The corporate world is so…corporate. It’s run by white men. Who run around in suits and ties and speak in an annoying corporate dialect. Of course, corporate lobbyists also control our country. But who owns public corporations? Stockholders. Some stockholders are giant corporations themselves, and some are just individuals like you and me.
Do you have to wear a suit to buy stocks? Um, no. I’m currently in my PJs and just bought a bunch of shares in companies. No plans to get dressed anytime soon.
Do you have to have tons of money to buy stocks? Not really. Can you get your hands on $500 that you can devote to investing? Then you can buy stocks.
Do you have to have a stockbroker and a financial advisor and read boring jargon everyday? Nope. You need a smartphone or a computer. Then you can do it all by yourself.
Whether you are just thinking about trying it out, or already a seasoned investor, feel free to come along with me as I discuss investing in layperson’s terms. I’ll be posting my own thoughts, based on my own research and strangely-ordered mind. I’d love to hear your unique perspective, answer questions, or discuss companies in a supportive environment with you.
While I do have an MBA and many years of investing experience, I am by no means an “authority” or certified in any way as a financial advisor. I’ve never worn a suit. We are all responsible for our own investing decisions. But I hope to demystify the world of stocks for some of you who (understandably) have been turned off by the douchey Wall Street aspect of it.
BIPOC and white women have some catching up to do in the financial sphere because of our country’s foundation on white male supremacy. Example: Redlining and loan discrimination, combined with the GI Bill, made it nearly impossible for Black and Brown Americans to build wealth in the 1900s. Mass incarceration has destabilized Black nuclear families, denying them the benefits of white patriarchy (which has benefited white women systemically while denying them personal agency within the system.) Another Example: women of every shade couldn’t get credit cards in their own name until the 1970s. No wonder most investors are white men, and investment culture is so white male-oriented.
Research has shown women are better investors than men. They are less emotional about money, less ego-centric and less likely to make rash decisions based on fear or “keeping up with the Joneses.” It would stand to reason that non-ego-centric cultures – indigenous, womanist, collectivist — produce better individual investors.
Many of us share the experience of being left out of mainstream investing culture. We haven’t had the opportunities elite white men have, and our confidence has been slammed at every turn. White men with disabilities or who hold less privilege may also feel left out. And compared to Jeff Bezos, pretty much everyone feels left out these days. Our capitalist system is broken. Which isn’t to say let’s burn it down and become Marxists. But let’s study it. Let’s look with clear eyes at what policies are harming us collectively, and what measures we could take to instill justice into the current paradigm. Let’s do it together, because we are a We.
So, let’s lose the jargon, be as BIPOC, queer, female, loud, DIFFERENT, as we want to be, and maybe even redirect this broken country one share at a time.
We Hold These Shares 