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 access to capital market investment opportunities will produce more than just material benefits: becoming an investor is a critical way to include people in the economy, build their market power, and foster agency.

This report provides an overview of the investing landscape with a particular focus on the accessibility of different investing pathways for women and people of color living on LMI. It is designed as the first part of a two-stage research project. We begin with a look at programs designed to encourage investment, then move to examine investing platforms. Next, we dive more deeply into the investing-related behavior and attitudes of people living on LMI, and end by looking at the various properties and securities available to retail investors today. 

Read more in our report The Investing Landscape for Households Living on Low and Moderate Incomes.

This work was made possible thanks to the generous support of Wells Fargo.