Aspiration Helps The Middle Class Invest In The 99 Percent
After fighting the big Wall Street banks for years, one member of the 99 percent decided to start his own bank for the rest of us and there’s only one catch: You might pay nothing.
Andrei Cherny, a former financial fraud prosecutor who fought mortgage fraud and corporate crime, created his own investment company designed for the middle class, not the super rich.
Cherny told the Huffington Post his bank makes the same tools the super rich use available to the middle class and has a no fee structure.
“When you look at how these banks spend their billions in profits, they’re using money from their customers to pay for lobbyists in Washington who fight for policies that run contrary to their customers’ best interests.”
Despite two years warning time, the big Wall Street banks needed more time before implementing transparency rules enacted in 2013, according to the New York Times.
Instead of fighting transparency and encouraging high fees, Aspiration uses its profits to help consumers through the use of micro loans.
The Summit Account is here! 1% interest, no monthly fees, free access to every ATM on Earth. http://t.co/R9ivfhNFsv https://t.co/wdRsjeYe0z
— Aspiration (@Aspiration) July 8, 2015
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The Aspiration Summit checking account is one tool the bank offers to help the middle class gain financial independence. It offers 1 percent interest, much higher than you’ll find at an average bank, and comes with no ATM or account fees. In fact, the only money the bank brings in is what it calls “tips” from customers who can choose to donate between $0 and $6 a month.
Meanwhile, the Aspiration Flagship Fund is a mutual fund with a minimum investment of $500 that’s designed to avoid the roller coaster rise and fall of the stock market.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Cherny says his banks aim is to lower the income inequality gap felt by most Americans.
“By keeping all their money in conventional checking accounts, middle-class Americans are missing out on all the wealth-building strategies that the richest 1 percent have been using for decades.”
Along with great financial tools, Aspiration continues with its “Pay it Forward” ideals by donating a dime out of every dollar the company makes to microloans. They also make it easy for consumers to donate.
“We saw an opportunity to make a business here that’s mission, and purpose-driven. We want to prove to Wall Street there’s a different way to do things.”
[Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images]
