The single best move to make money in stocks

Stocks closed out 2019 in stellar fashion. That should be cause for celebration. But there’s one group that has missed out on much of the market’s gains–millennials. Just 49% of millennials in the United States (those ages 23 to 39) held stock at any given time in the last two years. Because a much larger percentage of Americans in the same age range held stocks before the Great Recession, observers say that stock performance in 2008 is the main reason that many millennials steer clear of equities. Who can blame them for being a little gun shy? In 2008, the S&P 500 plunged more than 38%. But holding on to that kind of trauma can be dangerous. The turmoil that shaped the economy during millennials’ formative years has kept them away from recent market successes. The timing of the Great Recession meant that a group of millennials started their careers in a tough job market, and those who found jobs faced wage stagnation in the early years of their careers, making it less likely that they would have extra money to save and invest and therefore harder for them to accumulate wealth. According to a report by the Federal Reserve

January 7, 2020 No Comments

Fighting global inequality with Islamic finance

A January 2017 report issued by Oxfam found that the eight richest individuals in the world have a net wealth of $426 billion–equivalent to the total amount of wealth held by the poorest 50% of the global population (some 3.7 billion people). That same report found that the world’s 10 largest corporations together have revenue greater than that of the 180 poorest countries combined. Not included in the report is the similarly deplorable statistic that nearly 25% of the 1.6 billion Muslims globally live in extreme poverty. While tools like zakat — which requires Muslims to give 2.5% of their wealth each year to help those in need — are vital in the struggle to mitigate the effects of inequality, we can sometimes overlook the potential of faith-based solutions to address the root causes of inequality as well. One of the most significant of these causes — the lack of financial inclusion — can be effectively addressed through access to Islamic banking. Only 10-15% of adults in Muslim-majority countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central, South, and Southeast Asia have bank accounts. Greater access to formal financial services like Islamic banking could help alleviate the structural poverty in these regions and

February 16, 2017 No Comments