What you own is more important than what you earn, according to young Australians increasingly turning to investment to get ahead, a report shows.

Seven in 10 millennials and Gen Z Australians regard owning assets as more crucial to financial success than career advancement, and they are 25 percent more inclined to invest in markets compared to Gen X and Baby Boomers, based on Stake’s annual Ambition Report.

The shift in attitudes had been in the works for a long time, Stake founder and chief executive Matt Leibowitz said.

‘Property has sort of been a runaway freight train and it’s been hard to catch up,’ Mr Leibowitz told AAP.

‘For those in the younger age group, the proportion of their salary relative to loans and mortgages is excessively high, making access to that asset class very challenging.’

The survey of over 2000 Australians revealed that around half of millennials, Gen Z, and Gen X believe their wages are not keeping pace with rising expenses.

The proportion of Australians investing directly in US markets has climbed to about one in four, up from roughly three percent in 2017 when Stake was created to address this opportunity.

Currently, their clients are nearly evenly divided between the two markets, with Fortescue, BHP, and Droneshield as the most favored ASX stocks, while Nvidia, Tesla, and Palantir lead the preferences on Wall Street.

Across all age groups in the report, just under one in two didn’t invest at all (outside of superannuation).

Stake CEO Matt Leibowitz said salary to loan ratios for mortgages are ‘out of control’. (PR IMAGE PHOTO)

Among those not investing, 56 percent indicated it was due to feeling they lacked sufficient funds, including more than one-third of individuals with salaries exceeding $151,000.

The reasoning behind this was complex and could relate to having a higher cost base, but in many cases, it wasn’t about the money, Mr Leibowitz said.

‘Ultimately, I just think it’s about getting started,’ he said.

‘People that get started feel more comfortable with what they’re doing, it’s about breaking that barrier and getting into the market.’

One in three non-investors said they were afraid of losing money, roughly the same number preferred to keep their money in a savings account.

But loss aversion could ultimately result in people’s saving’s losing real value as living costs continued to rise, Morningstar associate investment specialist Simonelle Mody said.

‘While savings accounts might feel psychologically safer, they don’t come close to beating inflation in the long term,’ she said.

‘This means you’re quietly losing money every year.’

Australians are investing in popular ASX stocks such as Fortescue, BHP and Droneshield. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

Average savings accounts in Australia have an interest rate of around 2.7 per cent, according to Trading Economics, a figure that would have trailed headline inflation for more than two of the past five years.

Mr Leibowitz said a cultural shift towards investing was already happening, and was supportive of schools teaching financial literacy at a young age.

‘It’s the biggest stress in people’s lives, alongside relationships so let’s make sure that we equip people appropriately for that,’ he said.