Stocks/shares/investing for teenagers

grumiofoundation

steampowered said:

I'm not sure why some of the other posters on here are so negative about a young person learning about investing. Someone who understands the basics of investing has infinitely better life chances than someone who doesn't.
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I don’t think people are inherently being negative about a young person learning about investing but I think it is important to enquire as to why investing is being looked at. For example as a revision/learning tool it may not be the best (certainly is not a one stop shop) route to take.


Indeed somewhat ironically, your use of the word infinitely nicely highlights that an understanding of investing does not immediately translate to being fully proficient in all areas of mathematics! 

sevenhills

MaxiRobriguez said:

If you want to encourage him to learn about investing then in my view the best way to do it is to give him some money to go and play the game for real. 
But you'll want to encourage good habits too, so would need to find some rules about not investing in racy-quick profit potential like Bitcoin.

It is possible to set up a Junior SIPP for a child under the age of 18. Contributions can be made of up to £3600 a year including tax relief.

If it's within a SIPP, they won't be tempted to withdraw the money.

Jayjay08

MaxiRobriguez said:

If you want to encourage him to learn about investing then in my view the best way to do it is to give him some money to go and play the game for real. 

But you'll want to encourage good habits too, so would need to find some rules about not investing in racy-quick profit potential like Bitcoin.

Well that was kinda my idea. I could open a joint account with him and give him some money to play about with and see how it goes. 

👍

eskbanker

Jayjay08 said:
I could open a joint account with him

I wouldn't bank on it (no pun intended), unless you're aware of anywhere offering accounts for adults to share with 15 year olds?

Jayjay08

Thanks to everyone for their input, maybe i should have worded it better. I’ll have a look through everyone’s suggestions 👍

He’s 15, he’s a bookworm, an academic, this is where he enjoys himself, so I thought if he’s spending his time reading he might aswell read about something that could make him a wee bit money, he’s not interested in sports, music or anything like that. 

I don’t know if he will be interested in the stock market but you don’t that until he’s tried it. 

The investing thing was more of just a fun idea, a hobby for him to spend some of his time constructively, it’s not to aid with his studies or plan a career for him so I’m not really looking to drown him in mathematical text books. 

My plan was to buy him some books relating to the subject and let him read them, see how he reacts, if he reacts positively and shows an interest then maybe i could open up a joint account with him, give him a couple of hundred pounds or something and let him have a go and see if he can make money on it. 

cloud_dog

When I was at secondary school (many decades ago) there was an investment competition and we had a club of a few people and would use what insight we could garner and invest our imaginary money.  We did ok, nothing special.

The point I am slowly getting to is a) is that an option, have you looked, and b) couldn't you do something with him or him on his own simply using dummy portfolio(s) and tracking trades etc?  Perhaps you could set up an investment in a global fund and compare performance.

Nurse2047

Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets about Money--That You Don't Learn in School! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1612680305/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_210E57Y987WBSXYETXQQ

Nurse2047

I enjoyed Rich dad poor dad and they have one for teens which maybe suitable as above 

Albermarle

I don’t know if he will be interested in the stock market but you don’t that until he’s tried it.

When investing is mentioned , most people immediately think of the stock market.

For the longer term investor, stock market related investments are only part of a wider picture that include, gilts, corporate bonds, gold, cash, commodities etc 

On the other hand if you are thinking about picking and choosing individual company shares , that is a different ball game and more like trading .

 Then of course there is cryptocurrency , CFD's etc , which is really just short term gambling .

So you might give him a book on stock markets and find his interest wanders to other things.

bostonerimus

Rather than stressing investing at age 15 I'd be teaching personal finance. ie understanding budgeting, tax, the elements of a paycheck, interest on loans etc. Then I'd get into saving and pensions and stocks and funds. If the child is good at maths they should be able to assess risk and understand probability functions and distributions which can give some sophisticated insights. But start with budgeting and frugality...that's why I recommended David Copperfield and Mr. Micawber.