ChartMaster: A Tool for Promoting Financial Inclusion of Novice Investors Hong Zou 1 , Sambhavi Chandrashekar 2 1 CIBC Investor Services Inc., Toronto (ON), Canada birdswimming@gmail.com 2 OCAD University, Toronto (ON), Canada schandrashekar@faculty.ocadu.ca Abstract. ChartMaster is a digital tool developed by Hong Zou in 2015, through co-design with visually impaired screen reader users, to improve the accessibility and usability of interactive stock market charts. The first Chart- Master usability study, conducted with screen reader users, demonstrated that the tool not only helped them access data points quicker and easier, but also proved to be “educational.” The next usability study, conducted with sighted novice investors to examine ChartMaster’s educational value, is described in this paper. Novice investors found it easier to discover features, learn action possibilities and locate specific data through ChartMaster than through direct interaction with stock market charts. Several of their experiences, such as find- ing the summary feature helpful in understanding the chart, were similar to those reported previously by visually impaired screen reader users, suggesting comparable cognitive and emotional barriers to financial literacy for both groups. Improvements to ChartMaster were also suggested. Keywords: Interactive stock market charts · visually impaired · screen reader users · accessibility · usability · novice investors · ChartMaster · educational tool · inclusive design 1 Introduction The stock market has grown dramatically in the last few decades. Capitalization of the world stock markets has more than doubled between 2008 and 2015, and the volume of share trading increased from US$88 trillion to US$114 trillion, during the same period [1]. Along with the growth of the stock market, the number of shareholders is rapidly increasing. Globally, the number of direct shareholders was approximately 382 million in 2009, and this number is steadily increasing [2]. Within this data set, there are an increasing number of self-directed investors who rely on their own re- search and judgment to make financial decisions without the involvement of a finan- cial advisor. The majority of stock market investors, however, are novice investors who lack sufficient knowledge and skills, and might not be familiar with essential research tools, such as stock market charts [3].