Our Origin Story – S3 INVESTMENTS

OUR ORIGIN STORY

In 2023, 61 percent of adults in the United States invested in the stock market. This figure has remained steady over the last few years, and is still below the levels before the Great Recession, when it peaked in 2007 at 65 percent.¹

As per BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange), as on February 9, 2024, the number of registered investors stood at nearly 161 million. Majority of the retail investors fall in the age group of 22 to 35, as they strive to maximise their earnings from investments.²

In the fiscal year 2022, around 11.9 percent of the Japanese population were stockholders. The share of people investing in stocks has been stagnant over the past years.³

Another survey in Japan found that the total number of shareholders increased by 3.1 million to 61.3 million during the period.⁴

Almost a quarter of Brits (23%) have invested in the stock market as of 2024, making it the most popular investment type.⁵

The largest number of people in the United Kingdom participating in the investment market came from Gen Z. Millenials accounted for the second largest number of investors in the UK with almost 55 percent of millennials having invested in financial securities.⁶

In 2023, the number of private investors surpassed the 12 million mark significantly for the fourth consecutive year. In total, 12.3 million Germans invested in stocks, equity funds, and ETFs. This represents 17.6 percent of the population aged 14 and above – so roughly one out of six people.⁷

Larry Fink, Blackrock CEO, wrote this in his 2023 annual letter, “Today in America, the retirement message that the government and companies tell their workers is effectively: ‘You’re on your own.’ And before my generation fully disappears from positions of corporate and political leadership, we have an obligation to change that.” “Four-in-10 Americans don’t have $400 to spare to cover an emergency like a car repair or hospital visit,” “Studies show that when people have emergency savings, they’re 70% more likely to invest for retirement. But this is where workers run into another barrier: Investing is complex even if you can afford it.”⁸

David Rubenstein, co-founder of Private Equity firm, The Carlyle Group stated that his firm would try to be at the forefront of the retail capital push.

Generally, the number of retail investors is growing across all countries, but there is still a huge population that does not invest. In spite of this growth in number of retail investors, with plenty of choices for investing platforms, there continues to a general lack of understanding about investing. This applies to not only traditional brick and mortar real-estate investors and retail investors, but also seasoned ones. This is perhaps to be expected owing to countless number of ways one could go about investing – trading vs investing, technicals analysis vs fundamentals based investing, value and growth investing, GARP, stock picking with 100 bagger ideas, dividend investing, trend-following, quant investing, algorithmic trading, systematic trading, contrarian and momentum approaches, factor based investing, options on futures in commodities, interest rates, and Indexes, and so on.

There are numerous success stories with billionaires who have made it big with one or more of these approaches. Each one of them swears by what made them successful. There are countless stories of failed attempts at trading and stock picking too along with significant failures and bankruptcies.

Typical negative stereotypes along with fear and uncertainty continue to be associated with investing. There are either DIY options or very generic allocation funds and ETFs at one extreme and risky or inaccessible alternative investment vehicles at the other extreme.

The fundamental reason for this lack of understanding of investing, associated stereotypes, adoption of incorrect or inappropriate investment approaches, is a general lack of economic, financial and investment literacy. There is a minimal level of investing in public markets that is essential for everyone.

We founded S3 Investments to fill this gap by raising awareness and providing necessary education and literacy in investments directly and by partnering with governments, financial and educational institutions.

S3 INVESTMENTS

EDUCATING AND ENABLING EVERYONE WITH ESSENTIAL INVESTING

FOR POSITIVE CASHFLOW, LIFETIME INCOME AND FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

SMART. STOIC. SIMPLE.