Lake Resources No.1 ASX stock in 2022 and Tesla No.1 with US stocks, according to Selfwealth

Lithium stocks have dominated the investing habits of the Selfwealth cohort in 2022 with three of the top four most traded stocks.

In Selfwealth’s annual end-of-year look at the investing habits of its near 130,000 active members, Lake Resources was the most traded stock on the platform just pipping Core Lithium with Pilbara Minerals fourth. Squeezed into third was BHP.

“We could see in the latter half of 2021 there was beginning to be significant interest in lithium producers but in 2022 there was an increase in trading activity,” said Selfwealth CEO Cath Whitaker.

“Lake Resources finished 2021 as the fifth most traded stock on the platform, Pilbara Minerals was 12th and Core Lithium 15th – so we could see our investors were taking this sector seriously.”

Australia is the world’s largest producer of lithium globally producing over 50%.

The energy sector was one of only three sectors on the ASX to be up in 2022 39.1% according to Bloomberg, with Utilities up 24.2% and Materials up 4.8%. The worst performing sector was Info Tech at minus 34.3%.

Australian shares fell considerably less than global shares, but it was a rough ride with the ASX200 falling 5.4% – its worst performance since 2018.

Of the top 20 energy stocks traded by the Selfwealth cohort, there were some big winners with Terracom up 369%, Whitehaven Coal up 267% and Melbana Energy up 245%.

Whitehaven Coal was the ASX 200’s biggest mover in 2022, with its 267% increase following a $2 billion profit. Whitehaven was the 17th most traded stock on the Selfwealth platform.

Core Lithium was the third best performer of the ASX 200, with a share price increase of 73%, although during the year it was up as much as 200% when it hit $1.875. On the last day of trading in 2022 it was $1.025.

The worst performer of the ASX 200, Novonix – down 80% – was the 12th most traded stock, having been 9th in 2021.

“Surprisingly, no US-listed energy stock featured among the top 50, despite huge gains on offer. This suggests Selfwealth members favour the familiarity of the ASX for energy stocks, perhaps due to its reputation as a ‘home’ for commodity stocks,” Whitaker said.

“Between oil, gas, coal, lithium and even uranium, money has flowed into the sector.

“Higher commodity prices played a key role in delivering an earnings boost for most of the energy sector, in turn fuelling significant share price returns.

“At various times throughout the year, oil, gas, coal, and uranium prices either set new records, or hit multi-year highs.

“Oil had a 13-year high and broke above US$130 a barrel. Thermal coal and coking coal hit record highs of around US$450 a metric tonne and US$600 a metric tonne respectively. Uranium reached an 11-year high of US$65 a pound in April.

“Six of the top 20 most traded energy stocks offer exposure to coal – and in all but one instance, directly.

“We believe investors locked in profits as the share prices of energy holdings soared. Selfwealth members may hold a more conservative outlook for the energy sector, viewing its resurgence as a short-term product of the war in Ukraine.

“Interestingly, battery metals continue to outrank energy stocks, suggesting long-term conviction lies with renewables.”

The Banking sector was also in favour in 2022 with Westpac moving from 13th in 2021 to 8th, Macquarie up into 10th, ANZ went from 17th to 11th and CBA moved from 20th to 16th.

Among those with the biggest decline from 2021 was Buy Now, Pay Later provider ZIP which was the No.1 traded stock in 2021 but fell to 7th in 2022.

Also falling out of the top 20 were A2Milk from 7th to 36th, Kogan from 8th to 66th, Appen from 11th to 39th, and Lynas Rare Earths from 18th to 26th.

Selfwealth is Australia’s third largest share trading platform with more than $8.2 billion in assets under management.

Top 20 shares traded on the Selfwealth platform by volume 2022 v 2021 (excluding ETFs)

ETFs still No.1

ETFs continued to be the most popular investing option for the Selfwealth cohort taking the top three positions – the same as they did in 2021.

Vanguard Australian Shares (VAS) at No.1 for the second year in a row, followed by Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index (VDHG) in second and Vanguard Msci Index International Shares (VGS) third.

Just as important as the number of trades is the number of buys with 87% of in VAS trades being buys, 88% for VDHG and 89% for CGS.

“This shows that rather than buy the share and then trade it in the same year, the vast majority are holding onto the stock,” said Ms Whitaker. “This is exactly what we are encouraging our cohort to do – build their wealth over time.”

Top 10 ETF shares traded on the Selfwealth platform by volume 2022 v 2021

US share trading 2022 by volume – Tesla by a mile

Tesla was easily the most popular US share on the Selfwealth platform – and in fact is the 16^th most traded stock on the platform, which is more than the Commonwealth Bank, Whitehaven Coal, Rio Tinto and CSL.

Tesla also had an 80% buy to sell ratio meaning that investors were in for the long haul.

The number of Tesla shares traded was more than double second placed Apple – which was more traded than ASX companies Paladian Energy and Imugene.

US shares with the highest buy trading percentage

ASX shares with the highest buy trading percentage

Top 20 shares traded on the Selfwealth platform by value 2022 v 2021 (excluding ETFs)

Top seven ETF shares traded on the Selfwealth platform by value 2022 v 2021