Myth: Investing is reserved for the wealthy.

Sometimes the idea of investing can be intimidating to people unfamiliar with it. Whether you did not have financially literate parents, did not focus on becoming financially literate, or just have general apprehension when it comes to investing you may be justifying your actions or lack thereof by convincing yourself that investing is for the wealthy.

I want to be very clear. There has never been a lower barrier to entry in the investment space. The access to financial markets continues its parabolic growth every day.

The rise of no-fee trading offers easy access for all retail investors. No longer are the days of paying for each trade you make. Nearly all of the brokerage platforms have no minimums as well. You can literally get started with $1.

Today’s young professionals stand to build an investment foundation in such better fashion than the generations before them. Investing was not always so accessible, I think the chart above proves that!

Now, another aspect of the “investing is reserved for the wealthy” argument is that a lot of young professionals do not think they are sophisticated enough to be investing. 

As if wealth brings about sophistication. One of my favorite quotes is, “If you cannot manage $1,000, you cannot manage $100,000. Financial literacy builds wealth, wealth does not build financial literacy.” (I am unsure who originally said this, it has been recycled many times throughout X and other platforms, but it is an incredibly powerful message).

While I can’t go in-depth on how a young professional should be investing, I promise that there is no secret formula or some higher degree of intelligence needed to invest. Plain, boring, vanilla index funds serve to diversify even the smallest portfolios and allow easy access to domestic, international, and emerging markets.

At the end of the day, I get it. It can be awfully intimidating. Especially if you have very little experience with investing. However, there are tons of options these days! You have the classic do-it-yourself traditional brokerage account, robo-advisors that offer tailored portfolios according to your risk tolerance, and even professionals that don’t have account minimums! On top of all that, you can work with a financial planning professional and gain insights as to how your portfolio can be optimized WITHOUT having to bring assets over! Yes, these people exist… I am one of them!!

Consider looking into your options, information is abundant out there (please ensure it is from a trusted source, NOT TIKTOK). Setting yourself up at a young age can be incredibly impactful down the line.

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Have a more specific question or want to get your finances in order? Feel free to reach out to [email protected] for a free consultation!