Apps help Hispanics in US to understand financial planning
▶ Latinos are behind others when it comes to saving for retirement owing to poor levels of financial literacy
Carlos Garcia was three years into his first job in technology at Merrill Lynch when he first learnt what a 401K retirement savings account was. He was floored when he learnt that a colleague had already saved $30,000 in three years into the American retirement plan – and the company had matched it. A 401K is sponsored by an employer and lets workers save and invest a piece of their pay cheque before taxes are taken out.
The concept of making money off money was foreign to Mr Garcia, an MIT graduate who was born in Texas to immigrants from Mexico. His story is common among US Hispanics, who lag behind other demographic groups when it comes to saving for retirement. But for Mr Garcia, the episode became the inspiration years later for Finhabits, a bilingual digital platform designed to make savings and investment accessible for Latinos.
Finhabits launched last year into a crowded world of robo-advisers, savings apps, online lending platforms and other financial technology companies.
But it is one of the few aimed at demystifying stocks and bonds for Hispanics, particularly young professionals who have the means to start investing but may have inherited a fuzzy understanding of the financial system from their immigrant parents.
“Hispanics are very hard workers and we are able to generate quick income for our families. Sometimes we are good at savings but we put the money under the mattress,” says Mr Garcia, who previously founded two other companies, including an internet analytics service for hedge funds.
Other FinTech startups aimed at Latinos have focused on immediate financial needs: paying off debt, building credit and gaining access to loans. Few besides Finhabits are dedicated to encouraging investing and long-term financial planning.
Another is Mi Dinero Mi Futuro, a personal financial planning platform started by Ramona Ortega, a former New York corporate attorney who became preoccupied with the lack of financial literacy among Latinos while working in bankruptcy and securities litigation.
“No one talked to me about money,” says Ms Ortega, the daughter of Napa Valley farm worker and the first in her family to go to college. “The fact is that our communities have not had a legacy of talking about money.”
Finhabits follows in the footsteps of robo-advisers Betterment, Wealthfront and Acorn, which use computer algorithms instead of a traditional wealth adviser to manage customer funds across various types of investments. Ms Ortega’s platform is similar to personal finance apps Mint and Credit Karma; it offers
personalised budgeting tools and recommendations for affiliated financial products.
More than competing with established players, the founders of Finhabits and Mi Dinero Mi Future see themselves as creating a new market among Latinos, who they believe are overlooked by traditional financial institutions and even many of the digital newcomers. It is not an easy market to penetrate, however.
According to a 2014 Prudential Research study, just 19 per cent of Latinos had individual retirement accounts and less than 10 per cent had investments in individual stocks, bonds or mutual funds. Only about 60 per cent of Hispanics had a savings account, compared to 80 per cent of the general population. The study cited various factors, including uncertainty among immigrants about what will happen to investments if they leave the country and distrust of financial institutions.
Another study, done in 2016 by the Pew Charitable Trusts, found that more than 60 per cent of Latino workers lacked access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, compared to 40 per cent for white workers.
“This demographic has been very tough to crack historically,” says William Trout, head of wealth management research at Celent, a financial services technology consulting firm. “Will that second generation look for a platform that is speaking to a Hispanic population? Well, somebody has to test it. I think it’s worth a shot.”
With Finhabits, beginner investors can start with $5 weekly contributions into traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs or taxable investment accounts for shorter-term goals. While an IRA allows an individual to save for retirement with tax-free growth or on a tax-deferred basis, Roth IRAs provide no tax break for contributions, although earnings and withdrawals are generally tax-free.
Finhabits asks users about their priorities and risk tolerance and then recommends investment portfolios. The money goes into low-fee exchange trade funds from Vanguard and BlackRock.
Through its app, blogs and text-messaging services, Finhabits explains financial concepts and compound interest to persuade people that investing their money is safer and wiser than trying to “hit the fat one,” as Latinos refer to the lottery jackpot.
Crucial to the Latino community, Finhabits lets users open an account with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, a processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service for people who are required to pay taxes but do not have Social Security numbers. That makes the service accessible to immigrants who are not legal residents but still pay federal taxes.
Savvier investors can set up accounts directly with Vanguard or BlackRock, which require more active knowledge of investing. But often big players don’t have formal marketing strategies for Hispanics. Mr Garcia says Finhabits has about 10,000 active clients who invest an average of $40 a week. It is signing up about 1,000 new clients each week and aiming for 50,000 by the end of the year.
One challenge for financial start-ups is earning the public’s trust. Finhabits and Mi Dinero Mi Futuro are trying to do that through partnerships with institutions already targeting minority and underserved communities.
Finhabits is a provider in Washington state’s Retirement Marketplace, which helps individuals and small businesses find low-cost retirement saving plans. Nearly 80 per cent of the West Coast state’s 385,500 Hispanic workers are not covered by an employer-sponsored plan, says marketplace director Carolyn McKinnon.
Finhabits also has partnerships with credit unions, including the Neighborhood Federal Credit Union, which serves New York City’s predominantly Latino neighborhoods of West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood.
Rosa Franco, director of lending at the credit union, says the partnership is still in development. She anticipates a challenge in marketing the service to her clients, many of whom are consumed by pressing concerns like debt repayment or sending money to relatives abroad.
“It’s difficult for many people to think about the future. They live pay cheque to pay cheque. Many people just think Social Security is their only option for retirement,” says Ms Franco, who used the Finhabits app herself to open a Roth IRA.
Ms Ortega, who recently received a new round of investment from venture fund Backstage Capital for Mi Dinero Mi Futuro, criss-crosses the country giving workshops at universities and Hispanic professional organisations.
At a financial boot camp in Los Angeles City Hall, Ms Ortega won over Liliana Aide Monge, who moved to the US from Mexico at the age of five and is now the co-founder of Sabio, a web development and cybersecurity training company.
Growing up, Ms Monge says her family was “not part of the formal banking structure at all. The money came in and you pay the rent and you pay for food.”
Now a mother of two boys, Ms Monge has used Mi Dinero Mi Futuro to budget her money, buy life insurance and open a high-yield savings account.
“It was an eye-opening experience,” she says.
My family was not part of the banking structure. The money came in and you pay the rent and you pay for food LILIANA AIDE MONGE Co-founder of web developer Sabio