Getting your child or teenager interested in investing is one of the best ways to set them up for long-term financial success. Luckily, the barrier to entry has never been lower.
Today, there are two primary ways to help a minor invest, and the difference between them is crucial:
- The Custodial Account (UGMA/UTMA): An account owned by the minor, but controlled by the adult until the child reaches the age of majority (18 or 21). This is best for gifting large sums of money.
- The Teen-Owned Brokerage Account: A newer account where the teen makes the trades but the parent maintains oversight. This is better for financial education.
We've broken down the best platforms in both categories, focusing on $0 fees, low minimums, and great educational tools.
🏆 The Winner: Best for Teen Financial Education
Fidelity Youth Account
The Fidelity Youth Account is a game-changer. Unlike a traditional Custodial Account where the parent does all the trading, this account is actually owned and controlled by the teen (ages 13–17) with the parent maintaining necessary oversight. It's the best platform for teaching practical money management and investing.
- Best For: Teens who want to learn by doing and parents who prioritize education over total control.
- Fees & Minimums: $0.00 fees and no minimum deposit to open.
- Key Investing Features:
- Fractional Shares: Teens can invest in over 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs with as little as $1.
- Debit Card: Includes a free debit card with $0 ATM fees (reimbursed worldwide).
- "Learn & Earn": The app features educational modules where teens can earn small amounts of cash deposited into their account for completing lessons.
- Parental Control/Oversight: Parents must have a Fidelity account to link to it. Parents can monitor all trades, view balances, and cancel the debit card, but the teen is the sole decision-maker for trades.
🏆 The Winner: Best Traditional Custodial Account (UGMA/UTMA)
Charles Schwab
When the goal is simply to save and invest money on a child's behalf—especially from gifts, grandparents, or settlement money—Charles Schwab is the best traditional option due to its strong overall platform, educational resources, and flexibility.
- Best For: Long-term, passive investing where the parent wants full control of the investment decisions until the child is 18/21.
- Fees & Minimums: $0.00 fees and no account minimum.
- Key Investing Features:
- Stock Slices: Offers fractional shares (called "Stock Slices") for the 500 largest U.S. companies (the S&P 500).
- Educational Content: Provides excellent, free educational resources for both the parent and the minor.
- Broad Options: Access to a wide range of $0 commission stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, making it easy to build a low-cost, diversified portfolio (like the 3-Fund Portfolio).
- Control/Ownership: The adult (custodian) maintains full control over all investment and withdrawal decisions. The money legally belongs to the minor but cannot be accessed by them until the age of majority.
The Best for Automatic Investing & Banking (The Subscription Models)
Not every great platform for teens is a traditional brokerage. For younger kids or those prioritizing automatic savings and parental controls, these fee-based apps are excellent options.
Greenlight
- What it is: A money management and debit card app with built-in financial education.
- The Cost: Subscription fees starting around $5.99/month.
- Key Features: Greenlight offers the most robust parental controls. Parents can block specific merchants, set spending limits, manage chore lists, and automate allowance. Investing for kids is available, but it is often managed by the parents and is limited by the subscription tier. Greenlight is focused on teaching spending and saving habits first.
Acorns
- What it is: A micro-investing app focused on automating investments through "round-ups" (investing spare change).
- The Cost: Monthly subscription fees.
- Key Features: Acorns offers a custodial account called Acorns Early. This is ideal for parents who want a true "set-it-and-forget-it" system based on spare change and small, automatic transfers. It is the best way to get a child started on investing without making large lump-sum decisions.
Head-to-Head: Custodial (UGMA/UTMA) vs. Teen-Owned
| Feature | Custodial Account (Schwab, Fidelity UGMA/UTMA) | Teen-Owned Account (Fidelity Youth) |
| Legal Owner | The Minor | The Teen |
| Who Makes Trades | The Adult (Custodian) | The Teen (with parental oversight) |
| Control | Adult has full control until age 18/21. | Teen has control; Parent monitors and can freeze. |
| Gifting Limits | No limit on gifts, but gift tax rules apply (up to ~$19,000 in 2025). | Fidelity limits annual deposits to $30,000. |
| Best For | Grandparents gifting large sums; long-term, hands-off growth. | Teenagers (13-17) learning how to pick stocks and use a brokerage platform. |
Final Verdict: The Best Choice for Education
If your goal is to empower your child (ages 13-17) to learn the mechanics of investing, the Fidelity Youth Account is the best choice because it gives the teen real control over a commission-free, $1-minimum platform while providing the parent with the necessary safety net.
If your goal is to simply gift a large sum of money and manage the investments yourself, Charles Schwab or Fidelity's traditional UGMA/UTMA are the top-tier, low-cost choices.
