Flatex Analysis: Austrian Investors Heavily Favor US Tech and Domestic Stocks

Alongside international stocks, Austrian titles play a remarkably large role. Overall, seven Austrian companies are among the 25 most heavily held stocks. Flatex Austria chief Tobias Spreiter said on this: "In Österreich gibt es eine große Neigung zum Heimatmarkt, rund 50 Prozent der Depotvolumina entfallen auf das Heimatland".

Among the top 15 stocks, there are five Austrian companies, complemented by two German titles. Alongside Nvidia and other US tech companies, the German Allianz insurance company and Siemens Energy are the only non-US and non-Austrian stocks in this top group. Flatex CEO Oliver Behrens, during a visit to Vienna, was pleased with the structure: "In Österreich wird konservativer veranlagt, vielleicht aber auch schlumper, weil das Depot besser diversifiziert ist".

The average portfolio size of Austrian investors rose year-on-year from around 32,000 to approximately 39,000 euros. The cash ratio fell from around six to just over five percent, while assets invested in securities amounted to 15.5 billion euros. In contrast, only just under 900 million euros sat in clearing accounts.

More Trades, Less Cash

Spreiter interprets this development as a sign of long-term investment behavior. "Die Daten deuten darauf hin, dass Anleger einen größeren Teil ihres Vermögens langfristig investiert halten und weniger Kapital an der Seitenlinie parken", he said. He also views the rising trading frequency positively: "Die Daten sprechen damit für regelmäßiges Investieren statt kurzfristiger Spekulation".

The number of transactions rose significantly: In June 2025, around 560,000 trades were executed, a year later there were already more than 710,000. On average, an Austrian investor trades around 22 times per year. ETFs play an increasingly important role, especially for customers from the 15 other countries that Flatex serves in Austria.

The development among female investors is also notable: their number rose within a year from around 92,000 to 114,000, putting the share of women at just over 27 percent. Overall, bonds make up around 59 percent of holdings, equities 38 percent, and cryptocurrencies just 0.5 percent.

Outlook and Limits of Market Access

Behrens advised investors to spread their money broadly rather than concentrating it on two or three individual stocks. On the topic of speculative bubbles, he said in Vienna: "Blasen und exzessive Aktienentwicklungen gibt es immer. Blasen platzen auch immer wieder, weil die Dinge sich von der Realität entfernen und dann normalisieren. Aber meist kommen die Dinge anders als erwartet".

For the future, FlatexDegiro has set itself ambitious targets: in the long term, the company wants to win ten percent of the Austrian population as customers. A branch in Graz already exists, and artificial intelligence is intended to support employees without replacing them. Behrens also emphasized: "Wir wollen ja Wertpapiere promoten und nicht Cash".

There are limitations on certain international IPOs: The SpaceX prospectus was not approved in Austria, forcing investors to turn to brokers in third countries. Whether Austrian investors will be able to participate in the planned IPOs of Anthropic and OpenAI depends on prospectus approval, not on the broker.

Overall, the analysis paints the picture of a growing, increasingly active, and at the same time home-oriented retail investor market in Austria. Spreiter sees initial signs of stronger international diversification, but emphasizes that the home bias remains pronounced.

Data protection and customer communication are important to Behrens: FlatexDegiro sees the direct accessibility of its employees as a unique selling point compared to competitors and intends to maintain this.