You see, as an investor, you don’t have to concern yourself with age, race, or gender discrimination.  As an investor, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, black or white, fat or skinny, young or old.  It doesn’t matter what side of the tracks you grew up on, it doesn’t matter what your political views are, and it doesn’t matter what church you go to.

As an investor, all that matters is that you have some
investment capital that you can deploy to earn a return

Personal traits and characteristics that are subject to criticism and intolerance in traditional social settings simply aren’t a factor in the investing arena.

When you purchase a stock, your broker doesn’t put the transaction on hold until you submit your high school report card.  No one cares if you struggled through school.

When you fund part of a bond, the borrower doesn’t request to see proof of your nationality.  They just want your investment capital.

When you invest in a rental property, your tenants don’t care who owns the house.  They just want a quality, affordable roof over their heads.  Come to think of it, I haven’t even met most of my tenants.  The property management company handles nearly everything.

Are you starting to see the point here?  As an investor, you can circumvent many of the hurdles and headwinds that people have faced in the past and are still facing today.  I like to think of investing as the ultimate affirmative action plan.  It’s a completely level playing field.

TECHNOLOGY LOWERS THE BARRIERS

Thanks to the advent of technology, you now have access to the same information that used to be exclusively reserved for big companies, the financial industry, and elite members of society.  But now you can be a single parent at a minimum-wage job, and with the click of a mouse, you can have access to what was previously considered to be privileged financial information.

And think about how technology has also reduced the costs associated with participating in the financial markets.  You used to have to call your broker on the phone to execute a trade and they’d charge you a hefty commission.  Now, you can conduct all of your transactions online for a fraction of the cost.  The balance of power has definitely shifted in favor of the self-directed investor.

In summary, being an investor is incredibly liberating.  You’re in control.  No office politics, no discrimination, no favoritism, no glass ceilings.  The playing field is level and technology has removed many of the barriers.  If you’re willing to get educated and put in some work, you can advance as an investor and get your money working for you.

Those are my thoughts. Feel free to share some of yours below. Thanks for reading and as always, make it a great day.

This post is by Gerald Larue, the founder of DEMOS Financial, an investment training, education, and financial research company. DEMOS Financial is a California limited liability company that specializes in helping novice and intermediate investors with strategies, approaches, and techniques for generating investment income and putting their money to work for them. The Pay Me Plan home study course was created and produced by DEMOS Financial.