‘Only the sharks are left’: The $388 billion change shaking up the sharemarket

October 19, 2026 — 2:00am

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Australia is known as a country where people enjoy a punt. The latest data confirms that this openness to risk and reward also extends to the sharemarket.

The ASX last week released a study that found Australians were among the most likely in the world to own shares outside of superannuation, with 39 per cent of adults holding either shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or other listed investments. This is one of the highest proportions among developed markets, and ahead of economies such as the UK and Germany.

However, there’s been a major change in how people buy shares – and that’s sparked debate over whether our market is becoming more prone to wild swings, or even the risk of bubbles.

ETFs are hugely popular, with good reason. ASX’s data, based on a survey of almost 4500 people, underlined the surge in people who are investing via ETFs, a type of listed fund that gives people a small piece of a wide range of shares, such as the ASX 200 index. The exchange operator estimates about 2.8 million Australians own ETFs, and that the number has roughly doubled since 2020.

Australia’s ETF industry is managing about $388 billion, figures showed last week, and that number will probably soon hit $400 billion as more people pour money into the products.

What is an ETF and why are people investing in........

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