The U.S. capital markets are where people – individually and collectively through pension funds and mutual funds – invest their savings to seek a return.

Working with our members in the wealth management space, SIFMA seeks to raise awareness of how financial advice and financial literacy programs can positively impact the financial health of Americans working to reach their financial goals, including purchasing a home, sending children to college and saving for retirement.

Research shows that a wide universe of Americans today own stocks. Federal Reserve data from 2019 shows 52.6% of Americans own stocks, or 65 million households and a Gallup poll conducted in March/April 2020 indicates this number may now be even higher at 55%. On the flip side, 2019 Federal Reserve data shows a median value of $40k for a household’s stock holdings. This clearly tells us that many American families are invested in the market – but to address retirement needs these numbers should be higher, both in terms of account holdings and number of households.