Large dividend-paying ASX 200 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were among the 10 most traded securities by Gen X investors using the Selfwealth platform in FY24.
Selfwealth Ltd (ASX: SWF) recently published trading activity data for the 2024 financial year.
The data shows that Gen Xers, who were born between 1966 and 1980, favoured mining and banking shares and index ETFs tracking ASX 300 and ASX 200 stocks, US shares, and other international equities.
ETFs are baskets of stocks that allow investors to create a diversified portfolio with ease. Purchasing just one ASX ETF enables an investor to buy scores of stocks in a single trade for a single brokerage fee.
The Selfwealth data also reveals other interesting trends.
The main one is that Gen X had a penchant for US shares in FY24. In fact, Gen Xers placed more trading orders for US shares than any other generation on the Selfwealth platform.
That turned out to be smart investing, with the US shares outperforming S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) stocks by a significant margin in FY24.
The ASX 200 rose by 7.83% in FY24 and returned 12.1% if you factor in dividends on top of capital gains.
By comparison, the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) rose 28.61%, the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) rose 22.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) leapt 13.69% in FY24.
Let's check out the data.
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10 most traded ASX 200 stocks and other securities
Here are the top 10 most traded securities by volume (thus incorporating both buy and sell orders) among Gen X investors in FY24.
The percentage of buy orders is also reported alongside each security.
| Rank | Top securities by trading volume | Percentage of buy orders |
| 1 | Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) | 80.9% |
| 2 | Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) | 58.9% |
| 3 | BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) | 61.1% |
| 4 | ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) | 53.1% |
| 5 | Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ: RIVN) | 73.9% |
| 6 | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) | 82.1% |
| 7 | Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) | 76.7% |
| 8 | iShares S&P 500 AUD ETF (ASX: IVV) | 85.5% |
| 9 | Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) | 64.1% |
| 10 | Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) | 52.7% |
Gen Xers love US shares more than other generations
According to Selfwealth, trading volumes of US shares were "markedly higher" among Gen Xers compared to other generations.
According to the report:
In fact, overall trades in US shares by Generation X investors in the Selfwealth community were approximately three times those of Baby Boomers, and even slightly more than the combined total traded by Millennials and Gen Z investors.
Gen X was also the only cohort to have a US stock in its 10 most traded securities.
Graphics processing units (GPU) developer NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) was also a favourite. Nvidia shares ranked just outside the top 10 most traded securities in 11th position.
Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) was also popular and ranked 13th most traded security.
Both stocks are part of the Magnificent Seven.
