number came in at 50 per cent, Germany 48 per cent, Singapore 47 per cent and Hong Kong 26 per cent.
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