Key takeaways: 

• March brought a big uptick in ETF trade volumes amid the market sell-off, which more than offset a decline in trades across the cohort that represents the top 20 most actively traded companies. 

• In terms of community holdings (by value), Pilbara Minerals finished the month at its equal-lowest ranking since November 2021. 

• It is important to always do your own research before making decisions to invest.

• Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. 

This article was produced 16 April 2025. 

As investors showed signs of anxiousness in the lead-up to US trade tariff announcements, March was a precursor for the market weakness on show at the start of April. 

Across the course of the month, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 4.0%, which as it turns out, was a slightly better return than the preceding month, when the local market declined 4.2%. During the first quarter of the year, the benchmark index also traded lower by a similar amount, down 3.9%. 

Sentiment deteriorated across some sectors, with the most impacted being the likes of the Information Technology, Energy, and Consumer Discretionary sectors. 

How were Selfwealth investors positioning their portfolios ahead of the tariffs announcement? Which shares or funds caught the attention of the community? Let’s take a look. 

ASX share trading activity 

Once again, iron ore miner Fortescue (ASX: FMG) was the most traded stock on the Selfwealth platform for the month. Even though shares in the large cap fell nearly 7% through March, largely due to concerns about a trade war potentially involving China, buying sentiment increased. 

The buy-to-sell ratio for FMG rose 5.2 percentage points from 64% to 69.2%. Combined with a 16% increase in trade volumes — when in fact there was a decrease in trade volumes for most names in the top 20 — last month continued the recent trend whereby Selfwealth investors have regularly ‘bought the dip’ in FMG. 

Holding onto third spot, Zip (ASX: ZIP) also managed to record a notable increase in buying conviction in the face of heavy selling pressure across the broader market. Shares in ZIP fell 34.6% throughout the month, with the growth stock’s valuation seemingly under the microscope as investors mitigated their risk exposure.  

But it was a different story within the Selfwealth community, where ZIP’s long-held ‘darling’ status among investors saw its buy-to-sell ratio increase 11.8 percentage points. In total, approximately two out of every three trades in the buy-now pay-later operator were buys. 

DroneShield (ASX: DRO), in seventh position, moved five places higher, and recorded an increase in trade volumes through the month, up around 10%. It was one of only a few shares to defy the market sell-off, and did so in a big way, with DRO shares up 18.2% last month.  

Further down the list, Woolworths (ASX: WOW) moved from 20th position to 14th, while also posting significant increases in trade volumes and buying sentiment. Overall, trade volumes in WOW rose 17.4%, while buying conviction leapt 21.6 percentage points.  

Nearly three out of every four trades in WOW last month were ‘buys’, suggesting some investors were eying more ‘defensive’ exposure amid the market sell-off, and that WOW’s near six-year low may have provided an entry opportunity. 

Finally, there was also strong buying support for the likes of Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN), WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC), and Yancoal (ASX: YAL), where the trio each recorded a buy-to-sell ratio above 60%.  

Of these names, Yancoal made the biggest move, with its last appearance among the most actively traded stocks being August 2024. Last month, YAL traded ex-dividend, paying a $0.52 per share dividend, making it one of the highest yielding stocks on the local market. This, and the subsequent ex-dividend sell-off, may have prompted some long-term buyers to take up a position in the coal miner. 

Across all securities, the top five ETFs by trade volume were also the top five securities traded across the entire platform. This coincided with a big increase in volumes for these funds. 

For example, total trades in the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) grew 27.5% over the month. For the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) and the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV), the corresponding increases were 34.5% and 29.6% respectively. 

Meanwhile, trade volumes in the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) and Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) jumped 42.2% and 16.1% respectively compared with a month prior. 

All the while, despite the market sell-off, buying sentiment was broadly comparable over the month, and if anything, the uptick in total trades for the top 10 most actively traded ETFs exceeded the decline recorded for trade volumes across the top 20 individual stocks. This suggests that Selfwealth investors favoured a diversified approach to gain exposure to the market amid resurgent volatility. Past trends are not an indicator of future trends and please undertake your own research. 

In terms of money flow, while some investors moved towards cash exposure, there was also significant capital flowing into the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF amid the ASX sell-off. Nearly 60% of all money flow in the stalwart was related to buying activity, the second highest conviction rating among the top 20 securities traded by value last month. 

However, when it came to other ETFs, including those where trade volumes leaned heavily towards buying activity, there were net trading outflows for the likes of the iShares S&P 500 ETF and Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The pair recorded buy-to-sell ratios of 41.9% and 44.2% respectively, giving rise to the notion that while a larger number of retail investors were buying up units in these funds, a smaller base of unitholders with larger holdings in these funds reduced their position sizes. 

Elsewhere, there was a modest improvement in buying sentiment for bank shares, namely ANZ (ASX: ANZ) and NAB (ASX: NAB), with the buy-to-sell ratios for both above 50%. In fact, over the month, this metric rose 7.2 percentage points and 2.4 percentage points respectively, which was likely attributable to their share price declines arising from the broader global equities sell-off. 

Last month also saw a shift in sentiment against Pro Medicus (ASX: PME), as significant capital was pulled from the stock. This may have had something to do with the stock’s underperformance, with PME finishing the month 21.1% lower.  

Long considered a growth stock, and trading with a price-to-earnings ratio of nearly 300x as at March 18, 2025, these traits likely made Pro Medicus shares more vulnerable to price weakness considering a pivot to risk-off sentiment across the market. Nearly 60% of trades in PME (by value) were related to selling through March. 

With an even lower buy-to-sell ratio, at just 30.3%, Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) was another name where Selfwealth investors reduced their portfolio exposure in haste. This was at odds with its nearest competitors in the iron ore space, but unlike said peers, shares in RIO were in the positive for the month. The contrasting fortunes raise the possibility that Selfwealth investors may have taken profits out of RIO to divert to other opportunities, namely, shares that fell during the month. 

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs? 

A sharp decline in the overall value of holdings in Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) was not enough to dislodge the nation’s largest bank from atop the list of the most held ASX stocks on the Selfwealth platform, but Westpac (ASX: WBC) did close the gap in second place.  

Whereas the former incurred a near 10% decrease in community holdings, overall holdings in Westpac grew modestly, to the tune of 0.2%. Over the month, WBC’s share price return was ahead of that for CBA, but the latter also saw a disproportionate decrease in holdings as money flow sentiment fared worse than its rival. 

Notwithstanding a reduction in the size of their holdings across the community, BHP (ASX: BHP) and CSL (ASX: CSL) each moved higher by one spot, landing in third and fourth respectively.  

While a slightly negative bias for money flow in BHP meant holdings in the stock shrunk more than the underlying performance — contracting 2.4%, versus 2.2% — it was a different story for CSL. In the case of the biotech giant, its share price fell 4.3% over the month, but a more bullish sentiment level in terms of money flow meant that overall holdings in CSL declined just 1.3% over the month. 

Further down the list, Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) and Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) swapped places in 10th and 11th positions respectively. Community holdings in Wesfarmers grew by 1.3% through March, while Selfwealth investors’ holdings in Woodside fell almost 9% over the same period. The energy sector was one of the worst performing cohorts last month, with oil, gas, and coal stocks affected by demand concerns tied to the impact of forthcoming trade tariffs. 

And finally, with its equal-lowest position since November 2021, Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) finished the month in 19th spot among the most popular ASX shares on the platform. Down 11.1% for the month, PLS also rounded out the month at a more than three-and-a-half year low.  

The total value of PLS holdings across Selfwealth investors’ portfolios shrunk by 16.7% last month.

While there were some signs of cash exposure increasing, almost all of the most popular ETFs on the platform recorded an overall monthly decline in the value of said holdings.  

Among these funds, the most pronounced declines were for ETFs with an international focus, including VGS, IVV, NDQ, and Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF (ASX: VTS).  

The above trend reflects the fact that US indices performed worse than the local benchmark last month, particularly on account of their significant exposure to tech shares. 

That’s all for this Trade Trends report, stay tuned for the next edition this time next month!