Investors like Ms. Jones, who is a mentee of Mr. Matthews, represent both the potential and the pitfalls of apps that make buying stocks as easy as ordering a pizza. Mr. Matthews said that while digital investment tools had expanded access to people who couldn’t afford a traditional financial adviser, a gap remained when it came to investor education. “The limitations of D.I.Y. tools is that when the market is down, you make the wrong move and there’s no one to double-check with,” he said.Mr. Matthews, who is Black, said he worried that a negative initial experience could turn off first-generation investors, particularly …
