Australia’s high levels of share ownership
Australians have one of the highest levels of equity ownership in the world, and this justifies the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC's) strong focus on listing standards, according to the regulator.
ASIC this week released an assessment of its listing standards relating to equities on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and pointed to the degree to which Australians had embraced share ownership both directly and via superannuation funds.
It said that in October 2014, around 36 per cent of all Australian adults (almost 6.5 million Australians) owned listed investment products, of which equities made up a significant proportion.
As well, it said that approximately 23.5 per cent of superannuation fund investments (funds with more than four members) were held in Australian-listed equities, equating to $317.2 billion of the $1.4 trillion in superannuation investments.
Topping this out, ASIC said that approximately 30 per cent of self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) investments were held in Australian-listed equities, equating to $178.4 billion of a total $594.6 billion.
Recommended for you
A growing trend of factor investing in ETFs has seen the rise of smart beta or factor ETFs, but Stockspot has warned that these funds likely won’t deliver as expected and could cost investors more long-term.
ASIC has released a new regulatory guide for exchange-traded products (ETPs), including ETFs, on the back of significant growth in the market.
Assets in Macquarie Asset Management’s active ETFs have tripled to $2 billion in the last six months, helping the division deliver a net profit contribution of $1.1 billion.
With property becoming increasingly out of reach for young Australia, Vanguard has proposed a tax-incentivised scheme to help cash-heavy individuals build wealth.
