Investment Trends

What Investment Trends does

Investment Trends is a privately-held, Sydney-headquartered global market research firm founded in 2003 by Mark Johnston, specialising in the financial services industry. It produces syndicated research reports, custom research projects, and an annual Awards for Excellence program, covering online investing, leverage trading (CFD/FX), financial advice, SMSFs, ETFs, adviser technology, investment platforms, and retirement income across nine country markets including Australia, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, and the USA. Research is delivered through the proprietary DataHub secure digital client portal alongside executive briefings, dedicated client analysis, and analyst access hours. The firm serves more than 130 leading financial services organisations including brokers, investment platforms, fund managers, advisers, and regulators, with named multi-year relationships including BetaShares, IG Group, CMC Markets, and Netwealth.

The company operates a hybrid revenue model combining annual recurring syndicated subscriptions with bespoke custom research professional services engagements, priced via quote-based commercial terms and offering multi-report package pricing. Its go-to-market is enterprise sales-led, supported by a dedicated global sales and client services function organised into Australian and International divisions. Underlying technology consists of a custom-built research platform with world-class data security, GDPR-standard data privacy, and sophisticated data visualisation tools, underpinned by proprietary research methods developed over more than 20 years. The team of 11–50 employees is led by CEO Harry Mitchell (appointed 2023), with senior hires including Head of Research Julian Cappe, Director of Statistical Consulting Dr Borhan Uddin, and recently appointed Heads of Sales for Australia and International in 2026, signalling a renewed focus on international growth.

Name

Investment Trends

Legal name

Investment Trends Pty Ltd

Website

https://investmenttrends.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Services Market Research

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Strategy & Thematic Research (FSACAGAG), Sector-Specific Industry Research (FSACAGAL), Investor Education, Research & Portfolio Analytics Services (Retail) (FSAAAAAO)

Keywords

• Financial services research
• Syndicated market research
• Wealth management research
• Online trading research
• Investment industry analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Syndicated Research Reports: Annual industry-wide studies covering specific market segments (online investing, leverage trading, adviser technology, SMSF, platforms, etc.) across multiple countries. Deliverables include comprehensive research reports, executive briefings, dedicated client analysis, analyst access hours, and DataHub portal access.
2. Custom Research Projects: Tailored research projects for individual clients covering value proposition testing, service benchmarking, brand and competitive gap analyses, and other custom needs.
3. Awards for Excellence Program: Annual awards program commending product and service providers that stood out for user satisfaction across various categories, generating engagement with the industry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Investment Trends delivers independent, deep-insights syndicated research and custom research projects focused on the behaviours and needs of investors and intermediaries, helping financial services companies better understand competitive positioning and customer needs. Its product portfolio includes dozens of country-specific and global Key Industry Reports (online investing, leverage/CFD trading, ETFs, SMSFs, platforms, adviser technology, retirement income), bespoke Custom Research Projects, and an annual Awards for Excellence program, all delivered through its secure DataHub client portal.

Product overview

Investment Trends is a global industry research firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of syndicated research reports and custom research services. The core product is the Key Industry Reports suite, which includes dozens of country-specific and global reports covering online investing, leverage trading (CFD/FX), financial advice, SMSFs, ETFs, adviser technology, platforms, and retirement income. Deliverables include comprehensive research reports, tailored executive briefings, dedicated client analysis, and access via the DataHub secure digital client portal. The company also conducts custom research projects and runs an annual Awards for Excellence program. The research is delivered through an annual self-improving cycle, with syndicated reports serving as the central reference point for entire industry segments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Key Industry Reports

Quantifiable outcome

• Served over 130 leading financial services organisations globally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NetwealthcoreOthersNetwealth uses Investment Trends research as an important component of their product development process to identify developing industry trends and make judgments about future direction and product offering.
• BetaSharescoreOthersBetaShares has partnered with Investment Trends for a decade to gain insight and understanding of the Australian ETF industry, finding Investment Trends to act with professionalism, integrity and deliver deep expert insight.
• CMC MarketscoreOthersCMC Markets uses Investment Trends data for real industry insights to provide better service and product offerings to clients. They look forward to annual reports and determine strategy around the results.
• IG GroupcoreOthersIG Group has valued their relationship and partnership with Investment Trends for over a decade, using their services and key insights for strategic analysis and decision making.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Morningstar: Global investment research and data powerhouse serving advisors, asset managers and platforms with syndicated research, ratings, and analytics. Directly comparable in the 'independent financial services research' category but at vastly greater scale and breadth than Investment Trends.
• Coalition Greenwich (formerly Greenwich Associates): Research and advisory firm producing benchmarking and market intelligence for financial services institutions worldwide. Comparable on the enterprise syndicated research model, though more institutional buy-side focused than Investment Trends' retail bias.
• S&P Global Market Intelligence: Large-scale financial data, analytics, and research provider covering securities, advisors, and asset managers. Adjacent competitor for syndicated research budgets of large financial institutions that overlap with Investment Trends' client base.
• Bloomberg Intelligence: Bloomberg's in-house research arm producing sector and industry analysis for institutional finance professionals. Comparable in delivering sector/industry research as a subscription product to financial services buyers, though bundled into the Bloomberg terminal ecosystem.
• Investment Trends Direct Peer: Kantar / TNS (financial services practice): Large global research conglomerate with a financial services specialty practice delivering syndicated and custom research to banks, insurers and wealth managers. Comparable on syndicated + custom research model and large enterprise client base, though much broader in scope.

Direct peers

• CoreData Research: Specialist financial services market research firm with strong Asia Pacific and global footprint, producing syndicated and custom research for asset managers, platforms, and advisors. Highly comparable in offering mix and target buyer profile to Investment Trends.
• RFi Group: Specialist research and analytics firm focused on retail banking, wealth management, and insurance globally. Closely comparable in vertical focus (financial services), syndicated + custom model, and B2B enterprise buyer profile.

Regional players

• Plan For Life: Australia-based specialist research firm producing industry data and analysis on wealth management, superannuation, and life insurance. A direct regional peer to Investment Trends' Australian wealth management and SMSF research.

Emerging players

• Investment Company Institute (ICI) Research: US trade association producing industry research and statistics on investment funds and their investors. Comparable in being a primary reference source for fund/investor behavior data, though not-for-profit and US-only versus Investment Trends' commercial global model.

Others

• Investment Trends Peer: Calastone: While a fintech rather than a research firm, Calastone operates in the same investment/fund distribution ecosystem with industry research as a content-led GTM channel. Useful adjacent reference for ecosystem participants serving Investment Trends' platform and asset management buyer segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/investmentrends
• Facebookfacebook.com/investmenttrends
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/investment-trends

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Investment Trends