“On 31 December 2024, the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX) had 1,989 domestic and foreign equity issuers listed with a total market capitalisation of AUD 3.007 trillion. While this market capitalisation is near record highs, the number of listed companies has decreased. This decline raises a critical question: Should we be concerned?”
“Between December 2022 and December 2024, the number of companies has fallen by 145. This is the largest decline over a two-year period since the recession in the early 1990s.”
“It is too early to call this a structural shift – it may well be a cyclical trend. More concerning is the longer-term decline in the ASX market capitalisation relative to global market capitalisation, and the decline in ASX market capitalisation relative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
Excerpts from the Executive Summary of the Report “Evaluating the state of the Australian public equity market”
Professor Carole Comerton-Forde is the author of a report commissioned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) titled Evaluating the state of the Australian public equity market: Evidence from data and academic literature
We are pleased to feature Professor Comerton-Forde’ research in a luncheon presentation in Sydney, co-hosted with MLC Asset Management.
In the presentation, she will provide an overview of listing activity in the Australian market over the last 25 years and contrast it with other global markets.
She will summarise insights from the academic literature, which offers explanations for the decline in public markets in overseas markets.
She will also highlight differences in the Australian context including the role of Australia’s large pool of superannuation assets.
About the luncheon speaker:
Carole Comerton-Forde is a Professor of Finance at the University of Melbourne. Her research in market structure examines how the mechanics of the market, such as regulation and technology, impact prices, liquidity and trader behaviour. Her research covers equities, corporate bonds and Exchange Traded Funds.
Current research interests include dark pools, fragmentation, the connection between the cost of raising capital and secondary market liquidity and the evolution of public and private markets. Carole’s research has been published in the leading finance journals including the Journal of Finance and the Journal of Financial Economics.
Carole is an economic consultant for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and an Academic Advisor to the Plato Partnership. She is a co-founder of the Women in Microstructure research group and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research.
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