Fidelity Youth Account for Kids $50 Bonus

Now that the economy is no longer awash in free money, financial companies, banks and brokerages are in customer acquisition mode. New customers tend to stay customers, especially when scary stories on TV or scary circumstances trigger the impulse to stay put.

$50 Fee for Fidelity Youth Account

You probably started seeing postcards and letters in the mail with local banks trying to seduce you with offers of $200 cash for opening a new account, or something similar. This is a version of that. The idea from Fidelity’s end, of course, is that your child is getting older and if they already have a Fidelity account when they leave and go out into the world, there is a much better chance that they will keep that account than there is that they would find their way back on their own.

How Do I Get $50 For Fidelity Kids Account?

Fortunately, since this is for a kids account, there are kid sized requirements to earn the $50 bonus.

First, the parent must be a Fidelity account holder. If you already are, then you can move to the next step. If you aren’t you have to make a choice about whether opening a Fidelity account is right for you.

Then, the parent has to open the account on the teen’s behalf. It will technically be one of your accounts that you monitor, manage, and are responsible for. That’s step one.

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Step two is that your teen needs to download the Fidelity app and activate it. By activate, they mean going through the process of setting up a login with a username and password. The folks at Fidelity aren’t dumb. They know their chances of going off to college, or out into the job world, are higher as an app on the teen’s cellphone than as a program on the family computer.

What Is a Fidelity Youth Account?

The Fidelity youth account is designed for teens age 13 to 17. The account gives kids bite-sized amounts of financial transactions and options. The youth account at Fidelity comes with a debit card. That can be used to make purchases with a PIN number. The Fidelity Youth card can also use the ATM with no ATM fees from certain ATMs.

Fidelity is billing this as a way to discuss and understand financial education with your teen. That is where its greatest value lies. Kids tune out if you try and explain finances to them as a lecture. With a real-world account that can do real-world things, they’ll suddenly be interested.

fidelity youth account bonus

The Fidelity Youth Account even allows real-world investing without having to pay for full price stock shares. For many common stocks, Fidelity allows the purchase of fractional shares that they call slices. The idea is that if XYZ Stock is $100, Investor Jr. could buy a fractional share for $1 as an example. Fidelity will account for it as if your kiddo owns 1/100th of a share of XYZ. If XYZ pays a $10 dividend, then your child will get $0.10 credited to their account.

The lessons go beyond just how things work. A teen investing some hard-earned summer job money can see how, in real life, the value of their account goes up and down with the markets. Furthermore, they can see how small interest and dividends are until you have enough money to make them pay for real.

And… let’s not forget getting $50 for free. This is a good time to teach them about fine print and that you read it carefully before even bringing it to your kiddo’s attention. Not every “free” offer is such a good deal.

However, this Fidelity Youth Account is a great way to help your teen learn about money, personal finance, and even investing. With no setup fees, account fees, or subscription fees, I give Fidelity Youth Account review 5 Stars.

Other Youth Account Options

Almost any financial account is going to require an adult to help set it up. Contract law in the United States doesn’t consider any signature by someone under eighteen to be binding, so you can see why everyone also wants Mom or Dad’s signature as well.

If you don’t like the idea of a brokerage account at Fidelity, there are plenty of other options. For example, Acorns automatically invests for you in a portfolio based on your risk tolerance. The lesser known Grifin app takes the approach of investing $1 into every stock you have a transaction at. So, for example, if you go to Starbucks in the morning, Grifin will invest $1 in Starbucks for you. Over time it makes for an interesting portfolio. Finally, the Digit app will automatically save money for and leave it in cash that earns interest rather than investing.

About the Author

Brian Nelson is a personal finance expert. He was formerly a Certified Financial Planner and financial advisor. These days, he writes about money, finance, and investing for an array of publications. This article is for information purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The author believes XYZ to be a non-existent stock used for demonstrative purposes. He therefore does not own any shares in anything mentioned in the article. Brian was born during the last century and lives in Colorado with his cat that is big as a dog. He is one of the rare native Coloradoans to have never climbed a 14er in his life and has no intention of doing so. In his spare time, he fights cancer and tries to get back in shape via an array of activities such as racquetball, biking, and hiking (but on the flatter parts of Colorado)

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