Seventy percent of teens are highly interested in investing, according to new Schwab research
To give teens hands-on investing experience, Charles Schwab today announced the new Schwab Teen Investor™ account, a joint brokerage account for young people ages 13 to 17 and their parent or legal guardian.
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The Schwab Teen Investor account is a joint brokerage account that allows parents to monitor and engage as needed as their teens invest.
With the Schwab Teen Investor account, teens get access to a range of investment products, financial education tailored to their needs, and 24/7 support from Schwab professionals. Teens who complete an online education course within 45 days of opening the account will receive $50 in fractional shares to help them get started.1 A joint account structure allows parents to monitor and engage as needed as their teens invest.
Schwab research shows that teens are eager to start investing, and parents are just as enthusiastic. According to a recent Schwab survey, 70% of teens are very or extremely interested in investing, and 73% of parents believe it is very important for teens to learn about investing. For parents, the desire for their teens to learn about investing is about teaching financial responsibility (69%), giving them a financial head start (65%), and ensuring they learn important financial concepts like growing wealth over time (64%).2
"Young people – including teens – want to invest earlier than ever before, and the Schwab Teen Investor account offers an accessible and engaging way to help teens start their investing journey," said Jonathan Craig, Head of Retail Investing at Charles Schwab. "It's exciting to see this interest in investing at such a young age, but it's critical that we help teens get off on the right foot by combining a teen-friendly experience with the education, tools, and support they need to develop a strong understanding of investing and build positive habits."
The Schwab Teen Investor account gives teens the ability to trade stocks, fractional shares, most exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and fixed income securities via Schwab's mobile app, Schwab.com, and Schwab's thinkorswim® trading platforms.
Additional Schwab Teen Investor account features include:
- No minimum initial deposit, $0 commissions for online listed equity trades, and no account opening or maintenance fees.
- Cash held in the account can be accessed with a debit card.
- Direct deposit to fund account.
- Both parents and teens can trade and move money in the account.
- Industry-leading client service that enables clients to engage with an investment professional anytime by phone or chat 24/7.
- The Schwab Satisfaction Guarantee3 and Schwab Security Guarantee.4
The Schwab Teen Investor account does not provide teens access to higher risk products and services such as margin and option trading, futures and FOREX trading, and higher-risk securities such as leveraged or inverse ETFs.
Schwab sees strong engagement and growth from younger investors and is well-positioned to expand its offer to teens. Schwab's average new-to-retail client is in their 30s, and Gen Z investors comprised nearly a third of new Schwab retail client accounts opened in 2025.
Combining investing and teen-focused education
In addition to the range of investment products and services available through the Schwab Teen Investor account, teens also have access to a customized new client experience and a wide range of investing and trading educational content, tools, and professional support – all tailored for teen investors and designed to help them understand the basic building blocks of investing to support their long-term success. These teen-focused educational resources include:
- A New Investor Content Hub with videos and resources, including content from Schwab Moneywise®, Charles Schwab Foundation's longstanding financial literacy program, that cover a range of foundational topics, including saving, investing, how to trade at Schwab, and personal finance essentials.
- An interactive online education course. Teens who complete the course within 45 days of opening the account will receive $50 in fractional shares split across the top five stocks in the S&P 500® in their Schwab Teen Investor account to help them get started.
- Live coaching sessions for teens led by Schwab's Education Coaches.
Teens are eager to start investing but also understand it's a journey
Schwab research reveals that most teens (87%) want their parents to be involved to some degree in their investing activity, and parents are eager to support them. Ninety-one percent of parents want to be involved in setting up a brokerage account for their teens, and 89% want to help them select investments.
Teens see investing as both a financial and educational opportunity. Their top motivation to start investing is to get more money (45%), followed by paying for college (34%), and learning how money (33%) and investments (33%) work.
When asked what areas they are most interested in investing in, teens say artificial intelligence (34%), video games and gaming (28%), social media (26%), cryptocurrency and blockchain (26%), food and drink (22%), and music (22%). Nineteen percent of teens say they want to invest in electric vehicles, and 18% say makeup and beauty.
Top areas teens would like to invest in |
|
Artificial intelligence (AI) |
34% |
Video games |
28% |
Social media |
26% |
Cryptocurrency and blockchain |
26% |
Food and drink |
22% |
Music |
22% |
Teens interested in investing in specific areas can also access Schwab Investing Themes,® an easy way for Schwab clients to invest in the trends, ideas, or personal values they care about the most. Schwab Investing Themes offers over 40 themes, each with up to 25 research-backed stocks that clients can customize and trade in a few clicks — all with no fees to access and a trading minimum of just $250.5
Schwab's survey finds that most teens understand the importance of patience and time when investing, with three in five (60%) saying they prefer investments that make money over time and are less risky or less likely to lose money. Only one in five (18%) prefer investments that make and lose money quickly.
"It's important to start saving and investing as early as possible, because the amount of time you're invested is a key factor to success," said Craig. "With the Schwab Teen Investor account, people can start investing at Schwab at a young age, build a solid foundation of knowledge and positive investing behaviors, and grow with us throughout their investing lifetime. The breadth and depth of investing, trading, financial planning and wealth management services we offer, combined with industry-leading financial education and resources, as well as thousands of financial professionals, support investors across all phases of their financial journey."
For more information about Schwab Teen Investor account, visit www.schwab.com/teen-account.
About Charles Schwab
At Charles Schwab we believe in the power of investing to help individuals create a better tomorrow. We have a history of challenging the status quo in our industry, innovating in ways that benefit investors and the advisors and employers who serve them, and championing our clients' goals with passion and integrity.
More information is available at www.aboutschwab.com. Follow us on X, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Disclosures
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Terms and conditions apply. For more information, visit www.schwab.com/teen-account.
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Schwab Teen Investing Survey - An online survey of 1,000 teens aged 13 to 17 and 1,000 parents of teens aged 13 to 17 conducted October 13-27, 2025.
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If you are not completely satisfied for any reason, at your request Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab"), Charles Schwab Bank, SSB ("Schwab Bank"), or another Schwab affiliate, as applicable, will refund any eligible fee related to your concern. No other charges or expenses, and no market losses will be refunded. Refund requests must be received within 90 days of the date the fee was charged. Schwab reserves the right to change or terminate the guarantee at any time. Go to schwab.com/satisfaction to learn what's included and how it works.
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The Schwab Security Guarantee: Schwab will cover losses in any of your Schwab accounts due to unauthorized activity. More information about the Schwab Security Guarantee is available at https://www.schwab.com/schwabsafe/security-guarantee.
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Investment Research for Schwab Investing Themes® is provided by Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. ("CSIM"). CSIM is an affiliate of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab"). Both CSIM and Schwab are separate entities and subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
Schwab Investing Themes is for informational purposes only; it is not intended to be investment advice (including fiduciary advice as defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act or the Internal Revenue Code) or a recommendation of any stock.
Orders placed online through Schwab Investing Themes will have $0 commission. However, the standard online $0 commission does not apply to restricted stock transactions. Industry Fee, American Depositary Receipt (ADR) fees, and foreign transaction fees still apply. See the Charles Schwab Pricing Guide for Individual Investors for full fee and commission schedules.
Investing involves risks, including the loss of principal invested.
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Meredith Richard
Charles Schwab
646-343-7419
[email protected]