Investors traded a record $3.21 billion on the stock trading platform Sharesies in the three months to the end of December - an amount almost double the previous $1.71b quarterly record.

Users were increasingly allocating funds to United States share markets, with the Smart US 500 exchange-traded fund (ETF) the most popular investment in the quarter, pushing Air New Zealand to second.

More money was allocated as investors generally increased their confidence in the market, according to Sharesies' quarterly index which finished the quarter at 55 - the highest reading for the measure since 2022.

Net deposits on the platform were lower on average, compared to the previous quarter, with interest rate cuts potentially leading investors to allocate funds into other assets such as property.

Rate cuts also impacted inflows to Sharesies’ save product, although demand for its tax efficient portfolio investment entity save offering increased.

Sharesies has 750,000 users investing or saving a total $7.6 billion through its online platform across New Zealand and Australia. Photo / Supplied

Investor attraction to individual companies was increasing again as they gained more confidence in the market following the US election, with Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, and Rocket Lab the most popular direct stock holdings.

The attraction to Rocket Lab had grown as its share price rose 389% in the past year.

The companies that lost the most traction in the full year were Ryman Healthcare, Mainfreight, NZ Windfarms, a2 Milk, ANZ Group, Spark, and Auckland International Airport.

Stocks that rose in the ranks during the full year included Palantir, Nvidia, Netflix, Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund, Microsoft, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.

Popular ETFs in the last quarter of 2024 included Pathfinder’s global responsibility fund, the Smart NZ Top 50 ETF, Vanguard’s 500 index fund and Mercer’s all country global shares index fund.