The stock market was invented mainly for older, wealthy, white men and any movement toward broadening the base was scotched by the Great Depression. It wasn’t until the Baby Boomers reached working age that the market began to democratize, mainly via low-cost index funds and equity selections in tax-deferred retirement accounts, and the change did not take strongly among non-whites.
Generation X imitated its parents, but as Millennials reach working ages a new paradigm may be emerging—aggressive equity participation by young people of all races, centered on active trading of individual stocks. The dollar amounts are small today, but the long-term impact on markets, the economy and society could be profound.
The Elizabethan poet Thomas Nashe wrote “A Litany in Time of Plague” in which he warned, “Rich men, trust not in wealth, Gold cannot buy you health.” Millions of non-rich Americans, mostly young and non-White, are using this time of plague to start trusting in stocks. That may prove to be one of the bigger social changes from pandemic.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.