Saving on behalf of a child

By saving for your child, you secure your child's future financially and give them the freedom to follow their dreams. Parents often put away money for their children for years or even decades. That's why it's a good idea to consider forms of saving that are more profitable than a standard savings account. You can find suitable investment products from our extensive range of mutual funds, stocks and ETFs. By starting early, your child's savings can amount to a large sum by the time they reach adulthood.

Investing in funds on behalf of a child

The most important thing is to start, and you can invest in funds for your child with as little as 10 euros a month. With a long investment horizon, you can save thousands of euros in your child's portfolio to secure your child's finances. Select one or several suitable funds from our extensive selection of more than 60 mutual funds. You always invest affordably in OP's funds as an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, you can buy and sell nearly all funds without fees and earn 0.35% in OP bonuses.

Fund investing for a child is also possible through unit-linked insurance. Saving through insurance is the best option if you’re saving for a child in the long term and want to maintain control of the funds.

Investing in stocks for a child

It's worthwhile to start investing in stocks for your child as early as possible. You can get started by opening a book-entry account or an equity savings account. You can also open both if you want to make use of the benefits of both accounts. Through the accounts, you can invest in stocks for your child and seek a return on your investment efficiently in the stock market.

You can invest in a wide variety of stocks and ETFs on behalf of your child. You ensure that the costs of investing remain affordable by making your child an OP cooperative bank owner-customer. Thanks to low fees, you can invest in stocks even with smaller sums such as 100 euros at a time. Investing small sums regularly pays off as the investment horizon of a child's portfolio is usually long, more than 10 years.

How do I see an underage child's funds and stocks?

Are you able to check your underage child’s funds and stocks via OP’s digital services? See below for instructions on how to do so.

If you are using a minor’s user ID, you can only manage stocks on OP-mobile for the time being (if the user ID was activated before 10 December 2020). An underage child's insurance assets can only be managed in the guardian’s or authorised representative’s op.fi service.

If a guardian or authorised representative has their own user ID, they can use the op.fi service to manage a minor’s banking matters. This requires the consent of all the minor’s guardians. If you are a guardian who wants to start using your own op.fi service to manage banking for a minor, do as follows:

Mutual funds

To be able to view mutual funds owned by a minor, fill in the ‘start’ form for fund investment via the op.fi service. You must log in first.

Investments in stocks

A guardian or authorised representative can view the underage child's stock investments if they have access rights to the child's book-entry account, equity savings account or custody account. To add access rights, call our Customer Service.

Insurance assets

Call our Customer Service and explain that you want to transfer the underage child's insurance assets to your op.fi service, where you can manage them. We will send the required powers of attorney for signature by the other guardians and authorised representatives via the Electronic Signature Service.

How much can I gift my child without paying tax?

Gift tax must also be paid on fund units and securities. The donor must pay a gift tax if

  • the value of the gift is 5,000 euros or more
  • the recipient receives several gifts from the same donor over a period of three years amounting to 5,000 euros or more.

You can gift 138 euros tax-free each month, or a total of 4,999 euros over a period of three years. The limit for tax exemption is donor-specific, which means that both guardians can gift the same child less than 5,000 euros each over a period of three years without taxes. Funds and stocks are a good tax-free gift for the child as long as the value of the gift does not exceed 5,000 euros over a period of three years.

How much can I invest for a child?

There is no upper limit when saving and investing on behalf of a child. However, note that you can gift 138 euros tax-free each month or 4,999 euros every three years. The limit for tax exemption is donor-specific.

Equity savings account or book-entry account for a child?

Which account should you choose for your child's investments: an equity savings account or book-entry account? Choosing both could be the answer if you want to make use of the benefits of both accounts.

Another important question is when it pays to invest for a child through a book-entry account and when through an equity savings account. The answer can be found in your investment strategy, in other words, how long your investment horizon is, in what investment vehicles you invest, and what your investment goals are.

How can an underage child make investments?

Saving and investing are good ways to teach a young person personal finance skills. Young persons aged over 15 can save and invest independently on OP-mobile with their parents' or guardians' consent. After the consent is given, the young person can view and make changes to all their owned savings and investments. Please note that the authorisation does not apply to possible insurance assets.

Can I invest child allowances?

If your child allowance is not spent on everyday needs and purchases, you can also invest all or a part of it. By doing so, you can save thousands of euros for your child by the time they reach adulthood.

What should I gift a child?

Mutual fund units, stocks and ETFs are great gifts for a godchild or grandchild. Opening a book-entry account or equity savings account can also be a good idea for a gift. Whether you are the mother, father, godparent or grandparent, you also get the opportunity to teach personal finance skills and build up the child's savings in preparation for adulthood.

See how to use a gift card or deed of gift to give investments to someone

What should I take into consideration when investing on behalf of a child?

Legal guardians make decisions on an underage child's finances, including matters related to saving and investing. Legal guardians must ensure that the child's assets are invested in a way that is in the principal's best interests.

Investment benefits

As our owner-customer, you get benefits and discounts on saving and investing.

Make your whole family owner-customers

You can also make your child an OP cooperative bank owner-customer.

Invest for your godchild or grandchild
Would you like to give money to, or save regularly on behalf of, a child in your life? Pay monthly amounts to build an investment with returns, while teaching the child financial skills.
Saving and investing for young people
Did you know that young people aged between 15 and 17 can save and invest independently on OP-mobile with their parents’ or guardians’ consent? The earlier you start, the more you stand to benefit. 

Investment services are provided by OP cooperative banks. The funds are managed by OP Fund Management Company Ltd. When investing, it’s wise to remember the associated risks. An investment’s value can either rise or fall, and there are no guarantees of recovering all your invested capital. OP doesn’t guarantee a return on your investment, and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Taxation is based on each customer’s circumstances and can change.