Fidelity Brings Investing to Teens. NewsWire

NewsWire: 6/08/21

• In a first, Fidelity will start offering investing options for teens. These accounts will be available to 13- to 17-year-olds whose parents already have Fidelity accounts, but will be fully controlled by the teen. (The Wall Street Journal)
• NH: Over the last year, many young adults have found a new interest in investing. From January to March 2021, the number of new Fidelity accounts opened by persons under age 35 tripled from a year earlier. Much of this is probably due to the media excitement over GameStop (GME) and an ever-bullish S&P. 
• Fidelity is now looking to capitalize on this newfound interest with even younger clients. The company will allow teens between the ages of 13 and 17 to open brokerage accounts and buy and sell most stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. Fidelity will require parents to approve the accounts and already be customers of the company. Parents will of course retain the power to shut down their child’s investing at any time.
• This is a smart decision for Fidelity. The company has always had a family-friendly image. It’s currently the biggest provider of 401Ks and retirement accounts in the country. And parents will feel comfortable introducing their kids to a site they already use. This decision also gives Fidelity the chance to grab the crowd who might otherwise flock to Robinhood when they turn 18.
• So what can we expect from Homelander investors? They probably won't be as fearful of markets as Millennials are. Today's teens were only toddlers during the Great Recession. I also suspect this generation will take a very analytical approach to investing. If they are armed with the right data and the best methods, they believe they can make successful choices. After scrolling through /r/wallstreetbets and watching financial TikToks in their free time, many of these kids are surprisingly knowledgeable about how markets work. What 12-year-olds used to know about home-team batting averages, they now know about beta, value, leverage, and options.