Australian Online Brokers Experience Surge In Popularity

by Caroline Maxwell, Investors Offshore.com

26 June 2001

A survey recently released by Australian internet research company Consult.com revealed an explosion in the popularity of online trading in the country last year. The company questioned 35,000 Australian internet users, and found that the number of active online traders had hit 275,000 by September.

Consult.com also found that approximately 110,000 of that number were trading at least once a month, with price per trade being one of the main factors influencing their decision to trade over the net. Brokerage analyst with the research company, Mark Johnston, warned Australian full service stockbrokers of the dangers to come: 'The full service brokers really have to figure out where they can add value, and how to charge for that,' he advised.

The survey found that although three quarters of online traders in Australia were male, and high income earners, the average portfolio size was relatively small, and approximately half of all trades were worth less than $5000. Although the survey made no mention of the recent economic downturn which affected online traders around the world so badly, it seems clear that this must have had some impact on the returns being achieved by Australian online brokers.

However, speaking at an Online Broking and Trading Conference recently, Mr Johnston seemed confident in the future of online brokerages, and said that he expected the migration from full service brokerages to continue.

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