Our Research
Commonwealth conducts original qualitative and quantitative research with financially vulnerable people—including Black, Latinx, and women-led households who disproportionately experience financial insecurity. We also interview industry experts and academics. We take what we learn and translate findings into actionable insights and practical solutions designed to change systems to work better for financially vulnerable people. We work with community groups, employers, financial services firms, fintechs, policymakers, and workplace solution providers to design and test real-world, practical solutions that not only work for individuals and families, but are also scalable and address the business needs of our partners.
We share the results of our work to provide you with innovative ideas, practical insights, and the tools you need to act. Explore our publications below.
Parents and Caregivers Saving for Today and the Future
Mapping the Investor Journey
In today’s complex landscape of investment products such as the 401(k), 529, HSA, and many more, it can be especially difficult for those with limited resources— disproportionately Black and Latinx women living on low to moderate incomes (LMI)—to access the investing…
Feeling the Heat
Climate change is impacting the world, putting an additional financial burden on those with the fewest resources to manage financial and life stressors. In 2022, the U.S. experienced 18 separate climate disasters, each costing more than $1 billion in damages…
Banking Inclusion at Work
At first glance, the latest FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households findings are encouraging: rates of un- and underbanked households reached historic lows after trending downward for the last decade. Yet, a lack of access to quality banking…
Perspectives on Emerging Technologies and Inclusive Design
The emergence of new technologies profoundly shapes economic prospects and behaviors throughout society. When financial service providers implement new technologies, design decisions can have a major impact on who has access to these tools and whose financial needs they serve.…
Insights for the Workplace Emergency Savings
Impact and Learnings Report As a founding expert and leading partner in BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative (ESI) since 2019, Commonwealth has developed deep partnerships with leading companies and focused on piloting real-world solutions. In addition to working with ESI partners,…
The Investing Landscape for Households Living on Low and Moderate Incomes
Understanding how opportunities to build wealth through investing can be made more accessible, particularly for people of color and women living on low and moderate incomes (LMI), is an essential step in closing persistent gender and racial wealth gaps. Democratizing…
Learnings from Piloting Collective Emergency Savings
Commonwealth’s Collective Emergency Savings (CES) work explores an innovative approach to building short-term savings as a group and builds on a tested savings tool, Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs). In CES, a group saves together to build an emergency…
Incentives to Increase Emergency Savings Enrollment
For those earning low to moderate incomes (LMI), building emergency savings is a proven tool to enable financial resiliency and preserve retirement savings. In our latest phase of research, Commonwealth and DCIIA RRC conducted surveys to explore incentive mechanisms tied…
Increasing Access to Postsecondary Education Savings
Postsecondary education (PSE) is an important predictor of a person’s future economic and personal wellbeing, and a key component for families trying to build better opportunities for themselves. Tools designed to help families save for PSE, such as 529 tax-advantaged…
Emergency Savings & Retirement
Workers earning low to moderate incomes (LMI) regularly experience financial insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated vulnerabilities, and recovery from the economic disruption has been challenging, uneven, and unpredictable. We are seeing over time the crucial role of emergency savings in…