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.
A Pivotal Juncture for Financial AI
The emergence of new technologies has a major impact on financial security and customer opportunities throughout the financial industry. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) over the last five years, together with a strong interest in this technology expressed…
Financial AI for Good: Guide & Chatbot
Commonwealth’s Emerging Tech for All (ETA) initiative aims to ensure that the design of new financial technologies integrates the needs, wants, and aspirations of people living on low and moderate incomes (LMI). We are shedding light on these perspectives by…
Parents and Caregivers Saving for Today and the Future
Caring for a child can seem like a series of endless expenses. For people earning low- to moderate incomes, addressing short-term emergency costs associated with caregiving may take precedence over saving for longer-term goals. Through Blackrock’s Emergency Savings Initiative, Commonwealth…
Can Tax Incentives Boost Workplace Emergency Savings?
Employer-sponsored emergency savings accounts (ESAs) are a unique opportunity to impact employee financial well-being. To create a lasting impact, broad adoption by employers and significant employee participation is critical. Designing future legislation for employer-sponsored ESAs should include tax incentives for…
Employee Perspectives on SECURE 2.0
As part of BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative, Commonwealth addresses the implications and opportunities of the recent SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 to support workers’ emergency expense needs. The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 included two provisions allowing employers to offer…
How Best Buy Enabled a $1.5 Million Increase in Employee Emergency Savings
Through well-timed and thoughtful updates to their employee savings program, the number of Best Buy employees participating in the savings program increased from 4,500 to more than 7,000 and employees’ savings grew $1.5M. Interventions included enhancements to the program marketing…
Exploring the Stages of the New Investor Journey
Investing in capital markets is an important mechanism for building wealth. For those living on low and moderate incomes (LMI), market participation is particularly useful as a pathway to financial security. Yet, people living on LMI—who are disproportionately Black/African American…
Generative AI and Emerging Technology
This report provides insights from Commonwealth’s 2023 national survey focused on understanding usage of emerging technologies in digital consumer finance. It provides data on persistent uptake gaps based on income and highlights opportunities for digital finance to meet the needs…
Opportunities to Build Social Support for Beginner Investors
Commonwealth has been following more than 800 beginner investors, mostly Black and Latinx women, for over a year in its groundbreaking national pilot project, Transforming Investor Identity, with support from Nasdaq Foundation’s Beginner Investor Initiative, and in partnership with three…
A Time Like No Other
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 brought a myriad of challenges worldwide, impacting various aspects of life, including the global economy. Amidst the backdrop of economic uncertainty and market turbulence stemming from the onset of the pandemic,…