The stock market has been booming this year as all three major averages (^DJI,^GSPC, ^IXIC) are positive year to date. The S&P 500 alone has notched 42 all-time highs in 2024.

Empify Founder and CEO Ashley Fox joins Wealth! to discuss how beginner investors can get involved in the stock market and build long-term wealth.

"Working on Wall Street, I worked in asset management, so our clients had at least $25 million. And the number one thing that I saw was that investing was not an option. It was a standard. And I think we think because we don't have a lot of money, we might not come from money, that we can't do it," Fox tells Yahoo Finance.

She notes that many publicly traded companies are those that most Americans "know, use, and believe in." She adds, "I think when you think about investing, you got to think about it logically. When you are buying stock in a company, you're investing in a business, not a price. And so really understanding, what company do I want to go into business with? Because as that company grows, so does your net worth."

Fox argues that investing in the stock market is the best way to save and work your way to wealth. She encourages beginner investors to make a list of some of the companies they use and believe in, explaining, "Because chances are, if you are a loyal customer to that company, they might be a multibillion-dollar, trillion-dollar business. And a lot of stocks are less than two, three hundred dollars, and starting small and building big over time."

She also encourages investors to consider real estate investment trusts (REITs), where you can invest in a real estate company that owns, operates, and manages commercial properties. "The thing that I like about REITs is that there's a law that says they have to pay you... So for every share you own, you're able to collect income on a monthly or quarterly basis," she explains.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth!

This post was written by Melanie Riehl