Superhero launches trading accounts for minors

Award-winning share trading platform Superhero has today launched trading accounts for minors, enabling parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents to make investments on behalf of a child or teenager aged under 18.

Since launching ASX trading accounts in 2020, Superhero says it has had strong demand from parents who want to be able to set up an account in the name of their child.

“Parents, and a growing number of grandparents, want to be able to invest for their child or grandchild’s future – whether that is money towards education, travel, their first car or even making a start on a home deposit,” Superhero Co-Founder and CEO John Winters said today.

Traditionally, thousands of parents and guardians have invested regular savings into bank accounts on behalf of minors.

But Superhero says with interest rates at record lows, there’s less opportunity for compound interest to grow those savings.

For example, if you invested $2,000 in a savings account when your child was born, and then $100 a month for 18 years, with an average of 3% compound interest calculated monthly, that would equate to $32,024 when your child was 18.

If you invested $2000 in shares when your child was born, and then invested a further $100 a month for 18 years, with an average return of 8%, that would equate to $56,730 when your child was 18.

“The difference between having money in a savings account or investing in markets is pretty stark, and as your child gets older, it’s also a good opportunity to teach them about investing and have conversations with them about managing risk and diversification, which will help them become financially literate,” Winters said.

Minor accounts are now available to all individual Superhero account holders and are free to set up. Upon setup, each minor account will receive a unique PayID for instant cash deposits as well as a unique BSB and account number.

“This move enables parents to open accounts on their kids’ behalf, fund their account in real time, set up regular deposits into their account and buy Aussie ETFs for $0 brokerage or shares for just $5 per trade.”