New to investing? Here's how you can get started.

The stock market has been booming this year. All three major averages are positive year to date, the S&P 500 notching 42 all-time highs in 2024 alone. Still, millions of Americans are not investing in the stock market, and a majority of stocks are owned by the top 10% of Americans. For those looking to build long-term wealth, investing is often cited as the top way to grow your money. So, how and where do you get started? Joining me now, we've got Ashley Fox, former Wall Street analyst and now the founder and CEO of Empify, a financial literacy education platform. Great to have you here in studio with us. Yes, thank you. So, first and foremost, let's just talk about some of the lessons that you've learned as a Wall Street analyst and how that can make sure that other people are applying that to their investment strategy too. So, working on Wall Street, I worked in asset management, so our clients had at least $25 million. And number one thing that I saw is that investing was not an option, it was a standard. And I think we think because we don't have a lot of money, it might not come from money, that we can't do it. And I think a lot of the publicly traded companies are companies we know, use, and believe in, and they made it a priority to invest because it was a standard. I'd also say that when it comes to really, really building wealth, there wasn't any emotion tied to it. I think when you think about investing, you've got to think about it logically. When you are buying stock in a company, you're investing in a business, not a price. And so, really understanding what company do I want to go into business with? Because as that company grows, so does your net worth. So, as everyone is thinking about investing in the stock market, those that are uninvested right now, why should they be invested? Because you cannot save or work your way to wealth. I think we are taught to go to school, get a job, and then we get the job to pay for school. And we work so hard, but why does it feel like people who have the most money are not working as hard? It's they're working smarter. They're putting their money to work, and they're giving their money a job. With that in mind, as you think about where people should begin their investment journey and learning about investing, where should they start? I would say, I tell people to make a list of what you know, use, and believe in. From the toothpaste you use, the soap, the clothes you wear, what you do for fun. Because chances are, if you are a loyal customer to that company, they might be a multi-billion dollar, trillion dollar business. And a lot of stocks are less than $200, $300, and starting small and building big over time. And so, with that in mind, I mean, so many people are trying to figure out what sectors they should be learning more about. I mean, it's very kind of straightforward, some of the sectors that are out there. But one of them that comes up in a lot of conversations more recently, since it's been carved out as its own sector within the S&P 500, is REITs. Explain more about REITs and what they are, ultimately how people, and what they should know about them if they're looking to invest in that sector. So REITs are Real Estate Investment Trusts, and it's a way for the everyday person to get into real estate. You're investing in a real estate company that owns, operates, and manages commercial real estate. But the thing that I like about REITs is that there's a law that says they have to pay you. So the REIT goes and gets the property, manages the property, and they collect income from their tenants. And then they pay their bills, and then after that, 90% of the profits have to go to their shareholders. So for every share you own, you're able to collect income on a monthly or quarterly basis. So we're talking about hospitals, billboards, office buildings, warehouses. One out of every three properties is owned by a REIT. And I think we don't think about it. We think we need a lot of credit. We need a lot of money. We need a lot of time. But with a REIT, you don't have to manage the property. The REIT does. You don't have to talk to the tenant. The REIT does. But once you make that investment, you buy that share, you're entitled to that income on a monthly or quarterly basis.