Why NZ investors are more optimistic than Aussies
Kiwi investor Liam Ryan first got into investing when his grandmother died and left him some money.
It was $1000 and his father told him to put it into stocks. That turned out to be solid advice for the then 15-year-old who is now reaping the gains 12 years later.
The first stock he invested in was Auckland Airport, which he still holds today.
Investing, for Ryan, has become a strong interest and somewhat of a hobby, he says. “I enjoy reading about financial things and trying to make decisions based on that.
“I might trade once a month or for a lot of times, not do anything for a long period, but it is still something I am interested in and keep track of.”
Ryan does online app-based trading and says he mostly invests in stocks overseas. “New Zealand is quite a boring, slow-moving market, so a lot of [my] stocks are in United States companies, with a few local ones, like Auckland Airport or Rocket Lab.”
Long-term investing is the way to go, says Ryan. “If you buy something, 10 years later there is a pretty good chance it would have gone up. So [for me] Auckland Airport has been slow and steady.
“I think investing is a more hands-off approach to owning your own house. It’s the same way as trying to put your money to work, but for a lot of people, with houses so unaffordable, it can be seen as a lot of work as compared to buying some shares through your phone. There’s no maintenance, nothing to burn down, it’s a lot more attainable for a lot of people.”
New research shows Ryan is among a growing cohort of Kiwis who tend to prioritise long-term investment gains more than their Australian counterparts, with about half of Kiwis stating they are pursuing long-term growth without being overly concerned about short-term fluctuations.
New Zealand investors are also more optimistic than Australians.
The Tiger Brokers’ survey of its clients found that 76.9% of New Zealand investors had a positive outlook about their investments, compared to 65.5% of Australians.
Investment confidence among New Zealanders over the past six months had increased by 39.6%, compared to 25.7% of Australians.
Greg Boland, chief strategy officer at Tiger Brokers, says New Zealand investors tend to trade more in the international markets, which typically reaped more gains, which could probably be attributed to the reason why they were generally more optimistic than Australians.
“Australians tend to be more focused on the ASX market rather than global markets and I think the tech stocks sector has shown more upside, particularly in the US.”
Boland says being able to trade through apps more freely online and easily since 2019, including with fractions of shares, has also increased interest in investing.