More Australians than ever are investing, but each generation is doing it differently

Key points

Australia’s investing boom is getting a boost from younger generations entering markets earlier.
Millennials are Australia’s largest investing generation, accounting for 37 per cent of active CommSec Customers.
Gen Z holds 1.6 per cent of wealth but now outpaces Baby Boomers in active trading.
Female investors accounted for 42 per cent of first-time investors in FY26, up from 36.3 per cent two years earlier. 
Total trading activity rose 27 per cent as Australians increasingly invest beyond domestic stocks.

Australia’s investor base is getting bigger, younger and is increasingly looking to international markets.

New analysis of investment trends across more than two million CommSec customers shows Australians are opening more brokerage accounts, trading more frequently and increasingly looking beyond domestic stocks for investment opportunities. CommSec recorded 11.5 per cent growth in active customers over the past financial year, with trading volumes up 27 per cent and traded value up 33 per cent. 

But while investing has become more mainstream, how Australians approach the market can depend on their age, with the biggest shift occurring among younger investors.

Generation Z accounts for just 1.6 per cent of wealth on the CommSec platform yet represents 19 per cent of active market participants in FY26, making it a larger investor group than Baby Boomers. More than two-thirds of Gen Z investors hold exchange-traded funds, the largest proportion of any generation.

Gillian Bowen, Head of Media and Markets at CommSec, said the data shows investing is becoming increasingly embedded in Australians' financial lives. "Australians are investing in greater numbers than ever before, but the path they're taking increasingly reflects their life stage, priorities and financial circumstances,” she said. "Younger investors are entering the market earlier and are highly engaged, while older generations continue to hold significant pools of wealth built over decades. Together, that paints a fascinating picture of how wealth creation is evolving in Australia."

Younger Australians are increasingly turning their focus to offshore markets. CommSec data shows that Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z each hold 10 per cent in international shares, double that of Baby Boomers. No matter the generation, global technology companies feature prominently among the most-traded securities for all investor groups, highlighting growing investor interest in offshore markets and themes such as artificial intelligence.

"What unites all generations is a growing willingness to use investing to build long-term financial security," Ms Bowen said. "The investments may differ, but investors across every age group are becoming more engaged, more informed and more active."

Across the generations, CommSec data show:

Women are a bigger force in the trading market. Female investors accounted for 42 per cent of first-time investors in FY26, up from 36.3 per cent two years earlier, and now represent 34 per cent of active investors.
Investors are getting younger. Traded value for customers under 40 increased 54.9 per cent, compared with 30.3 per cent for customers aged 40 and above. The under‑40 share of first‑time investor activity climbed from 63.2% in FY24 to 66.2% in FY26.
Portfolio values generally increase with age and time invested. The average Gen Z investor holds a portfolio of around $20,000, compared with $66,000 for Millennials, $233,000 for Generation X and $541,000 for Baby Boomers. The average number of holdings also rises steadily across generations, from three stocks for Gen Z investors to eight for Baby Boomers.