Custodial Accounts: Yours, but Managed
Kids can't open brokerage accounts alone, so a trusted adult manages one for them.
The idea
In most of the US you have to be 18 to open your own brokerage account, so people under that age invest through a custodial account instead. A trusted adult, called the custodian, opens it and places the trades — but the money and investments legally belong to you, the minor. The custodian is only allowed to use that money for your benefit, never for their own. At an age set by your state's law, often somewhere between 18 and 25, the account becomes fully yours to control. 🔑
Words to know
- Custodial account
- An investing account an adult opens and manages for someone under 18.
- Custodian
- The trusted adult who manages the account and places the trades.
- Minor
- A person under the legal adult age — the one who actually owns the account.
- Transfer age
- The age, set by your state, when full control of the account passes to you.
- UTMA
- A common state law that lets an adult hold investments for a kid until the transfer age.
Try it — no account needed
Match each term to what it means.
0 / 4 matched
In the full lesson
- 1Match the pairs
- 2Put it in order
- 3Make the call
Vine has 107 lessons like this one, each written three ways so a 7-year-old and a 17-year-old both get a version that fits.
Practice with real prices
Real market data, pretend money. Learn how investing actually works without risking a cent.
Start free