ASX study estimates 11.5 million Australian investors as ETFs and advice demand rise

The ASX Australian Investor Study 2026 estimates that 11.5 million Australian adults invest outside their principal home and superannuation, equivalent to 54% of adults. An ASX-authored industry summary published on 21 October describes rising ETF ownership alongside less frequent trading.[1][2]

Investment Trends surveyed 4,495 adults in January and February 2026, including 3,246 investors and 1,249 non-investors. Results were weighted to population data. The investor-sample margin of error is approximately 1.7 percentage points at 95% confidence.[2][3]

People, accounts and trading revenue are different measures

The study measures people. A respondent may have more than one brokerage account, and the number of investors cannot be read as the number of active accounts at any platform. Similarly, an intention to seek advice is not a completed advice purchase.[2][3]

For brokers, wider participation and lower median trading frequency suggest different commercial pressures. More investors may create demand for onboarding, education and portfolio reporting, while fewer trades per person can limit revenue from execution commissions. ETF growth may also increase the importance of recurring-investment features and clear small-order pricing.[1]

Those are implications of the reported pattern, not forecasts of any broker’s earnings. Market movements, the distribution of account sizes and activity among heavier traders can all produce outcomes that differ from the median respondent. The early-2026 fieldwork also means these are survey estimates published in October, not a live reading of October trading.[2][3]

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