Authored by Axial Financial Group’s 2026 Summer Interns
Kendall Lee, Reese Petersen, & Tyler Principe
Brooks School Class of 2027
Investing in the stock market has the potential to shape your life and create long-term wealth through personal empowerment. Beginning your financial career at a young age may grant further opportunities for you to grow your money and enjoy a more successful retirement. Additionally, AI is capable of guiding those looking for financial advice, especially young adults, however, there are both positives and negatives that come with using such tools.
One very important financial habit someone can start at an early age is learning how to make their money work for them. Some may explore this by investing in public stocks or opening a savings account that earns interest. Historically, financial markets have shown positive growth over long periods of time.¹ This does not come without some volatility in the stock market, but the markets historically have recovered from previous declines.²
One of the biggest reasons young people avoid investing is the fear of losing money. During periods of market volatility, when the stock market is going both up and down, it is common to see rapid growth and loss which can trigger instinctive tendencies to sell for a loss out of fear of losing more money.³ However, one of the most important lessons that should be taught to young investors is the ability to be patient. Markets have experienced downturns before, but over the long term, they have generally recovered and continued to trend upwards.4 As seen in the chart below, the stock market has experienced many crisis points over the last 55 years, which have caused the stock market to temporarily decrease. Although, if you look at the long-term experience in this graph, the S&P 500 index has historically risen over time, even with periods of market volatility.5
Investing in the stock market can allow money the potential to grow over time. It is also important because it creates opportunities to work toward building wealth which can help plan for financial security in the future. Understanding investing has the ability to help shape your financial future positively, especially if you can start early and practice patience.6
As young adults attempt to navigate the working world and all of the challenges that come with it, a great tool to understand general information about financial markets is Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is extremely accessible and is a great source of free guidance that can cater responses to help an investor understand the information based on their learning preferences. However, that being said, AI should not replace professional financial advice because it uses past information and trends to make suggestions.
AI is helpful in utilizing all available information on the web and providing you with general education. Studies have shown that AI can have a difficult time comprehending the unexpected events that could happen in the future.7 Studies have shown that the way in which you write your prompt can determine the response from the AI chatbot, including gender bias. Women tended to use words such as “family”, “grocery”, and “pay” whereas men tended to use words such as “crypto”, and “growth”. The AI chatbot’s response gave different advice to these different groups which resulted in different investment experiences.
Generally speaking, the more financially literate a prompt sounded, the more risk AI would suggest to that user in a stock portfolio resulting in that investor potentially earning more of a return on their investment over time. This shows that although gender, profession, and familial life should all play a role in how you shape your financial plans, AI tends to show bias towards certain groups.
While there is always some risk involved, learning how to research investments and think long-term can help individuals make more informed financial choices throughout their lives. The earlier one begins learning about investing, the more prepared they may be to take control of their finances and build a strong foundation for the future. While AI can be a great tool for young adults who are interested in learning about the financial world, as their wealth grows and their financial life become more complex, hiring a financial professional can help with personalized guidance to pursue their goals.
1 “Why Start Investing?” Dow Jones Smart Money. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://www.dowjones.com/company/resources/smart-money/why-start-investing/
2 “5 charts that put market volatility in perspective” Capital Group, July 30, 2026, https://www.capitalgroup.com/advisor/insights/articles/5-charts-market-volatility-perspective.html
3 “How to start investing” Fidelity Viewpoints, last modified June 11, 2026, accessed July 28, 2026, https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/personal-finance/teach-teens-investing
4 “5 charts that put market volatility in perspective”
5 “5 charts that put market volatility in perspective”
6 Five Pine Wealth Management. Why Investing in yourself is the best decision you’ll ever make. Financial Planning. Last modified August 9, 2024. Accessed July 30, 2026. https://www.fivepinewealth.com/why-investing-in-yourself-is-the-best-financial-decision-you-ll-ever-make
7 “How AI Is Shaping the Financial Future of Young People,” iDAD, last modified 2026, accessed July 28, 2026,
This material is intended for informational/educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any investment product. Please contact your financial professional for more information specific to your situation.