New research conducted by CFS together with University of Western Australia Business School has found a lower preference for equities among Australian investors.
The research found that investors are continuing to search for alternative growth assets, with the allocation to Australian real estate investment trusts (A-REITs) increasing significantly.
For non-advised CFS investors aged under 35, the allocation to A-REITs has gone from 5.2 per cent in June 2014 to 9.4 per cent in June 2015.
Investors aged between 35 and 49 increased their allocation from 4.1 per cent to 6.7 per cent and pre-retirees (50-59) recorded the biggest jump, increasing their allocation from 2.7 per cent to 6.7 per cent.
Those aged 59 and over went from a 3.0 per cent allocation to A-REITs in June 2014 to 5.0 per cent in June 2015.
"Demand for property as a whole, be it residential or listed property, has risen with investors searching for all possible ways to receive exposure to the income and capital growth the asset class can provide," said the research paper.
"While allocation to listed property remains a small portion of investors overall allocation, it has risen significantly since July 2014, albeit still lower than prior to the GFC.
"Across all age groups, allocation to A-REITs has increased almost five percentage points," CFS said.