What does the average Australian investor in 2026 look like?

Once upon a time, investing was seen as an exclusive club for the wealthy and well-connected. 

High transaction fees, significant minimum balance requirements, and a lack of access to information posed barriers for many Australians.

Today, almost anyone can invest. Technological advances such as online brokers, fractional trading, and a wide range of information sources have democratised access to financial markets. 

The ASX currently operates Australia’s largest equity market, with more than 2,000 listed entities. Around 2,500 retail products are currently on offer.

Over the past 12 months, average daily trading activity hit $9.1 billion. This level of liquidity and transparency has instilled investor confidence and fuelled investor participation.

Given these changes, the average Australian investor’s profile is likely to have changed dramatically over the past few decades.

So, what does the average Australian investor look like in 2026? 

How big is their portfolio? How old are they? What are they invested in? How often do they trade? 

These questions were recently answered in the 2026 ASX Australia Investor Study.

Meet your average Australian investor

Gone are the days of the average Australian investor being a multimillionaire. 

Today, the average Australian investor is 46 years old with an income of $122,000. That’s only slightly higher than the average Australian annual wage of $108,000, as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In terms of portfolio size, the average sits at $450,000. However, this reflects a small number of investors with very large portfolios pulling that number significantly higher. The median portfolio value is much lower at $130,000. This means that 50% of Australian investors have portfolios worth less than that number.

The average Australian investor trades (buys and sells) nine times a year. Interestingly, this number is down from an average of 13 times in 2023. 

Online brokers remain the most popular trading platform. Nearly 70% of investors used them to place a trade in the past year.

ASX-listed shares remain the most popular investment type, with 48% of Australian investors making a new investment in the past 12 months.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) ranked second, with 33% of investors adding this investment type to their portfolio in the past year. 

This is not surprising given the surge in popularity of ETFs since Australia’s first ETF launched in 2001. 

The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated Australians’ preference for ETFs, with investors drawn to their simplicity and low cost.

In fact, since 2020, the number of ETF investors has nearly doubled, with an additional 2.47 million Australians adding at least one ETF to their portfolio.

As reported by the Australian Financial Review, State Street, the largest global ETF administrator and one of the world’s big three ETF providers alongside BlackRock and Vanguard, has predicted the Australian ETF market to grow to $380 billion in funds under management (FUM) in 2026. This would be a material increase from $320 billion in ETF FUM in 2025.

Cryptocurrency was ranked the third most popular asset class, with 23% of investors making an investment in the past 12 months. While Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remains the most popular cryptocurrency, many others have entered the market in recent years, lifting participation rates. 

What is holding people back?

An additional 950,000 Australians plan to make their first investment in the next 12 months. Among these prospective investors, 41% plan to invest in ASX-listed shares, 33% in ETFs, and 28% in cryptocurrencies.

However, some Australians continue to face real or perceived barriers that prevent them from investing. 

A lack of Investment knowledge was cited as the leading barrier for intending investors. 51% of respondents said they would start investing if they developed sufficient knowledge. 

Being more confident about future returns (28%) and waiting until the economy and markets feel more stable (16%) were also cited as additional barriers.

Where do investors get their information?

The ASX Investor Study also examined Australian investors’ preferred sources of investment information in 2026. 

Family and friends were cited as the top source of information at 41%. This was noticeably up from 2023, when this number sat at 31%. 

According to the study:

Investors faced with a large volume of information, and potential misinformation and disinformation, may be turning increasingly to family and friends when making investment decisions. There was also a noticeable increase in the importance of online broking websites and traditional media as information sources, compared with 2023.

Primary sources such as company annual reports and websites, and product disclosure statements ranked further down the list. 

The study suggested that “investors are relying more on third-party opinions and less on information sourced directly from companies or product providers.”

Short videos and podcasts also remained popular, with around a third of investors using these mediums as an information source.

What about artificial intelligence? 

The prevalence of artificial intelligence as an information source was also surveyed.

Around 14% of investors use AI tools as a “significant source of information advice”.

However, the gap between age brackets was particularly noticeable. While 24% of Younger investors (age 18 to 29) reported using AI, just 1% of retirees (over 65) had used this new medium for investment information over the past 12 months.

Foolish Takeaway

The democratisation of financial markets has allowed many Australians to become millionaires through investing. 

Over the past 30 years, Australian shares have achieved an average annual growth rate of 9%. 

This means that the average Australian investing $1,000 per month at this growth rate can increase their balance to around $1 million in 25 years. 

With that kind of life-changing trajectory, we should all celebrate progress that has been made in the investing landscape over the past few decades.

The post What does the average Australian investor in 2026 look like? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and BlackRock. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.