For 15 months, we followed more than 50 individual investors living on low and moderate incomes (LMI) to better understand their experience in retail markets firsthand. With voice diaries and interviews, our qualitative research captures both current trends affecting investors living on LMI as well as their personal reasons for engaging in retail markets and how they are navigating them.
Investors living on LMI are not engaging casually— they demonstrate sustained commitment to investing over time, even after experiencing losses or market fluctuations. Our Transaction Data analysis found that retail investing among this cohort has grown 2.7x (167% growth) since 2020. Our voice diaries analysis reflect:
94%
The vast majority of participants (94%) view investing as a path to wealth building.
65%
40 participants (65%) view short-term losses as part of long-term growth.
72%
45 participants (72%) plan to keep investing long-term beyond this project.
Czyrus
I’m still putting whatever extra money I have after paying my bills and mortgage into my investments. Just because there’s a market downturn doesn’t mean it’s a bad time to invest. […] As long as you’re not a panicked buyer or panicked seller, just buy whatever you can.”
Transcript of audio
My strategy has not changed at all. Like, I’m still putting whatever extra money I have after paying my bills and mortgage, into my investments. Just because there’s a market downturn doesn’t mean it’s a bad time to invest. If anything, this is one of those perfect times to invest. Actually, I wanted to change that statement and say, like, any time is a good time to invest in the stock market, as long as you’re not a panic buyer or panic seller. Just buy whatever you can and if you have to sell, it better be a good reason because if you do sell too early, then you’re not really getting the benefits of that return. So for me, my strategy’s still the same. I’m still in it for the long term. I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon. And for the record, I did try day trading, and I lost too much money doing that, so I thought I’d step away and, you know, take it easy and take the slow way to building my wealth.
Financial Shocks Interrupt Momentum
While long-term intent is strong, the ability to continue to invest is highly sensitive to short-term financial instability, with emergencies frequently causing investors to pause or stop. In our National Survey and Transaction Data analysis, we found that nearly one-third (31%) of retail investors living on LMI paused or stopped investing due to financial emergencies, underscoring that maintaining at least two weeks’ worth of liquid savings ($1,500–$2,000) can help investors stay invested through financial shocks. Our voices diaries analysis reflects that:
1 in 5
Over 1 in 5 participants withdrew funds from their investment accounts over the course of The Investor Diaries study.
75%
Of those that made withdrawals from their portfolio, 75% did so due to financial hardship
Van
These last two months, I actually kind of went down on my investment […] because I have to pay more bills. There was less money for me to take out and put into my investments. I am planning to start picking back up again.”
Transcript of audio
These last two months, I actually kind of went down on my investment, if that makes sense. Like, because I have to pay more bills there was less money for me to take out and put into my investments. I am planning to start picking back up again. And that was just, like, within the last two months, something was going on with my finances, and now I’m ready to start taking my investment seriously.
Taking Action Builds Confidence, But Uncertainty Persists
Diarists report increasing confidence over time, yet many continue to navigate uncertainty— particularly around asset selection. While diarists expressed emotional uncertainty when experiencing market turndowns during the study, many of those same investors remain committed to investing long-term.
90%
56 participants (90%) reported some level of confidence in their investing decisions.
30%
30% of newer investors reported being unsure of what assets or securities to invest in.
John
Given my low or negative returns for a few months or years […] I kept faith in it. And as the economy has stabilized out, my faith has returned. […] My early negative experience has turned into confidence.”
Transcript of audio
…given my low or negative returns for a few months or years. But, I kept faith in it. And as the economy has stabled out, my faith has returned. And so my hopes have not changed, but my experience, my early negative experience has turned into confidence.
Trust Is Built Through Multiple Sources and Cross-Verification
Investors living on LMI rarely rely on a single source of information, instead cross-verifying advice across platforms, family and friends, and emerging technologies.
47%
29 participants (47%) reported soliciting multiple sources for investment information.
26%
16 participants (26%) stated they check information against other resources.
10%
Only 6 participants (10%) reported high trust in AI for investment guidance.
Mohit
It seems the best way to do it is to learn, and learn it with the community.”
Transcript of audio
It seems the best way to do it is to learn, and learn it with the community.
Meet Christian
I’m aiming for the stars, and as long as I land on the moon, I’m satisfied.”
Transcript of Christian’s audio
The fascination of financial freedom. My life goal is to be a philanthropist one day. And I believe that investing is a pivotal part of that. And in order to achieve that, I am pursuing FIRE and financial freedom. And in order to do that, I have to aggressively invest as much as I can. Now, will I achieve all my goals? Probably not. But I’m aiming for the stars. And as long as I land on the moon, I’m satisfied.
2-3 years active investing; 5 years since opening account
INVESTING GOAL
Retiring early
EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
Self-taught investor
CURRENT BALANCE
$75,363.80
TIME SPENT
30-45 minutes per week
Meet Marquita
I still feel like it’s a good opportunity.”
Transcript of Marquita’s audio
Then I was feeling that, that was a great opportunity. I still feel like it’s a good opportunity to grow my portfolio and diverse my portfolio. I am a little bit sad because I’m not putting money in as much as I would like to. But hopefully in the near future I’ll be putting money into each of my portfolio sections to grow them and manage them better.
I was happy that I had the money available to withdraw. But in the end, I still wish that I could have let that money stay in my investment account to be more productive. But it was my only option.”
CURRENT BALANCE
$96.81
STARTING BALANCE
$3,589.14
TIME SPENT
5-6 hours per week
Meet Amelia*
We’re just going to let this ride and know that there are ups and downs. We have to weather those storms and just stay the course.”
Transcript of Amelia’s audio
I guess my biggest concern is retirement accounts and our investment accounts, and seeing those numbers drop is disappointing. As I said, but we have moved a few things around. But in the end, we’re just going to let this ride and know that there are ups and downs and we have to weather those storms and just stay the course and hope that it works out in the end. But we’re also not putting a lot of money into investments at the current time.
It’s been a journey for me. I feel like I’m so confident.”
Transcript of Ariana’s audio
I would honestly say if the market goes back down again, I’ll definitely be buying more because eventually it’s gonna most likely go back up like in 2022… when that situation happened and, any other times it usually always goes back up. But, investing when it’s low will make you a profit in the long run. And that’s the best time to buy, honestly. So I don’t want to say it, but I hope it goes back down again so I can, invest more. Because it’s been a journey for me. And I mean, I feel like I’m so confident now that I don’t know, I like investing. It’s been a really long ride, and I’m just doing whatever at this point. And whatever happens, happens. If the government crashes, if this whole thing crashes, it’s going to be okay at the end of the day.
I wish there was…more knowledge, something to have people better understand investing instead of [saying] ‘you could make money,’ so people don’t have such a bad outlook.”
TIME SPENT
1.5 hours per week
Meet Yongqi
I found that the stock market has been pretty strong for the past maybe a few decades in the U.S. right, So it’s not very likely for me to just to start investing and immediately lose money.”
Transcript of Yongqi’s audio
I found that the stock market has been pretty strong for the past maybe a few decades in the U.S. right, So it’s not very likely for me to just to start investing and immediately lose money.
I think the main goal is to just try to either preserve my money or help the money to grow… to have it in the future when I may not be able to work or to provide for my daughter.”
Transcript of Jennifer’s audio
I think the main goal is to just try to either preserve my money or help the money to grow, to be able to provide for future things instead of just blowing it on frivolous things. Now, to have it in the future when I may not be able to work or to provide for my daughter, when if something was to happen to me.
*“Amelia” is a pseudonym used at the request of the individual to protect her privacy. Some personal details have been modified or omitted to maintain confidentiality while preserving the authenticity of her experience.
**Quotes reflect diarists’ personal experiences and views. They are not investment advice and do not represent the views of The BlackRock Foundation.
Supported by a $1MM grant from The BlackRock Foundation, “The Investor Diaries” will shed light on investors earning low to…
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