Australian investors are pouring billions into the US sharemarket, hoping the animal spirits that propelled the S&P 500 to its best two-year return in a quarter of a century can deliver outsized gains in 2025.

Wall Street focused exchange-traded funds pulled in at least $5 billion from Australian investors in 2024, eclipsing the record of $2.5 billion set in 2021, according to preliminary flows data compiled by ETF provider Global X.