My child wants to invest

Terry Says

It's great to have a child who is interested in investing. I think the best place to start, with small amounts of money, is a website called Stockpile.com.  There you can start with small amounts of money and build a portfolio of companies in which the child has an interest -- whether it is in a company that makes games, or sportswear, or foods or restaurants that he/she patronizes.  This website also makes it easy to gift a few shares of stock, so you can add to the portfolio for holidays and birthdays. The site provides education and tutorials to help the novice get started understanding things like "why do stock prices go up and down?" A caveat:  this type of account in  the child's name (or with the parents as "custodians" will weigh more heavily against the family in the financial aid formula if you are apply for aid for college.