Interpreted by Cygnet Institute. A summary of a SIFMA analysis by Kenneth Bentsen.
When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, there was no stock exchange, no Treasury security, and no public market of any kind. The country itself was an unproven experiment. In a recent piece marking America’s 250th anniversary, SIFMA president and CEO Kenneth Bentsen traces how that blank slate became the largest and most liquid capital markets on earth. We read his history at Cygnet Institute with one question in mind: as those markets grew, who was actually able to participate?
A financial system built from nothing
Bentsen’s account starts with a young republic nearly broke. By 1788, wartime paper currency had collapsed in value, there was no national currency, and no central authority managed public finance. George Washington’s first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, was handed the job of building a financial foundation from scratch.
Hamilton consolidated and honored the Revolutionary War debts, which established the creditworthiness of the United States. He believed sound public credit was inseparable from national strength.
A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing; it will be a powerful cement of our union.
Alexander Hamilton, 1781
From there, the pieces of a market fell into place. These milestones come from Bentsen’s account:
- 1790. Hamilton issues roughly $80 million in federal securities to refinance war debt. These become some of the first widely traded securities in the country.
- 1791. The First Bank of the United States is chartered in Philadelphia, capitalized at $10 million as a public-private partnership. Jefferson and Madison opposed it on constitutional grounds, but it stood.
- 1792. Twenty-four brokers sign the Buttonwood Agreement on Wall Street, setting common rules for trading. It became the seed of the New York Stock Exchange.
Over the next two centuries, Bentsen writes, those markets financed canals, railroads, industry, housing, and education, growing alongside the nation itself.
Where the markets stand today
The scale now is hard to overstate. According to SIFMA’s figures, US capital markets have become the anchor of the global financial system:
- The US holds more than 40 percent of global equity markets, roughly $67 trillion in value.
- Total US retirement assets stand at about $54.1 trillion, a core engine of household financial security.
- Around 77 percent of US corporate debt financing flows through markets rather than banks.
- About 58 percent of US households own equities, which means roughly four in ten do not.
That last number is the one we keep returning to. SIFMA reports that about 58 percent of American households own equities. It is a remarkable expansion from an era when markets were the province of a few merchants in coffeehouses. It also means a large share of families still sit outside the system that has done so much to build wealth for those inside it.
Bentsen’s own closing point
Bentsen does not treat market strength as guaranteed. He argues that maintaining America’s leadership requires deliberate policy, and he names financial literacy directly as one of the conditions for keeping markets healthy and trusted. That is not a throwaway line. It is a recognition that markets only deliver on their promise when people understand them well enough to take part.
The continued success of our markets should never be taken for granted.
Kenneth Bentsen, SIFMA, June 2026
What Cygnet reads into this
The 250-year arc Bentsen describes is, at its heart, a story of access widening. From twenty-four brokers under a tree, to state banks and insurers, to retirement plans and college savings accounts that let ordinary families share in the nation’s growth. Each stage brought more people inside.
The work of the next 250 years is to keep widening it. A market that half the country cannot confidently enter is a market operating below its potential, and financial literacy is the on-ramp. This is precisely why Cygnet Institute exists: to build the understanding and confidence that let more people participate in the prosperity these markets create.
The markets are strong. On the country’s 250th birthday, the more useful question is not how big they have become, but how many more people we can help walk through the door.
Source: Bentsen, K. E., Jr. (2026, June 29). America at 250: The Enduring Strength of US Capital Markets. SIFMA, Pennsylvania + Wall. Statistics attributed to SIFMA. The Hamilton quotation dates to 1781 and is in the public domain.
Read the full article on SIFMA.org
This article is a summary and interpretation prepared by Cygnet Institute. It is not the original work of the cited author, and the framing around financial access and literacy reflects Cygnet’s own reading of the piece.
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Last Updated: July 4, 2026 by Ted Lakkides
America at 250: The Markets Are Strong. The Question Is Why?
Interpreted by Cygnet Institute. A summary of a SIFMA analysis by Kenneth Bentsen.
When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, there was no stock exchange, no Treasury security, and no public market of any kind. The country itself was an unproven experiment. In a recent piece marking America’s 250th anniversary, SIFMA president and CEO Kenneth Bentsen traces how that blank slate became the largest and most liquid capital markets on earth. We read his history at Cygnet Institute with one question in mind: as those markets grew, who was actually able to participate?
A financial system built from nothing
Bentsen’s account starts with a young republic nearly broke. By 1788, wartime paper currency had collapsed in value, there was no national currency, and no central authority managed public finance. George Washington’s first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, was handed the job of building a financial foundation from scratch.
Hamilton consolidated and honored the Revolutionary War debts, which established the creditworthiness of the United States. He believed sound public credit was inseparable from national strength.
From there, the pieces of a market fell into place. These milestones come from Bentsen’s account:
Over the next two centuries, Bentsen writes, those markets financed canals, railroads, industry, housing, and education, growing alongside the nation itself.
Where the markets stand today
The scale now is hard to overstate. According to SIFMA’s figures, US capital markets have become the anchor of the global financial system:
That last number is the one we keep returning to. SIFMA reports that about 58 percent of American households own equities. It is a remarkable expansion from an era when markets were the province of a few merchants in coffeehouses. It also means a large share of families still sit outside the system that has done so much to build wealth for those inside it.
Bentsen’s own closing point
Bentsen does not treat market strength as guaranteed. He argues that maintaining America’s leadership requires deliberate policy, and he names financial literacy directly as one of the conditions for keeping markets healthy and trusted. That is not a throwaway line. It is a recognition that markets only deliver on their promise when people understand them well enough to take part.
What Cygnet reads into this
The 250-year arc Bentsen describes is, at its heart, a story of access widening. From twenty-four brokers under a tree, to state banks and insurers, to retirement plans and college savings accounts that let ordinary families share in the nation’s growth. Each stage brought more people inside.
The work of the next 250 years is to keep widening it. A market that half the country cannot confidently enter is a market operating below its potential, and financial literacy is the on-ramp. This is precisely why Cygnet Institute exists: to build the understanding and confidence that let more people participate in the prosperity these markets create.
The markets are strong. On the country’s 250th birthday, the more useful question is not how big they have become, but how many more people we can help walk through the door.
Source: Bentsen, K. E., Jr. (2026, June 29). America at 250: The Enduring Strength of US Capital Markets. SIFMA, Pennsylvania + Wall. Statistics attributed to SIFMA. The Hamilton quotation dates to 1781 and is in the public domain.
Read the full article on SIFMA.org
This article is a summary and interpretation prepared by Cygnet Institute. It is not the original work of the cited author, and the framing around financial access and literacy reflects Cygnet’s own reading of the piece.
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