ETFs rival shares and property as young Australians' first investment: ASX

The next wave of investors

The trend could continue as more Australians enter the investment market.

About 950,000 Australians who don’t currently invest outside superannuation or their primary home intend to start or resume investing over the next 12 months, the ASX study reported.

Almost four in 10 of these intending investors are aged 18 to 29, up from 29% in the ASX’s 2023 study.

For CBA Wealth & Private Executive General Manager Susie Grehl, supporting investors starts with giving them the right foundations.

“Investors today have access to more information and choice than ever before, but that doesn’t always make it easier to get started.  

“What matters is helping people cut through the complexity, understand their options and build the confidence to make informed decisions,” Grehl said.  

ETFs are also becoming a more popular choice among this group. Some 33% of intending investors said they were likely to invest in ETFs over the coming year, up from 21% in 2023.

Australian-listed shares remain the most likely investment at 41%. But interest in residential investment property has fallen from 36% in 2023 to 20% in 2026.

The ASX said housing affordability pressures may be one factor encouraging younger Australians to consider listed investments as another way to build wealth, although the study does not establish that this is driving the change.

Knowledge remains a hurdle

While more young Australians are considering investing, the research suggests knowing how to get started remains a challenge.

Among intending investors aged 18 to 29, 47% said they lacked confidence in their investment knowledge, while 33% were unsure which investment products to start with. 

Across all intending investors, 51% said knowing more about investing would help them feel ready to begin.

That broadly echoes separate CommBank research published this year, which found investing and shares were the most common money topics young Australians wanted to learn more about, including how to get started, ETFs and how investing compares with property.  

The ASX Australian Investor Study 2026 was based on an online survey of 4,495 Australian adults conducted by Investment Trends in January and February 2026.