Own children are not a good investment. With increasing age of the offspring, the cost of living and the demands rise, especially the education goes right into the money.
Therefore, it makes sense to provide for your own children from the beginning. But which investment form is the best? And are there the same offers for children as for adults?
The journal "Finanztest" of Stiftung Warentest investigated these questions and examined offers of the banks. The result: Parents who want to save for a longer time for their children, should rely on equity funds . In order to keep the fluctuations manageable, ETF are suitable. These are exchange-traded funds that reflect a broad-based stock index. ETF are inexpensive and easy to maintain. The austerity plan should run for at least ten years to be able to weather the inevitable price fluctuations (read more here).
For example, if you pay fifty euros a month for 18 years, you will get a saving of 17,336 euros on a five percent return. Money that the adult child can then use, for example, for driving license or study.
Altogether there are according to "financial test" 18 securities depots specially for children and adolescents up to 18 years. The custody account itself is free everywhere, but the execution of the savings plans costs money. According to the investigation, there are twelve offers, which cost less than 12 euros per year with a monthly saving rate of 50 euros. These include the offers of many online custody accounts, but also those of Postbank . On the other hand, the products of 1822 directly and the Commerzbank , which charge more than 30 euros per year at such saving rates, are significantly more expensive (you can find the complete test results here).
The cheapest custody accounts for children and adolescents
| providers | depot | Total cost per year * (in euros) |
|---|---|---|
| comdirect | Junior depot | 9.00 |
| Consorsbank | Junior Depot | 9.00 |
| Deutsche Bank Maxblue | Maxblue Depot | 7.50 |
| DWS | DWS Depot Classic | 0.00 |
| Finvesto | Finvesto depot U18 | 1.20 |
| Augsburger Aktienbank | Sparplandepot Junior | 1.20 |
| ebase | Depot 4Kids | 1.20 |
| FIL fund bank | FFB FondsdepotJunior | 2.70 |
* At a savings rate of 50 euros per month
Source: Stiftung Warentest
Money that is in an account or deposit that is in the name of the child belongs to the child. Parents can not easily get it back. Once the children come of age, they can do whatever they want with the money.
If you want to save on your own name, while avoiding to open another account, but must also tax the capital income itself. "Income on child accounts, however, remain tax-free up to 10,005 euros, if the child has no other income," writes "Financial Test".
Those who want to avoid any risk or want to save less than ten years, should set for his children on time deposits or checking accounts , which pay interest on small savings.
Free nationwide current accounts for children and adolescents
| providers | Credit interest (percent) | ... to investment amount (in Euro) | Maximum interest income from credit interest per year (in euros) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württembergische Bank | 0.50 | 5000 | 25,00 |
| BBBank | 1.00 | 1000 | 10.00 |
| Sparkasse Leipzig | 1.00 | 1000 | 10.00 |
| VR Bank Lower Bavaria-Upper Palatinate | 1.50 | 1000 | 15.00 |
Source: Stiftung Warentest
Such accounts are available at many savings banks and Volksbanks , some offers are supraregional (see table). The Förde Sparkasse, the savings banks in Berlin and Hamburg as well as the Volksbank Dresden-Bautzen offer credit on the three percent interest per year - but only up to an amount of at most 500 or 1000 euros. These are interest rates that an adult investor can only dream of.
