A new survey by HSBC has revealed that 73 per cent of Australian investors have changed their investment approach during the past six months.
Of the more than 1,100 investors surveyed earlier this month, 36 per cent were found to have become more balanced in their approach while only 9 per cent have become more aggressive.
Almost 80 per cent of local investors have made an investment in the past half year, with the survey results pointing to an increasing preference for other investments like bonds, ETFs and managed funds.
Commenting on the results, HSBC Australia head of investments, Donahue D’Souza, said that investors still saw value in direct share investments but noted that many have adjusted and diversified their approach in response to the changing market conditions.
“One of the more interesting findings was the preference to consider bonds, ETFs and managed funds due to a view they require less time and effort to manage,” he said.
“Given this growing interest, we expect to see a greater diversity of ETFs and managed funds becoming available in the next few years together with investors being given the tools to better track and monitor ETFs.”
According to the survey, 41 per cent of investors own equities outside of their super funds.
Men (31 per cent) were more likely to have invested in equities than women (25 per cent) over the past six months, and Millennials (31 per cent) were more active in trading equities compared to Baby Boomers (24 per cent).
HSBC also found that 48 per cent of respondents would likely consider investing outside of Australia over the next six months.
“Certain global markets are feeling the effects on inflation and other macroeconomic impacts more than others, opening up opportunities for Australian investors to consider sectors, industries that they may not be able to access in Australia,” said Mr D’Souza.
“However, while interest in international investments is high, half of Australian investors don't know or are unsure how to do this. Positively, many are turning to market research (36 per cent) and financial advisers (30 per cent) but these findings indicate there is opportunity for greater investor education regarding investment opportunities outside of Australia.”
Family and friends were identified as a key source for information on investment decisions by 29 per cent of investors, including 33 per cent of women and 42 per cent of Gen Z.
Gen Z (37 per cent) and Millennials (26 per cent) were also more likely to turn to social media for investment information, a finding that was reflected in recent research conducted by ASIC.
Eight out of 10 investors monitor their investments at least once a month, with Gen Z (62 per cent) and Millennials (59 per cent) more likely to monitor daily or weekly versus Gen X (50 per cent) and Baby Boomer (31 per cent) investors.
Jon Bragg
Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.
