Saving and Investment

Black Americans Less Likely To Invest In Stocks

Black households with incomes of $50,000 or more avoid, for the most part, investing in the stock market, according to a Yankelovich Partners study released yesterday. Consequently, they are less well prepared for retirement than their white counterparts.

The study revealed that blacks don't think they know enough to invest in stocks and they don't trust financial advisers. Rather, they prefer to put their money in real estate and insurance.

  • Fifty-one percent of whites say they have most of their money in brokerage or mutual fund accounts, versus 26 percent of blacks -- and 41 percent of blacks say they put most of their money in banks, compared to 35 percent of whites.

  • Blacks making $50,000 or more had accumulated $42,000 in retirement savings, compared to $88,000 for whites.

  • Of those with household incomes of $100,000 or more, 38 percent of blacks do not own any stocks, versus 22 percent of whites.

  • Nineteen percent of blacks, versus 33 percent of whites, say they know what they need to know about investing.

Source: Lorrie Grant, "Caution Stifles Black Investors, Study Says," USA Today, April 9, 1998.

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