Book-entry account for a child

Take advantage of the long saving period and aim for an effective return for your child’s savings with stocks.

Invest easily in stocks for your child by opening a book-entry account. After you have opened the account, you can trade in securities such as stocks and ETFs.

Always affordable investing: you can open a book-entry account for your child for free and invest without monthly charges.

You can also buy international stocks to a book-entry account. You can improve the expected return of your investment by diversifying the stocks across different regions.

If your child is an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, you will pay no more than a 1% fee for domestic stocks, which means that you can even invest a smaller sum such as 100 euros.

Open a book-entry account for your child

Why should I open a book-entry account for my child?

The most important thing about investing is getting started. By starting as early as possible and having a long investment period, you can use the compound interest effect efficiently. An easy way to start saving for your child is to open a book-entry account. Stock investment is one of the best ways to pursue returns.

With a book-entry account, you can invest in securities such as stocks and ETFs for your child. With the account, you can diversify your investment widely in different targets without a deposit limit.

How do I open a book-entry account for a child? How to get started

Before opening a book-entry account, a minor needs a personal current account, and they must be an OP customer. Moreover, at least one parent must be an OP customer. If the child does not hold a personal current account, you can easily open it online.

Open a current account for a child here

Trading with the child’s book-entry account is possible with the guardians’ User ID on OP-mobile and in the op.fi service. The child can personally trade at the age of 18 or, with the guardians’ consent, after reaching the age of 15.

Book-entry account taxation

Taxes for a book-entry account are collected annually based on the sales profits and dividends gained in a year. Sales profits are taxed at 30–34% and dividends at 25.5–28.9%. In most cases, tax at source in excess of the Finnish dividend tax rate is taken into account and refunded in Finnish taxation. Capital losses are tax-deductible in annual taxation: the deduction can be transferred to capital gains in the current and subsequent five years.

You can sell the stocks at any point. Any profits and dividends will be withheld automatically.

What stocks should I buy for a child’s book-entry account?

It is advisable that the investment portfolio includes stocks of around 5–10 companies. You can well start with one company and gradually diversify the investment portfolio to include several companies. Diversification enables you to level out investment risk and avoid major value fluctuations.

The most popular stocks and ETFs for saving on behalf of a child in 2023

Finnish equities	International equities	ETFs
Nordea Bank Abp	Telia Company AB	iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD DIST
UPM-Kymmene Corporation	SSAB AB SER B	iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD
Sampo plc	Sotkamo Silver AB	XACT Fonder AB XACT Norden (UCITS ETF)
Fortum Corporation	SSAB AB SER A	iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD ACC
Nokia Corporation	CIBUS NORDIC REAL ESTATE AB	Xtrackers Artificial Intelligence & Big Data UCITS ETF 1C
Neste Corporation	Uniper SE	L&G Hydrogen Economy UCITS ETF
Nokian Tyres plc	Volvo Car AB	VanEck Morningstar US Sustainable Wide Moat UCITS ETF
KONE Corporation	Investor AB SER B	WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence UCITS ETF
Metsä Board Corporation	SAAB AB SER B	Lyxor Nasdaq-100 UCITS ETF
Kesko Corporation	SAMHALLSBYGGNADSBOLAGET I NORDEN AB SER B	Xtrackers II EUR High Yield Corporate Bond UCITS ETF 1C

How can a child personally invest through a book-entry account?

A minor can invest conveniently with the guardians’ consent. The parents may authorise their child when they have turned 15 to manage their own investments. When a book-entry account has been opened for the child, the minor can independently trade in stocks on OP-mobile through the book-entry account.

Give authorisation for a young person’s saving and investing here

What happens to the book-entry account when the child turns 18?

After the child has turned 18, the management of the book-entry account is transferred from the parents to the child themselves. It is advisable to have a discussion with the child about savings and investments and their management. We are also pleased to help young people manage their savings on a long-term basis and responsibly. A person aged 18 or over may also book an appointment for free-of-charge investment advice.

Book-entry account

Read more about the benefits of a book-entry account.

List of charges and fees for book-entry account

Learn about the book-entry account charges and fees.

Saving on behalf of a child

Secure your child’s future by saving.

The book-entry account is provided by an OP cooperative bank. 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.