A real revelation surfaced in the last couple of weeks — coincidentally at the start of the Biden administration.
The stock market been experienced volatility and unusual activity in a few highly speculative stocks. As the smoke has cleared, it seems a small investor group, ”WallStreetBets," on a social media platform, Reddit, significantly rattled positions of some hedge funds, resulting in multi billion dollar losses.
And surprise.
The media discovered there are "little guys" who make money by taking risks and understanding sophisticated trading opportunities. Those "little guys" care about investing - and although much smaller than the financial titans - can be successful at accumulating wealth.
As are the tens of millions of patient, long-term equity holders.
The liberal narrative has long been that the "little guy" is continually under attack by Wall Street; can not make any money; does not know about saving, understand investing; and worse, does not care about profit!
So, we have gone from the days of raiders of Occupy Wall Street to an army of Davids dominating the Wall Street Goliath.
Hurray.
Sadly, what the mainstream media continues to get wrong is patronizing and underestimating everyday people.
The average American is smarter, savvier, and more pragmatic about money than ever before.
Our free market powers the private sector to create new technologies in every field —including illuminating paths to more prosperity than ever for those on the road to retirement.
The little guy has far greater opportunities and more innovative tools to independently gather information and make investments . . . as long as bad policies do not detract from potential gains. It also turns out that working Americans also understand and embrace the extraordinary benefits of our savings vehicles like 401(K)s and IRAs for reaching retirement goals.
More than nine in 10 people with these defined contribution accounts (91%) believe these plans have expanded their long term investing view and agree that auto enroll/payroll deduction is the best way to accelerate savings.
Today, there are 8,775 financial technology (Fintech) firms in the U.S., and there are thousands more in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Fintechs are financial companies that use a range of online, automated technologies to make services more accessible, cheaper, and more efficient for tens of millions of users.
For example, Robinhood, which has recently been in the news, is a trading platform used primarily by millennials that has grown from 1 million subscribers in 2016 to over 13 million users in 2020.
As cutting edge and functional as these digital platforms are, they — as well as mainstream news, social media, and Washington’s endless regulatory snake pit — can and will create confusion for the little guy.
Conservatives need to share increasing clarity and education on the wonders of our markets, innovative investments and the power of creating your own retirement financial future without relying on Washington, D.C.
Liberal posturing and condescension will continue to misjudge American potential for crafting their own path.
But we will stay in the fight for your empowerment — to highlight policies that impact your 401K, IRA, Social Security changes, payroll tax or potential capital gains tax increases, caregiving tax credits, or other areas.
By sharing more facts, we hope to give you more ability and confidence to keep a steady course on your retirement plans.
Clara Del Villar is Director of Senior Initiatives at FreedomWorks Foundation. Her financial industry career included senior roles in Investment Management, Private Asset Management, and Capital Markets. Her entrepreneurial ventures involved digital media as Founder, CEO of The Hispanic Post; energy tech as founder of InEnergy and health tech. She is a former advisor at 60Plus Foundation. Currently, she is a Board Director at General American Investors Co. and Executive Committee of Weill Cornell Women's Health Symposium. She earned a BSFS at Georgetown University. Read Clara Del Villar's Reports — More Here.
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