Who cares about the next generation of investors?

WE DO.

Up to 80 percent of Millennials do not invest at all, and fewer invest in what is arguably the most important path to retirement and future financial security— stocks. If you are under the age of 35 and don’t own an investment account, this is you.

Currently, over $12 trillion in financial and non-financial assets are in the process of being shifted from the investors born in the 1920s and 1930s — to baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. Over the next 30 to 40 years, an additional $30 trillion in financial and non-financial assets will pass from boomers to their heirs in North America alone. At the peak, between 2031 and 2045, 10 % of total wealth in the US will be changing hands every five years. Today’s young adults are falling behind their parents and grandparents when it comes to building wealth and saving for retirement. The graph below compares the ratio of income to wealth for late baby boomers, Gen — Xers, and Millennials at the same ages.

So who are the other 20 percent? Well you probably know them. We all have that friend we went to school with, maybe studied finance, maybe but they were very disciplined with how they managed their money and proud of it. That friend had a Robinhood or E-trade brokerage account, were always on their mobile phone constantly checking stock prices and their retirement account. You might have even asked them for stock tips or where to invest your first 5 dollars, only to forget their advice or be too afraid to get started on your own.

It’s not just you. Millennials are the least invested generation in history and you would be surprised as to why. The rise of robots managing money (i.e. Betterment, Wealthfront, Stash, or even ETFs) was supposed to solve this problem by making investing accessible to everyone. These companies leverage technology to reduce the barriers to investing by lowering investment minimums and driving down fees to unprecedented levels. The rational being that human financial advisers literally only valued high net worth clients since the clients assets justified the fees. But these companies entered the market over 10 years ago and the problem is only getting worse.

For robot managers, technology is an end in itself; for Emcee, technology is a means to an end. We did our homework, spoke to our friends, then spoke to their friends, and then spoke to a lot of strangers facing this problem. We empathize with you. Investing could be free (some robot managers offer free investing) and minimums reduced to fractions of fractions and you would still not invest. Why?

Many of you grew up watching your parents’ and relatives’ fortunes wiped away after the Global Financial Crisis with no recourse and don’t trust financial institutions — banks and brokerages a like. Many of you are not confident in your own abilities to even begin the process, not to mention opening an investment account is like picking between dozens of labels of ranch salad dressing. It really comes downs to mistrust of institutions, lack of confidence to start on your own, and a lack of financial literacy.

Remember that friend you once asked about investing in passing? Well, they’ve already figured it out. They have an investment account, spend hours a week researching investments, and makes investment decisions at least once a week. And by the way, they’re eager to share knowledge and want to help. Don’t believe me? Just ask them.

So how does Emcee get the next generation of newcomers and expert investors excited about investing? It’s simple — peer activism and peer leadership. Emcee is a platform for the next generation of new comers and expert investors to invest together, learn from each other, and get paid to do it. That is what we mean by “Spread Wealth, It’s the Emcee way.” On Emcee, users mirror investment accounts and share knowledge with their friends; you know, that friend. Pool investment accounts, automatically make the same investment decisions as that friend, and learn from their every move through social interaction. Why would that friend do it with you? Because they get paid to.

We don’t want your money, that is for you to keep and manage. On Emcee, you simply synchronize your investments with your own brokerage account. After all, a brokerage account is just used to place buy and sell orders. That is none of our business and we don’t charge commissions or make money from your orders.

For example, if you already have a Robinhood account, simply sync your account and any portfolios you create and stocks you buy on Emcee will be routed through your Robinhood account. Then we employ fractional shares technology so everyone can mirror anyone’s portfolio proportionally.

We are just getting started so if you want to learn more about Emcee or to take part in our beta pilot program, sign up below. Otherwise, stay tuned for more stories in this publication about the solutions we employ to solve this problem and how it all works.