Fidelity Youth Account Review: A Brokerage Account For Teens

What Is The Fidelity Youth Account?

The Fidelity Youth Account is a teen-owned brokerage account offered by Fidelity Investments. Fidelity is one of the largest and most well-established financial institutions in the U.S., with decades of experience in investing, retirement planning, and self-directed brokerage services. 

Unlike traditional custodial accounts, the teen is the actual account owner. This is a key distinction. The goal is to provide teens with hands-on experience with managing money and investments, while still allowing parents to monitor their activity. 

What Does It Offer?

The Fidelity Youth Account combines investing, saving, and spending into a single platform. Here's a closer look at its key features: 

Teen-Owned Brokerage Account

The Youth Fidelity Account isn't a custodial account where the parent controls everything. It's owned by the teen, which means that they can make their own investment decisions, place trades, and manage their portfolio. That said, you can still view and monitor the activity in the account. You can also close the account and/or cancel the debit card at any time. 

Eligible Securities

Your teen won't have access to every investment under the sun, so you don't have to worry about them placing speculative trades on cryptocurrencies or forex. They also cannot trade options or on margin or short selling, or invest in company IPOs, but they can access the following securities: 

• Most U.S. stocks 
• Some exchange-traded funds (ETFs) 
• Fidelity mutual funds 
• Some international equities 

Spending Privileges

The Fidelity Youth Account's spending privileges make it feel more like a hybrid brokerage/spending account. Your teen can order a debit card that's connected to the account, allowing them to spend money from the account. So, they could deposit funds, invest some of the money, and use the rest for everyday spending, all in the same account. 

Parental Controls

As mentioned, this isn't a joint account or a custodial account. As the parent, you don't have ownership over the account, and you can't control the trading. But you can view the account balances and transactions, monitor the investing activity, and access alerts and other oversight features. So, your teen is making the decisions, but you are still in the loop. 

Are There Any Fees?

The Fidelity Youth Account doesn't charge any monthly maintenance fees, and there are no account minimums. There are also no trading fees for U.S. stocks and ETFs, which is in line with most brokerages these days. Just remember that the underlying investments, such as mutual funds and ETFs, will have their own management expense ratios (MERs) built into them. 

How Does The Fidelity Youth Account Compare?

Before you open a Fidelity Youth Account with your teen, you might want to consider some alternatives. Acorns Early and Greenlight lean more toward financial education and basic money management. They're targeted more towards younger children and focus on saving, budgeting, and very simple investment concepts, through automated portfolios. They don't offer a real brokerage experience like Fidelity. 

If your goal is to teach a younger child basic money habits, those platforms might be a better fit. But if you have a teenager who is ready to learn more about how the markets work, Fidelity is an excellent choice. 

How Do I Open An Account?

If you're an existing Fidelity account holder, you can open a Fidelity Youth Account for your teen. If you don't yet have a Fidelity account, you can open both accounts at the same time. Once you've initiated the account, provided your consent, and linked the account for oversight, your teen will be able to set up their own login credentials and access the account. 

As with any investing account, you'll need to provide some personal information for both yourself and your teen, but the process can be completed entirely online. Once the account has been approved, your teen can deposit funds and begin trading right away. 

Is It Safe To Use?

Yes, the Fidelity Youth Account is safe to use. As an established U.S. brokerage, Fidelity uses industry-standard encryption, fraud monitoring, and account protection features. Your teen's account is also covered by SIPC insurance, which protects against brokerage insolvency (not market losses). The built-in restrictions on higher-risk investments like crypto, forex, options, and trading on margin add an extra layer of safety by helping to limit the potential for significant losses. 

How Do I Contact Fidelity?

If you require support, you can contact Fidelity by telephone 24/7, at (800) 343-3548, or via live online chat during the following business hours: 

• Mon - Fri, 8 AM –10 PM ET
• Sat - Sun, 9 AM – 4 PM ET 

Is It Worth It?

I think the Fidelity Youth Account is a fantastic way for teens to get an early start on investing within a controlled system. If you have a younger child, something like Acorns Early or Greenlight might be a better starting point, as long as you're comfortable with the monthly fees. But if your teen is ready to take on a more active role with their savings and investing, the Fidelity Youth Account is about as close as you can get to a real brokerage experience. 

Check out the Fidelity Youth Account here >>