The online broker flatexDEGIRO has conducted a study on the investment behavior of private investors based on transaction and portfolio data from its more than 3 million customers across 16 countries. The study was published on February 14, 2025.
Women Are Catching Up – But from a Low Starting Point
Although women remain underrepresented, accounting for only 19% of flatexDEGIRO’s total customer base, they are making progress. Over the past year, the number of female customers grew by 20% to approximately 575,000, outpacing the overall customer growth of 14% to 3.1 million. Clearly, women still have some catching up to do in the investment world!
More Young People Engaging in Securities Trading
It is particularly noteworthy and encouraging that an increasing number of young people are investing in securities. The 18-24 age group saw the highest growth, increasing by 31%, making it the fastest-growing segment. By the end of the year, this age group comprised around 310,000 investors, representing 10% of all customers.
Meanwhile, approximately 75% of investors were between the ages of 25 and 54. This group had significantly larger portfolios compared to younger investors—unsurprisingly, given that they have had more time to build their wealth!
Men Are More Active Traders
flatexDEGIRO also analyzed trading activity by gender. On average, each customer executed around 22 transactions in 2024. However, breaking it down by gender, men traded almost twice as often as women. That said, trading frequency does not necessarily translate to better investment performance. After all, as the old stock market saying goes: “Frequent trading leads to empty pockets!”
Another key insight: Trading activity increases with age. Investors over the age of 54 were the most active traders. While the study does not provide details on their motivations, this could be due to their larger portfolios and greater number of holdings.
Stocks Still Dominate, but ETFs Are Gaining Ground
By the end of 2024, stocks accounted for 55% of total portfolio volume, while ETFs made up 40%. However, ETFs gained popularity, increasing by 5 percentage points over the year. Among women and young investors, ETFs already held the majority share. Meanwhile, older investors tended to have a higher proportion of individual stocks in their portfolios.
As expected, most transactions on flatexDEGIRO involved buying and selling individual stocks, which made up 60% of all trades in 2024.
The study also revealed that certificate and leveraged product holders tend to be more nervous traders. Although these assets accounted for less than 5% of total portfolio value, they represented nearly 17% of all transactions.
Only a Small Home Bias
flatexDEGIRO customers appear to embrace global diversification in their portfolios. Across all investor groups, global stocks were the dominant asset class. Among investors aged 55 and older, global stocks made up 63% of portfolios, while in other age groups, the share ranged between 70% and 75%. The remaining portion consisted of domestic stocks from their respective home markets.
Across all portfolios, technology stocks were the most popular, accounting for 28% of holdings. Their share varied between 23% among investors aged 55+ and 31% among the 18-24 age group. The second and third most popular sectors were healthcare and industrial goods, each making up slightly over 8% of portfolios. Among young investors, automotive stocks ranked higher than industrial goods. The most traded stocks in 2024 were: Nvidia, ASML Holding, and Tesla. Do you recognize your own investment style in these trends?
Anke Dembowski is a financial journalist and author of various investment fund-related and other financial books. She is also a co-founder of the "Fondsfrauen" network.