Selfwealth by Syfe said buy orders for copper exchange-traded funds on its platform in September were nearly 470% higher than a year earlier, indicating Australian retail investors are increasing exposure to resources linked to artificial intelligence and electrification.
The data points to a split in how investors are seeking exposure to the artificial intelligence theme across markets. In the US, investors have direct access to listed technology groups tied to AI. In Australia, many are turning to materials and energy stocks that stand to benefit from higher demand for inputs such as copper.
According to the platform, US technology stocks are up about 30% so far this year, while the ASX Information Technology sector has fallen about 13%. Over the same period, ASX Materials has risen roughly 22% and ASX Energy about 30%.
Copper has become the standout trade within that shift, with buy orders for copper ETFs in September almost 470% above the level recorded in the same month last year.
Other metals also attracted stronger interest, though at lower growth rates. Buy orders for mixed metals rose 288%, silver 264% and gold 68%, based on platform data.
Assets held in copper ETFs also expanded sharply. Copper ETF assets under management were up 284% year on year, compared with 167% for mixed metals, 77% for silver and 24% for gold.
The trend was linked to copper's role in data centres and in the broader shift to renewable energy systems. Copper is used extensively in electrical networks, cabling and equipment tied to both digital infrastructure and electrification projects.
Rob Wilson, Director of Investment Strategy at Selfwealth by Syfe, said investors are increasingly building exposure across both overseas technology names and Australian resources.
"The US gets the AI boom through tech stocks, while Australia gets it through the commodities that AI and electrification depend on. Australian investors are building both into their portfolios," Wilson said.
The figures suggest retail investors are not treating the AI theme solely as a technology trade. Instead, they are also looking at sectors that may benefit from second-order effects, particularly demand for raw materials needed in data centres, power systems and renewable energy infrastructure.
Resources shift
Australia's sharemarket has traditionally had stronger representation in banks, miners and energy companies than in large technology groups. That market structure means local investors often use resources stocks and sector funds as a proxy for global industrial and technological trends when domestic tech exposure is limited.
Wilson said the pattern echoes earlier cycles in the Australian market, when commodity demand drove broader investor interest in miners.
"Australia's last big resources boom was built on iron ore. Iron ore is still our biggest export, but this year copper edged ahead of it as the largest source of earnings for many ASX-listed miners for the first time. Investors are increasingly looking at copper as the driver of the next boom," Wilson said.
Selfwealth by Syfe was founded in 2012 and acquired by Syfe in 2025. The business says it supports more than 130,000 investors in Australia, while the wider Syfe group has more than AUD $21 billion in funds under administration.
Syfe says it manages more than USD $15 billion in assets across its operations and serves customers in more than 60 countries.