Advice on investment apps for my children

Options
Megahertz456
Megahertz456 Posts: 6 Forumite
First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
in Savings & investments
Hello there,


Just looking for some advice. I have two boys, 14 and 16, and they are interested in finding out more about investments, forex and stocks and shares. I think they watched the bitcoin thing explode (one of their friends at school made some serious money) and they want to 'play.'


I was hoping to set up a simple app, give them, say, £200 each and let them make some investments. I think it will be a good learning experience, and I don't mind if they lose it all. They might want to put some pocket money in to top it up, but if they make any profits I'll be looking for the £200 back.



I realise I'll have to have the accounts in my name as they're under 18, so I was just looking for advice on apps (maybe they can have the app on their phone) or they can make the decisions and I'll make the trades on their behalf. Obviously I am only looking for apps / accounts etc where they can only lose what they put in? I have seen some ads online for spread betting accounts, but they have a scary message about 'losses may exceed amounts invested' which could be bad news! On the other hand, accounts which charge £10 per trade are going to eat into the capital quite quickly.



I'm fine with high risk / volatile stuff, so crypto currency etc would be fine.


Any advice gratefully received!


Thanks


Tim

Comments

  • Alexland
    Alexland Posts: 9,653 Forumite
    First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    Options
    Step back and ask yourself what you are trying to teach them? Trading, forex speculation, bitcoin, etc are all bad news and likely to cause money to be lost for most market participants.

    My dad taught me how to look after money and while he made a few mistakes that also gave me some lessons. I am also going to teach my son how to make sensible investments and get rich slowly.

    Alex
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary
    Options
    Megahertz456 wrote: »
    I'm fine with high risk / volatile stuff, so crypto currency etc would be fine.


    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If that's what you are encouraging them to do then surely they will only learn a valuable lesson about investments if they lose the £200.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If they follow this high risk path and turn £200 into £400 in a week you will have sowed the seed for a future gambling addict.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I expect trading fees would make a total pot of £200 uneconomic.[/FONT]
    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Would simulating trading be more suitable?[/FONT]

    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]http://www.londonstockexchange.com/global/portfolio/portfolio-and-trading-simulator.htm[/FONT]
  • Zola.
    Zola. Posts: 2,204 Forumite
    First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    Options
    A fun and short little lecture in smart investing concepts, with sweets for correct answers would be much cheaper and probably more beneficial?
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards