Trump Baby Accounts: Where the Money Can Actually Be Invested
The Treasury Dept. just revealed which funds qualify for 'Trump accounts,' and it's index funds only — no stock picking allowed.
If you've been wondering what to do with your kid's so-called Trump account, the Treasury Department just handed you the answer. The money inside these accounts must go into low-cost index funds — full stop. No individual stocks, no actively managed funds, no crypto plays. Index funds only.
That's actually not a bad thing. Decades of data back up the case for passive, low-cost index investing — especially when you're talking about a long time horizon like a child's savings. The government essentially locked in a sensible default for millions of families who might otherwise chase returns or get pitched expensive products.
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The big shift now is that parents and investors are finally learning which specific funds are on the approved list. That clarity matters. Knowing exactly where the money can land lets you plan around it — whether you're thinking about complementary accounts like 529s or custodial Roths, or just figuring out asset allocation across your kid's full financial picture.
Don't sleep on the fee angle here either. "Low-cost" is baked into the requirement, which means high-expense-ratio funds are out. Over an 18-year runway, even a fraction of a percent in annual fees compounds into serious money — saved or lost. This structure is designed to protect that upside for the kid, not the fund industry.
Bottom line: the guardrails are set, the approved fund universe is taking shape, and now it's your move. Continue reading at MarketWatch.com.
