Introducing the HOPE Investor Mindset Experience
The Investor Mindset Experience — A Free On-Ramp to Wealth Building for First-Time Investors
Operation HOPE, Inc. has launched the Investor Mindset Experience in partnership with the Nasdaq Foundation — a free digital education tool designed to equip first-time investors with the knowledge and confidence to begin participating in the financial markets. Business Wire
Let me be clear about what this is — and what makes it different.
The Investor Mindset Experience platform starts by giving you insight into your investment readiness, then guides you toward the tools and resources you need to confidently begin — or advance — your investment journey. It’s not a lecture. It’s not a generic pamphlet. It begins with a personalized assessment of your financial readiness and delivers tailored guidance across core investing fundamentals — including behavioral finance, risk management, and investment vehicles. It is built to be intuitive, accessible, and action-oriented, translating financial education into practical first steps toward wealth building. Operation HOPEBusiness Wire
And it is completely free.
In just a few minutes, you can assess where you are, understand the basics of growing wealth over time, and start thinking about how to move from earning money — to making your money work for you.
That’s the mission. That has always been the mission.
Why This Partnership Matters
This partnership between Operation HOPE, Inc. and the Nasdaq Foundation reflects a shared commitment to democratizing access to financial markets. The initiative targets first-time investors between the ages of 20 and 55, with a focus on working professionals and Gen Z earners — particularly those from low-to-moderate income backgrounds. Business Wire.
“Today we’re especially excited to announce operation Hope’s Investor experience online learning platform, developed in partnership with the Nasdaq Foundation. This innovative tool delivers practical investing knowledge through self guided courses supported by Hope Financial wellbeing coaches.” Jailan Griffiths, President of the Nasdaq Foundation and Head of Purpose, Nasdaq
Think about who that is. That is a 28-year-old working two jobs who has never owned a stock. That is a 42-year-old single mother who saves every month but has no idea where to start. That is a recent graduate who downloaded a trading app but doesn’t understand what she’s looking at. That is tens of millions of people who have been earning, and working, and saving — but have never been invited into the wealth-building conversation.
We are inviting them now.
Broadening participation in the financial markets is essential to a more resilient economy. By pairing Operation HOPE’s community reach with a focus on investor education, this initiative creates a clearer entry point for individuals to begin investing with structure and confidence. Those are the words of the Nasdaq Foundation. And I agree with every one of them. Business Wire
The Wealth Gap Is a Market Gap
Let’s name the problem clearly, because you cannot solve what you will not name.
The top 1% of households owned 31.7% of all U.S. wealth in the third quarter of 2025 — the highest share on record since the Federal Reserve began tracking household wealth in 1989. Collectively, the wealthiest 1% held about $55 trillion in assets — roughly equal to the wealth held by the bottom 90% of Americans combined. CBS News
The growing divide is being driven in part by surging stock prices. Wealthier households benefit most from bull markets because a larger share of their wealth is invested in stocks and other securities. According to Gallup, 87% of Americans who own stocks are adults living in households earning $100,000 or more. CBS News
That is the engine of inequality in plain sight. The market goes up. Rich people get richer. Everyone else watches from the outside.
Only 31% of households in the lower half of income earners own stocks at all, compared to 92% of households in the top 10%. CoinLaw
That’s not fate. That’s a failure of access and education. And access and education are precisely what Operation HOPE, Inc. was built to provide.
Closing those gaps will take more than simply telling people to buy stocks. It requires wider access to affordable investing platforms, policy changes, employer support, and financial education that makes investing accessible to everyone. We’ve heard that for years. Well, here we are — doing exactly that. aol
How It Works
Getting started with the Investor Mindset Experience is simple. You log in or register as a HOPE client — for free — and navigate to the “Learn to Invest” section under Programs. From there, you launch the course and begin building the knowledge and confidence to support your long-term investing goals. Operation HOPE
No jargon. No barriers. No cost.
You do not need a brokerage account to start. You do not need to know what a P/E ratio is. You do not need a financial advisor on speed dial. You need curiosity, twenty minutes, and a willingness to believe that your financial future is worth investing in — before you invest a single dollar.
This is your opportunity to invest in your future before you invest your money. Operation HOPE
That line should be on a billboard. Because it’s true.
Thirty Years of Preparation for This Moment
For more than thirty years, Operation HOPE, Inc. has helped millions of people improve their financial lives. We have built credit scores. We have saved homes from foreclosure. We have launched small businesses. We have turned financial fear into financial confidence — one coaching session, one community at a time.
Our relationship with Nasdaq goes back — Nasdaq committed financial support, employee hours, and mentorship to Operation HOPE, Inc. to help seed and sustain Black-owned businesses when the Nasdaq Foundation launched its grant program. This new partnership extends and deepens that relationship. It is not charity. It is co-investment. It is both institutions betting on the same thing — that when you give people the knowledge and the tools, they will build. Nasdaq
And they will.
I have seen it happen. A client who came to us with a 500 credit score and leaves with a 700. A single mother who thought homeownership was a fantasy and now holds a deed. An entrepreneur who thought “small business” meant “small dreams” — until HOPE showed her otherwise.
Now we are extending that same ethos to wealth building through the market. This is the next frontier of financial empowerment. And we are here for it.
The Vision: Capitalism for All
I wrote a book called Capitalism for All. The central thesis is simple: capitalism works — but right now, it only works for some of us. The goal is not to tear down the system. The goal is to bring everyone inside of it.
The Investor Mindset Experience is that thesis made real. It is a practical, accessible, zero-cost on-ramp to a wealth-building vehicle that has been running for generations — with millions of Americans standing outside the station.
We are opening the door.
The American Dream is still real, and still within reach. Working together is how we get there. Operation HOPE
If you are between the ages of 20 and 55. If you have ever thought about investing but didn’t know where to start. If you have ever been told — out loud or by a system that ignored you — that the market wasn’t for people like you.
This is for you.
Go to operationhope.org/investor-mindset. Sign up. Start the course. Take the first step.
Because the wealth gap will not close by itself. It closes when we close it. One investor. One family. One community at a time.
Let’s go.
John Hope Bryant — founder of Bryant Group Ventures, Operation HOPE, Inc, publisher of the Bryant Journal and author of his 7th book Capitalism for All: Inclusive Economics and the Future Proofing of America, now a bestseller. Bryant was recently named a member of the Forbes 250.
