Speaking exclusively with InvestorDaily, eToro Australia managing director Robert Francis confirmed the investment and multi-asset trading platform plans to attract a new client base in 2026.
“Things like stock lending, margin trading – those are kinds of product offerings that we would like to launch in 2026,” Francis said.
“Wholesale is something that we are looking at. We have a few product offerings that we would like to offer clients [in Australia] and my feeling is that these products will only be suitable for wholesale clients.”
On 17 October, eToro launched AUD accounts for Australian retail investors, allowing local users to deposit, hold, withdraw and invest directly in their local currency.
“Everything that we’ve done is based on the US dollar – basically because a lot of the assets that clients wish to trade and where we’ve been focused globally is on US assets, whether it’s been the US stock market, crypto,” Francis said.
“There’s really been a need for us to have an AUD account for clients to be able to trade Australian assets in Australian dollars. It’s the first step for me to grow the business here in Australia, to start trading more Australian equities.”
eToro said momentum in the markets is building as the calendar year comes to an end.
“Everybody I think is encouraged, you’ve seen recently every time Trump makes an announcement, particularly around tariffs, investors are basically flocking into the market to buy the dip and they’re being rewarded,” Francis said.
“I still think that there is more room for the markets to expand further and grow further. It’s looking very positive in my opinion.”
With cooler-than-expected local jobs data released in the September data, the chance of a Reserve Bank interest rate cut in November has grown – something which could boost investor sentiment for alternative income sources.
“Every time you see a rate cut, it means that people want to find ways in which they can grow their wealth, and it’s not going to be through savings,” Francis said.
“Every time we’ve seen a rate cut, we’ve seen positive momentum in the market – that’s historical, not something that’s new here.”
As for the modern gold rush, Francis said while eToro doesn’t deal in the physical commodity space, there’s been an uptick in investors buying contracts. On 17 October, the price of gold extended its rally, breaking past US$4,300 an ounce and setting a new record high.
“We’re seeing an increase in people wanting to open gold contracts, which aren’t performing as well as gold itself, but this is definitely the hedge because of people’s concerns about what’s happening over in the US, all these conflicts we’ve seen around the world,” he said.
“There is also, in my opinion, FOMO – people think they’re missing out and when they see something climbing higher and higher, everybody wants to jump in.”
Meanwhile, eToro is also keeping a close eye on the evolving digital asset space in Australia.
“We’re very mindful that crypto legislation is just around the corner,” Francis said.
The federal government recently released a draft framework for its digital currency legislation. The bill proposes formally introducing digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms as financial products under the Corporations Act, bringing them under ASIC oversight.
“We want to see what’s coming there. I know a lot at the moment the focus seems to be on custody and trying to ensure that we don’t see another FTX event. We’re looking at that very closely, we welcome that legislation – it gives us a lot more clarity and then from there we can see what our plans will be, once we know what the regulation states.
“2026 I think is going to be another very good year for people who are participating in the markets,” Francis said.
