Which stocks Austrians prefer to buy

Specifically, in an evaluation of the securities portfolios of around 420,000 customers of the German direct broker flatex, the first six places were occupied by large US tech companies with the chip manufacturer Nvidia clearly in the lead (see graphic). Five Austrian companies can also be found among the top 15 stocks. “In Austria there is a great inclination towards the home market, around 50 percent of the depot volumes are in the home country,” says flatex Austria boss Tobias Spreiter.

With regard to changes in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year, Spreiter says that Austrian customers are now increasingly investing more internationally. Nevertheless: Only the German Allianz Versicherung and Siemens Energy are the only stocks in the top 15 that do not come from the USA or Austria.

According to the evaluation, the assets managed through the analyzed portfolios rose from around 11 billion euros to over 16 billion euros within a year. Around 1.7 billion euros of this would be attributable to capital appreciation. At the same time, the average portfolio size increased from around 32,000 euros to around 39,000 euros per investor.

In addition, Austrians would rely more on investment funds or ETFs than customers from the 15 other countries. Their share is 59 percent, stocks make up 38 percent, cryptos only 0.5 percent. “In Austria, investments are more conservative, but perhaps also smarter because the portfolio is better diversified,” says flatex CEO Oliver Behrens during a visit to Vienna.

No interest

The development of liquidity is also striking, says Spreiter. While the assets invested in securities now amount to around 15.5 billion euros, there are only just under 900 million euros in the clearing accounts. The cash ratio fell year-on-year from around 6 percent to just over 5 percent. “The data suggests that investors are keeping more of their assets invested for the long term and parking less capital on the sidelines,” says Spreiter.

flatex does not pay interest. “We want to promote securities and not cash,” says Behrens. Competitors would pay interest, but only for four months to a year, after which there would be nothing left without actively approaching the respective provider.

According to Spreiter, trading activity also increased. Around 560,000 transactions were carried out in June 2025. A year later there were already more than 710,000 trades. On average, an Austrian investor trades around 22 times per year. “The data speaks for regular investing instead of short-term speculation,” says Spreiter.

The number of female investors rose from around 92,000 to 114,000 within a year. The proportion of women is therefore a good 27 percent.