Key takeaways: 

• The top 20 most actively traded shares by Selfwealth members in FY 23/24 included nine resources stocks.  

• Pilbara Minerals was the most traded company throughout the period, albeit BHP attracted trading interest from the greatest number of unique Selfwealth portfolios. 

• The two shares with the highest buying conviction in the top 20 across the Selfwealth community were Tesla and Nvidia, both the only US shares among the leading names. 

• Commonwealth Bank and Westpac recorded the lowest buy-to-sell ratios among the top 20 shares by trade volumes. 

• The leading ETF on the platform, Vanguard Australian Shares Index, was traded by nearly 11,000 unique Selfwealth portfolios last financial year, nearly double the second-placed fund. 

• Overall trade volumes in the top three ETFs were more than the combined total for the rest of the funds in the top 10. 

• Across the year, the top 10 most traded ETFs accounted for 46.9% of all ETF trades. 

Financial year 2023/24 saw record highs for the stock market, both home and abroad.  

However, over the last year, the most popular shares within the Selfwealth community didn’t always align with the best performing sectors of the market.  

In several cases, the most actively traded shares delivered negative returns through the period, but Selfwealth members were still keen to buy the dip. On the other hand, some of the best-performing shares in FY 23/24 were susceptible to profit taking.  

Here are the top shares and ETFs traded last financial year. 

Top Shares Traded in FY24 

Resources shares were a prominent fixture among the list of the most actively traded shares on the Selfwealth platform during financial year 2023/24. 

For starters, Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) took out the top spot, but it was joined by other mining names such as BHP (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue (ASX: FMG) in second and third respectively, as well as energy major Woodside (ASX: WDS), in fourth position. 

Further down the list, Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) ranked 12th, Core Lithium (ASX: CXO) placed 14th, while Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR), Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), and Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA) rounded out the top 20 in said order. 

Of note, among the top 20, Pilbara Minerals recorded the highest number of trades (4.41) per distinct portfolio where the share was traded over the year. In other words, repeat trades were a common sight among Pilbara Minerals enthusiasts. For every Selfwealth portfolio where PLS was traded at least once during FY 23/24, said investors made an average of 4.41 trades in the stock.  

This figure was the third highest average among the top 50 most actively traded shares, trailing only Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN), 18.66 trades per distinct portfolio.

Other notable examples from the top 20 included Fortescue, with 4.30 trades per distinct portfolio, and Zip (ASX: ZIP), with 3.90 trades per distinct portfolio, where a core following of investors frequently traded these shares. In any case, BHP attracted trading interest from the greatest number of unique Selfwealth portfolios, with around 3,300 distinct portfolios trading the stock at some point during the year - around double that of the average for the top 20. 

On the other hand, Telstra (ASX: TLS) and Qantas (ASX: QAN) were the top 20 shares with the lowest trades per distinct portfolio at 2.29 and 2.34 respectively. This means that, among investors who made a trade in these names, trading activity in the likes of TLS and QAN was more likely to be a one-off, or two-time occurrence. 

Elsewhere, just two US stocks featured among the top 20, including Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) in 10th, and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) in 16th. Interestingly, these two shares posted the highest buy-to-sell ratios among the most actively traded shares (70.9%).  

These results suggest that investors from the Selfwealth community who chose to back Tesla and Nvidia held the greatest buying conviction among the most popular shares, such that more than seven out of every ten trades in TSLA and NVDA were ‘buys. 

The two companies experienced contrasting fortunes in FY 23/24, with Tesla shedding around a quarter of its market cap during the period, largely on account of slowing electric vehicle sales, even in the face of price cuts. Nvidia’s share price soared across the financial year as it continued to report significant demand for its GPUs, tied to the rise of generative artificial intelligence. 

By way of contrast, Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) and Westpac (ASX: WBC) recorded the lowest buy-to-sell ratios among the top 20 at 46.4% and 46.0% respectively. The pair were the only top 20 names where selling activity outweighed buying. 

Subdued conviction was somewhat at odds with each company’s performance through the financial year, with CBA resetting its all-time high on several occasions, and Westpac returning to a near five-year high. With selling accounting for most of the trading in both shares, Selfwealth members may have taken some profits off the table in favour of other opportunities. 

Top ETFs Traded in FY24 

Readers who are familiar with our monthly wraps would be unsurprised to see the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) at the top of the list for the most-traded ETFs, with the fund being a perennial favourite. 

In total, nearly 11,000 unique Selfwealth portfolios traded VAS in FY 23/24. That figure was almost double the next placed fund, Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS), which was traded by just shy of 6,000 unique portfolios. 

When analysing the popularity of the top three names, which includes VAS, VGS, and the Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG), it is apparent that these funds are clear favourites.  

Overall trade volumes in the top three funds were more than the combined total for the rest of the ETFs in the top 10. In fact, you have to extend the list of the most actively traded ETFs down to 12 spots before you find a comparable cohort for trade volumes as the top three. Trades across the top three ETFs were about the same as the next nine ETF products combined. 

As further proof regarding the level of concentration in the top ETF trades, the top 10 accounted for 46.9% of all ETF trades in the 12 months ending 30 June 2024. 

…Except for geared products like the Betashares Geared Australian Equity (Hedge Fund) ETF (ASX: GEAR), where a modest cohort of traders frequently traded the fund, ETFs were turned over with far less frequency by investors. 

Within the top 10, every ETF except GEAR recorded between 1.9 to 2.3 trades per distinct portfolio, where said investors made at least one trade in the product during the year. However, trade volumes in ETFs were often far greater than those of individual shares - out of all securities, the top six ranked for distinct trade portfolios were all ETF products.