Hans Lee
4 minutes reading time
Hundreds of thousands of Australians changed the way they invest this year, with around 411,000 people buying their first ETF investment. In total, 2.7 million Australians now use ETFs as part of their investment strategy and new research suggests another 300,000 could join them in 2026.
The 2025 Betashares/Investment Trends ETF Report found ETF usage rose 20 per cent over the year, driven by both first-time investors and continued activity from existing users.
Eighty-one per cent of current ETF investors said they intend to increase their holdings in the next 12 months, a level approaching the elevated reinvestment patterns last seen in 2021.
ETF investor numbers set to surpass three million
The report forecasts a further 300,000 first-time ETF investors in 2026, which would lift total participation beyond three million for the first time.
Betashares CEO Alex Vynokur said the findings reflect how deeply ETFs have become embedded in Australian investing.
“ETFs are now being used by 2.7 million Australians to build wealth and support their long-term financial goals,” Mr Vynokur said. “More than ever, Australians are turning to ETFs as a foundation for their financial future.”
ETFs take a larger share of investor portfolios
The report shows ETFs now comprise 17 per cent of the average investment portfolio, the highest level recorded in the research’s history.
The shift coincides with a strong focus on international markets. Sixty-five per cent of ETF investors say their next allocation is likely to be to global equities, ahead of 60 per cent nominating Australian equities.
Fund flows echo these intentions: global equity ETFs have attracted $17.3 billion so far in 2025, compared with $10.6 billion into Australian equity ETFs to October 2025. The research also found that first-time ETF investors now tend to build diversified portfolios from day one, often including Australian equities, global equities and fixed income. That represents sophisticated portfolio construction at the entry level, enabled by tools that didn’t exist a generation ago.
The figures reflect a fundamental shift in how Australians build wealth. As housing affordability, cost of living pressures and rising retirement expenses challenge traditional investment pathways, ETFs provide an accessible alternative that previously required substantial capital or sophisticated international brokerage access.
Three factors driving adoption
Across the research, investors pointed to three primary drivers:
- Diversification across markets, sectors and asset classes
- Simplicity of trading and portfolio construction
- Suitability as a long-term portfolio core
Mr Vynokur said these preferences align with the key principles of good investing.
“Diversification remains the name of the game across asset classes, sectors and regions,” he said. “It’s encouraging to see more investors using ETFs to build robust, long-term portfolios.”
What’s next for the industry?
Betashares is forecasting that Australian ETF assets under management will exceed $500 billion by the end of 2028. For investors, the question is no longer whether to use ETFs. It’s how much of their portfolio should be allocated to them.