Investor revolt: 78% of Australians say the Federal Budget makes Australia a less attractive place to build wealth

Investor confidence has deteriorated sharply following the 2026 Federal Budget, with new VanEck research showing significant implications for capital formation, business investment and the future of wealth accumulation in Australia. The survey of more than 1,400 Australian investors was conducted in the days after the Budget by global ETF issuer, VanEck.

The findings paint a stark picture. Almost 8 out of 10 respondents reacted negatively to the proposed replacement of the 50% CGT discount with cost-base indexation and the introduction of a 30% minimum tax on net capital gains, with around 60% of respondents describing their reaction as "strongly negative."

The vast majority of investors now consider Australia a less attractive place to start and build a private business than it was 12 months ago.

Arian Neiron, CEO & Managing Director, VanEck Asia Pacific, said: “This is the loudest signal we have ever received from Australian investors post-Budget. Three in four told us the changes to capital gains tax undermine the incentive to invest. The most experienced cohort of investors in the country, people who have built wealth carefully over twenty, thirty, even forty years, has described the Budget as a structural attack on their planning."

“The flight to superannuation is rational, but it is also revealing. Forty-six per cent of respondents told us super is now the most tax-efficient vehicle and deserves a bigger allocation. That will likely result in Australians across every age cohort engaging more deliberately with their super and an accelerating shift toward SMSFs. We see this as a meaningful tailwind for ETFs, which provide the transparency, diversification and control investors are increasingly looking for.

“The shift in investor appetite is striking. More than 80% of respondents now consider residential investment property less attractive, while almost a third see cash and term deposits as more attractive post-Budget, pointing to a defensive shift in how investors are thinking about capital allocation,” said Neiron.

Key findings

• 77.7% view the CGT and indexation changes negatively, while only 18.7% view them positively
• 51.5% are holding all positions and waiting to see how legislation evolves, 27.7% plan to realise gains before 1 July 2027 to lock in the current discount, 21.9% are actively considering restructuring
• 78.3% say Australia is now a less attractive place to start or build a private business
• 81.4% say residential investment property is now less attractive, the largest swing of any asset class
• 45.5% identified superannuation as the most tax-efficient vehicle going forward

Survey methodology

The VanEck Federal Budget Investor Survey was conducted between 19 and 20 May 2026, attracting 1,421 completed responses from VanEck's Australian investor community. The sample skews to male, experienced investors (67.7% have invested for over 20 years), and older cohorts (70% aged 55+).