Share traders go mobile
Smartphones and tablet devices have become increasingly popular in online share trading, with almost half of frequent traders going mobile, according to a survey released by Investment Trends.
The survey found 41 per cent of frequent online traders now use a smartphone or tablet to trade shares online - up from 32 per cent in December 2011.
Furthermore, a third of mainstream clients have gone mobile - up from 25 per cent eight months ago.
However, there has been an overall decrease of the online share trading market, with around 615,000 Australians currently trading online - down from 630,000 as of December 2011.
"With a reduced number of new traders, it is likely that competition for switchers will be hotly contested," Investment Trends senior analyst Pawel Rokicki said.
"Providers will need to be very active in exploiting market opportunities and addressing the gaps in their service offerings in order to protect and/or increase their share of the market," he said.
CommSec remains the most dominant player in the market, with 49 per cent of traders using it as their main online broker.
The next one down is E*TRADE, with 18 per cent market share, the survey found.
Recommended for you
The top five licensees are demonstrating a “strong recovery” from losses in the first half of the year, and the gap is narrowing between their respective adviser numbers.
With many advisers preparing to retire or sell up, business advisory firm Business Health believes advisers need to take a proactive approach to informing their clients of succession plans.
Retirement commentators have flagged that almost a third of Australians over 50 are unprepared for the longevity of retirement and are falling behind APAC peers in their preparations and advice engagement.
As private markets continue to garner investor interest, Netwealth’s series of private market reports have revealed how much advisers and wealth managers are allocating, as well as a growing attraction to evergreen funds.
