Speed has become the defining advantage. McCarthy points to Moomoo’s AI Announcement Summary, a feature that analyses company earnings results the moment they are released, extracting key numbers and commentary into a digestible brief within seconds.
Michael McCarthy, stock platform Moomoo’s CEO for Australia and New Zealand.
“We can gather the information ahead of time where we can and then, as information is released, we pull out the relevant facts and present them as an AI summary of the earnings report within seconds of the report being released,” he says.
Trend Projection uses pattern recognition to analyse historical data of an extensive dataset and identify likely short-term trajectories, while Indicator Sentiment condenses 16 technical signals into a single directional snapshot.
“Rather than drilling through 16 different charts or indicators, you can simply go to the indicator sentiment and get a technical analysis summary in seconds,” McCarthy says.
Moomoo has also integrated an Institutional Tracker, which allows retail users to follow the movements of large investment firms, and a paper-trading mode so they can test strategies risk-free using the same interface and tools as live markets. Together, these functions give individual investors visibility and control that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
Levelling the field
The democratisation of information is reshaping the culture of retail trading. McCarthy says that while institutions still have greater resources, the data gap between professional and private investors has narrowed dramatically.
“Retail investors are now getting very similar information in very similar time frames. The gap has been closed enormously,” he says.
This acceleration is reflected in new research from Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), which found that 48 per cent of Australian investors already use AI tools to inform investment decisions, while 81 per cent are at least somewhat satisfied with the information they provide. Among younger investors aged 18 to 29, adoption rises to 78 per cent.
CA ANZ chief executive Ainslie van Onselen says the trend underscores how fast the technology has moved from novelty to normal. “We have seen adoption of AI grow rapidly for both personal and professional use, but it is interesting to see investors are using it to guide where their money goes,” she says.
CA ANZ chief economist Professor Richard Holden says that the shift places a premium on transparency and high-quality data. “The increasing use of AI tools in investment decision-making highlights the importance of having reliable financial data for training these models, which support investors in making informed decisions,” he says.
For McCarthy, the practical impact is simple: efficiency. “AI is giving people the ability to do more with less and spend less time,” he says. “For most individual investors that’s a real boon. Investing is an addendum to their lives, and reducing the time they need to dedicate to the market is a boon not just to their investing but to the rest of their lives.”
The trust question
As machine-generated insights proliferate, trust has become the decisive factor in adoption. The CA ANZ survey found that 43 per cent of non-users cited lack of confidence in AI outputs, and 46 per cent preferred traditional information sources. That hesitation is echoed across financial services, where concerns about bias, reliability and data governance remain front of mind.
McCarthy says Moomoo addresses those concerns by treating AI within an established ethical framework. “We have a rules-based ethical framework that we operate under at all times, and AI fits naturally under that. It’s just another tool that doesn’t require a special carve-out,” he says.
New behaviour, same principles
While the tools are changing, McCarthy says the fundamentals of investing remain constant. “Although we have much more powerful tools and technology available, the essential nature of investing remains the same. The principles of successful investing remain the same despite all of this,” he says.
He believes education and discipline will determine whether AI ultimately makes investors smarter or simply faster. “It’s still up to each individual to work out the important things about their investment style, whether that’s their risk appetite, the time frame they’re working on or the aims they have. Those remain firmly in the control of the investor,” he says.
For platforms like Moomoo, that means building in transparency and usability as much as capability. McCarthy says features such as paper-trading, live education streams and integrated data visualisations help ensure users understand the tools before they rely on them.
Looking ahead
AI’s influence on markets is likely to expand as new capabilities emerge. Natural-language processing is already being used to interpret earnings calls and analyst briefings in real time. Scenario modelling, which maps how events such as rate moves or supply-chain disruptions ripple through sectors, is on the horizon for retail platforms.
McCarthy expects innovation to continue but cautions against losing sight of the human element. “AI is a tool. It’s changing the paradigm for retail investors by giving them the ability to do more with less and make faster decisions, but it doesn’t replace the fundamentals,” he says.
For Australia’s capital markets, the trend has wider implications. A more active, data-literate retail base trading across multiple jurisdictions could reshape liquidity, competition and engagement.
Ultimately, the shift is not just technological. It is changing the rhythm of investing itself. Tasks that once took days of analysis now happen in minutes. Used well, these tools are widening Australian investors’ reach and helping to bring global markets within easier grasp.
To find out more, please visit Moomoo.
