Briefing

Portfolios Across the U.S. Wealth Distribution


Abstract: In this article, we examine how household portfolios vary with wealth, age and race. Households in the middle of the wealth distribution hold most of their wealth as real estate, while wealthier households are more heavily invested in stocks and private business equity. As households age, they repay education loans and other debt and accumulate real estate and (to a lesser extent) financial assets. We find that Black households hold considerably less home equity, stocks and business equity. This can be explained (statistically) by lower levels of total wealth and by differences in age and household composition.

Keywords: Household portfolios; Demographics; Race; Household Wealth;

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File(s): File format is text/html https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2023/eb_23-39
Description: Briefing

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Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Part of Series: Richmond Fed Economic Brief

Publication Date: 2023-11

Volume: 23

Issue: 39