Approximately 7.3 million people or 43% of the adult Australian population own shares, either directly (via shares or other listed investments) or indirectly (via unlisted managed funds), according to the latest Australian Share Ownership Study (Study) released today by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The total ownership level has increased from 41% when the Study was last conducted in 2008. The percentage of investors owning shares direct-only has increased to 30%, up from 25% in 2008.
The Study found that eight out of every 10 investors who own shares directly felt it was a good time to buy or to hold shares. A total of 26% of all share investors say they will buy shares in the next 12 months.
The 2010 Study - the 12th in a series dating back to 1991 - was conducted nationally in October and November last year with a randomly selected sample of 2,400 adult Australians. It highlights the incidence of share ownership among the population and offers insights into the attitudes, knowledge and behaviour of retail share market investors in Australia.
The Study identified substantive shifts in the way the Australian direct share owner population is segmented, with direct investors tending to fall into one of four main segments according to their needs, attitudes and behaviours. Experiences during the global financial crisis appear to have been a key influence on this change, with many investors now taking a more active role in building their knowledge and in making decisions about their investments. Only 12% of investors owning shares directly prefer to delegate their investment management.
The Study also found that 18% of the population who have not been active in the sharemarket are keen to enter at some stage. The majority of these are aged under 45 and want to increase their knowledge first.
Internationally, the finding that 43% of adult Australians own shares continues to rank Australia among the leading share-owning nations in the world on a per capita basis.
The 2010 Australian Share Ownership Study is available here: http://www.asx.com.au/documents/resources/2010_australian_share_ownership_study.pdf