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Original poster

Teenager wants to invest v small amounts of money

36 replies

ColouringPencils · 22/04/2023 10:04

Is this a thing? He is only 13 - can he invest it himself or would I need to do it for him? And I mean really small amounts, I would guess under £50. I think he just wants to see how it works and if he can get any return from it.

If it's not possible, are there other ways I can support his interest in finances? He doesn't have a job - his only money is from birthdays and doing jobs around the house. He is very good at maths and has a growing interest in economics and all things money-ish.

OP posts:
namelessfornow · 22/04/2023 10:06

I don't think he can "properly" as he's under 16.
Minors can invest by opening S&S ISAs.

Clymene · 22/04/2023 10:07

He'd have to do it through his parent. He can't own stocks and shares directly.

Noicant · 22/04/2023 10:08

Why not, you can open an account in your name for him. You can then talk to him about different types of investments etc (or find out together). He’ll also hopefully learn about only putting in what you can afford to lose.

DowntonCrabby · 22/04/2023 10:09

Lots of the investment platforms have practice trading accounts which would be great for an interested teen to gain some experience.

NLisa · 22/04/2023 10:09

I would open a free account under your name with a company like Freetrade and let him use that.

Original poster
ColouringPencils · 22/04/2023 10:10

This sounds interesting @DowntonCrabby what do I search? I have never invested myself so don't know how any of this works

OP posts:
Original poster
ColouringPencils · 22/04/2023 10:11

Thanks @NLisa I will look up Freetrade

OP posts:
purplecorkheart · 22/04/2023 10:12

Could you get a revoult card for yourself. They allow you invest in shares or you could get an etoro account

DowntonCrabby · 22/04/2023 10:27

I’ve just put “practice trading account UK” into Google and a load of options came up, I use trading 212 and they definitely have an option. The app process might appeal more to a teen too than an actual web account.

LucifersLight · 22/04/2023 11:19

It could be a really good life lesson.

I still remember getting a bank loan as being one of my most important life lessons - taking so long to pay it back was painful it taught me to avoid debt like the plague.

A short sharp stint at spread-betting also taught me a valuable lesson about how investing sensibly is a slow multi-year process.

AgeofCreation528 · 22/04/2023 11:27

Premium bonds
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tribpot · 22/04/2023 11:27

I googled 'virtual investment portfolio' as I've known people do this in the past. I think this is the same as a practice trading account mentioned by PP above? The London Stock Exchange has an option here, for example: www.londonstockexchange.com/personal-investing/tools/virtual-portfolio-and-watchlist

This would give him the ability to invest larger sums that he could (or would want to!) in real life.

meandtheboy · 22/04/2023 11:31

A slightly different model, but my dad is helping my son work through this as a way of introducing him to money management and ethical investing.

https://lendwithcare.org/

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Isitisit · 22/04/2023 11:34

Can you open him a junior stocks and shares ISA? Something like a basic S and P tracker would be a good way to start.

AgeofCreation528 · 22/04/2023 11:35

Look at stoozing & regular savings accounts
More info on money saving expert website

Example
Money in bank account A -this is the main account
Move some to account B
Move some to account C
Move some to account D
You can make small amounts of money
Some accounts add a bonus at the end of the year too

autumnboys · 22/04/2023 11:38

Does he have a child trust fund? DS13 has been learning about the difference between shares and cash at school, so we are going to track the progress of £20 into his CTF (stocks and shares) and £20 in his bank account.

Original poster
ColouringPencils · 22/04/2023 11:59

I have started to doubt this idea and whether it might feel a bit like gambling and I would be introducing him to that... Happy to be told I am wrong of course! He is a typical teenage boy in that he has energy to burn and wants to do things at a million miles an hour. I think the slow and steady sensible approach won't give him the thing he is looking for, and might start to look elsewhere. I have started thinking it might be better for him to find a way to earn money if he wants to make money, although I am not sure of any jobs a 13 year old could do now. Paper rounds seem to be out. It's so different having a teenage boy to my own experience 😕 (also have a DD who is more like me and would ve much more cautious)

OP posts:
missmollygreen · 22/04/2023 15:00

Ask him what sort of trading he is interested in.
Is it day trading that he has seen on tiktok?
Or is he looking at investing long term in the stock market.

One is a good idea, the other is not. I have a feeling I know which one it will be though!

Winter2020 · 22/04/2023 16:23

My son and husband bought £100 of shares twice and they were not good choices. They withered away to nothing with the annual fee and this year my husband phoned up to close the account as the charge was more than they had left.

On some level I was pleased that with a very small smount my son had learned that stocks and shares are not a get rich quick scheme without getting his fingers badly burned.

You could look at a child trust fund or an ISA in your name that tracks the FTSE spreading any risk. If you look at the FTSE the last few years you will see the rise and falls.

You could alternatively look at him buying a few bits from a car boot or charity shop and seeing if he could sell it for a profit on ebay or similar.

If you have much stuff he could do a car boot sale to raise float to get started.

MMMarmite · 22/04/2023 16:34

I think it's a great idea if you can. I'm trying to invest now but feel basically financially illiterate, there's so much I don't know. If I'd started learning at 13, I'd be in so much better stead.

Whatnowfgs · 22/04/2023 16:38

I have a trading 212 account for Ds 15. Have £40 in it.

seekingasimplelife · 22/04/2023 20:14

This is a great way for your DS to learn about savings and investments. It's a very good time to start when he shows a keen interest

Here's what my DC did at a similar age...

1.Investigate bank current accounts. By 13 he can access a contactless Visa debit card, Apple Pay; use a banking app, and buy his own purchases online. Some of these current accounts pay a reasonable interest on the balance.

2.Investigate Childrens' saving accounts that offer the best interest rates and terms, and start to appreciate the value of compound interest - understand meaning of Albert Einstein's quote .'Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn't, pays it'.

3.Once he has some savings, start to look to investments. One way to do this is to invest the same set amount in a number of assets and leave them invested to track how they perform comparatively over time - so for instance 5 investments - a cash savings account; a low cost index tracker such as a global fund or S&P500; some individual shares in one company of his choice - perhaps a technology one might interest him (all of these except cash could be held within a JISA in his name); bitcoin or other digital currency; a gold/mining or commodities tracker fund - or just buy a physical coin such as a tenth ounce gold coin, or 1oz silver Britannia coin to track resale value.
For these investments I matched the amount my dc saved to use.

The advantage of holding on to 5 different types of investments is it will avoid excessive dealing costs of repeated buying and selling once the initial investments are made. It will also give him a clear idea over a longer time frame of how certain types of investments perform compared to others - and what circumstances and events are likely to impact those investments. This might encourage him to take an interest in the financial news.

He could also look into Warren Buffet's million dollar bet in 2008 with the hedge fund industry - which is very instructive.

Dashel · 22/04/2023 21:58

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The money is never at risk and they can be bought in £25 chunks and can be withdrawn with a few days notice.

I would imagine it’s quite hard to earn money at 13 and I don’t know if there are any survey sites that would accept someone so young but it might be worth looking into. Failing that could be do some jobs for cash at home like car washing or mowing the lawn?

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Wenfy · 22/04/2023 23:30

Go to HL, top funds, and choose the ones with the lowest prices. There are some excellent Indian funds right now - as the India to SE Asia nexus is where Asian growth is going to be for the forseeable future.

Youdoyoubabe · 22/04/2023 23:32

Yes but you would have to do it in your name.

You can also set up dummy accounts though.

Try Hargreaves Lansdowne, very easy dashboard.

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