2018: Check Out Stash’s Year in Review

2018 was quite a year.

And December’s the time for reflecting on all that’s happened, both personally and in the world around us.

Whether it was the U.S. launching a trade war with China, the wildfires in California, nail-biting midterm elections, or the return of stock market volatility—it has been a drama-filled and occasionally nerve-wracking year.

Through it all, we here at Stash Learn have worked hard to keep you and our millions of customers in the loop, analyzing the important news and how it affects your finances.

Here’s a look at some of the year’s highlights in financial news, as well as some Stash milestones.

January

Tax cuts. In the first legislative victory for the Trump administration, Congress approved the most sweeping tax system overhaul in 30 years. The bill maintains seven tax brackets, but lowers rates for five of them and adjusts income thresholds. It also included handouts for corporations and the very rich.

February

Warren Buffett names two successors. At the age of 88, the famed Berkshire Hathaway investor, and one of the world’s wealthiest people, named two executives to take over the company when he steps down.

Volatility returns to the stock market. In February major indexes suffered their worst decline in more than a year. The drop ushered in a year of wild market swings that continued throughout the year.

March

Trade war.  President Trump’s trade war with China begins. The U.S. put hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tariffs on Chinese imports. China responded with tariffs of its own on U.S. goods, which has added to market volatility.

Interest rates.  The Fed continues hiking its benchmark, short-term interest rate, doing so again two more times in 2018. The rate increases are likely to drive up borrowing costs for consumers.

Facebook fiasco. A whistleblower reveals the leading social media site gave away the personal data of millions of users to a firm called Cambridge Analytica, which in turn used that information to create voter profiles for Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016.

May

Changes for the auto industry. Auto producer Ford drops sedan car production in favor of SUVs and trucks, reflecting changing American consumer tastes for larger cars.

June

CEO step down.  Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz steps down, fueling speculation that he may run for president.

Mega merger. AT&T and Time Warner are given the go-ahead by the Department of Justice to pursue a blockbuster merger, worth nearly $90 billion.

August

NAFTA.   President Trump announces plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a 20-year-old trading accord between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

September

Record highs. Amazon and Apple hit $1 trillion market caps, the first time in history that companies reach this valuation. It’s a sign of how powerful and influential the tech industry has become.

This time ten years ago. The Great Recession has its tenth anniversary. The financial crisis began in 2008 when an investment bank called Lehman Brothers collapsed, ushering in the worst financial crisis the U.S. had experienced since the Great Depression.

Tesla in hot water. The SEC threatens to sue Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for making false statements on Twitter to investors about taking the company private.

November

New HQ. Amazon announces it will build two new, multi-billion dollar headquarters—one in Queens, New York and the other in Arlington Virginia, capping a year-long search for new space.

Climate change. The U.S. federal government announces climate change is real, and may soon cause irreversible economic damage.

December

Hack attack. Marriott suffers the biggest cyber attack of the year, losing information for hundreds of millions of customers, including passport and credit card numbers.

Uber and Lyft IPOs. The two top ride-sharing companies file to go public. Lyft has a market cap of $15 billion to Uber’s $120 billion.

Stash Highlights

2018 was a big year here at Stash as well. Check out some stats from our in-house data team.

States with the largest number of users

California, Texas, New York, Florida, Georgia
Is your state on the top of the list? If not, kick off 2019 by starting your investing journey.

Total value of all Auto-Stash transfers:

Are you part of the 2018 Auto-Investors? If not, turn on Auto-Invest.

The number of new investments added in 2018:

Check out all of the stocks and ETFs offered on Stash.

Number of first time-investors who have joined

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