The Top Stocks in Selfwealth’s Millionaire Portfolios

Selfwealth has pulled data on their millionaire investors to shed light on both their investment practices and most popular stocks.  

Not surprisingly, there are some key learnings in how Selfwealth’s millionaire stockholders (there are just over 1,200 of them) are investing compared to the larger cohort of 129,000. 

The average size of these portfolio holders was $2.6 million with the largest portfolio being $97 million. Of the 1,200, 386 are held in SMSFs. 

One main finding is that these investors aren’t as dependent on ETFs, preferring instead to opt for single stocks. Whereas the top 10 stocks in the overall cohort are dominated by ETFs, the only such fund in our millionaire portfolio top 10 is Vanguard’s Australian Shares Index (ASX:VAS). 

There are differences in single-stock holdings, too. 

The larger Selfwealth cohort is fond of lithium stocks. In its top 20, Lake Resources is 4th, Core Lithium is 5th, Pilbara Minerals is 8th, Sayona Mining is 14^th, and Liontown Resources is 19^th.  

For millionaire portfolio holders, Pilbara Minerals is the only lithium company that appears in the top 20, and that’s in 17th. 

That’s not to say our millionaire holders aren’t investing in mining — just that they tend to go for blue-chip stocks. Fortescue Metals is No.1 most-held by a large margin, BHP is 3^rd, and Rio Tinto is 14th.  

Selfwealth millionaire portfolio holders are also heavily invested in the Big 4 banks, with Westpac 4^th, ANZ 6th, CBA 7th, NAB 11th, and Macquarie in 9th. This shows higher conviction in banking stocks than the larger cohort, which feature those same holdings, but in smaller concentrations. 

One stand-out stock in the millionaire stocks top 10 is Neuren Pharmaceuticals, which has seen its share price rocket 265% in the past year. Apple makes it into 15^th spot – the only non ASX stock to make the top 20. 

Selfwealth CEO Cath Whitaker (pictured) said the common theme of millionaire investors’ portfolios was their commitment to tried and true investing principles.  

“Our millionaire portfolio investors hold strong companies in strong sectors. When it comes to ETFs they go for the biggest, and when it comes to non-traditional single stocks they’ve picked those that have seen very high returns.” 

What are the generations doing? 

(Generational millionaire investor stats below look at how different ages have invested from January 1, 2023, to March 31, 2023).

Baby Boomers 

The Baby Boomers are obviously the most experienced of our cohort. Our average Baby Boomer is more likely to have bought lithium miner Pilbara Minerals as well as a couple of Vanguard ETFs. 

Those with the $1 million accounts, their top 10 largely tracks the top 10 largest ASX companies by Market Cap – so miners BHP, Fortescue, and Woodside as well as CBA, NAB, ANZ, and Macquarie.  

Interestingly, Baby Boomer millionaires made significant plays in ASX:AAA, which is Betashares’ Australian High Interest Cash, and which indicates portfolio mix between cash and equities. 

Gen X 

Gen X is definitely Selfwealth’s tech generation. Featuring in their top five are Apple, Google and Microsoft.  

They are also showing they are nimble. During the recent Silicon Valley Bank closure and Credit Suisse’s merger with UBS, they jumped on Citibank and Bank of America. 

Millennials 

Millionaire millennials are Selfwealth’s biggest risk takers making big plays in leveraged and shorting products, investing in ETFs like LNAS, BBOZ, GEAR, and SNAS. 

An outlier for this cohort is Leo Lithium – which is virtually ignored by the other age groups. And they are buying not selling with 80% of all activity in the past two months being buys. 

Gen Zs 

Gen Zs millionaire portfolio holders are the smallest group. All are male, aged between 20 and 24, live in Sydney, buy only Vanguard ETFs and have never sold a single stock.