Younger ASX shares investors have maintained their investment routines at a more impressive rate than older investors during today's cost-of-living crisis, new research shows.
A survey of investors who owned either ASX or overseas shares found that 85% of those aged 18 to 24 had continued to put money into their investment portfolios over the preceding six months.
The survey was conducted by online trading platform Stake in May.
Mid-career investors aged 35 to 44 were the next most disciplined, with 79% investing over the six months. Early career investors followed, with 78% of those aged 25 to 34 years investing in funds.
Pre-retirement ASX shares investors aged 55 to 64 years were least likely to invest. But plenty still did, with 62% of respondents in this age group adding to their portfolios over the six months.
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Why are young ASX shares investors more disciplined?
Stake concluded that the high rate of investment was probably due to many young investors not being homeowners. This meant they were not affected by today's higher interest rates.
Stake said:
This aligns with their views of the share market as an opportunity to achieve long-term stability while traditional assets like housing get further out of reach.
New research from AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) shows that four out of five Australians aged under 40 who are not homeowners today believe that it is now a dream that will be out of reach for them.
The AMP research indicated young Australians would love to own real estate. Eight out of 10 respondents said they'd even consider purchasing a property with a friend or family member.
Young investors have seen their baby boomer parents benefit enormously from a three-decade cycle of growing property values in Australia.
CoreLogic data going back to 1992 shows the median house price for the combined capital cities has skyrocketed. The median has increased from less than $200,000 in 1992 to just under $1 million today.
No wonder 40% of Australians aged under 40 believe home ownership is the main contributor to wealth in retirement, and 80% say not owning a property will be detrimental to their own retirement.
The Stake survey showed ASX shares investors of all ages consider housing costs, goods inflation, and slow wage growth to be the three biggest barriers to achieving their financial goals.
As we recently reported, the primary motivation to invest among ASX shares investors of all ages is to achieve a financially secure retirement.
The second biggest motivator is supplementing personal income with investment income.
The top two motivations reflected the finding that 46% of investors believe owning assets is more important than working hard.
This view was particularly prevalent among respondents aged 18 to 34 years.
The five most popular ASX shares among survey respondents included the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS). ASX lithium stock Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) was also a favourite.
