Mutual funds : Child’s play
NEW YORK – A lesson about investing might seem as appealing to young people as eating a bowlful of spinach. Mutual funds that cater to children aim to make the whole process sweeter.
While most parents want to rear children who are aware of the value of a buck, it’s easy at an early age to limit discussions about saving money to how an allowance should be spent or to what to do with a birthday windfall. Backers say mutual funds aimed at kids can help parents instill lessons about the importance of saving.
“I think teaching kids about low cost investing right off the bat is a good thing for them,” said David Kathman, mutual fund analyst at Morningstar Inc.
Such lessons can be lucrative. The laws of compounding interest have made clear that the earlier someone starts saving for something like college or retirement, the better. People who wait have to set aside much larger amounts of money later on to catch up with those who invested only a little over a greater time.
To try to hold the interest of children, the Monetta Young Investor Fund tries to invest in companies that children are likely familiar with – including consumer names like McDonald’s Corp., Hasbro Inc. and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.
“The way you get kids involved is you’ve got to create some incentive, some spark,” said the Monetta fund’s Robert S. Bacarella.
He tries to balance making the fund interesting to kids with one that will bring solid returns.
“One of the major reasons why theme funds don’t do well is that they’re not diversified enough,” said Bacarella.
To combat his concerns about maintaining an adequate range of investments, he set up the Young Investor fund so that part of the fund would track the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
Like many other funds aimed at young investors, the fund uses an automated investment plan in return for lower investment minimums. Under such plans, investors agree to add a certain amount each month to reduce how much must be invested to open an account.
But even with features that cater to kids, parents should still evaluate such funds carefully. “They have their good things but you shouldn’t necessarily restrict yourself to those,” Kathman said.
Parents should look for funds with low fees and low minimum investments.
The Vanguard Star Fund, Kathman noted, carries low fees, diverse holdings and rather than a typical $3,000 investment, a $1,000 minimum initial investment. The T. Rowe Price Spectrum Growth fund, for those using an automatic investment plan, carries a minimum initial investment of only $50, and that amount also applies to subsequent investments in the fund.
But careful consideration of one’s expected needs can help breed good investment practices, analysts say.
“Holding kids’ interest is one part of it but also teaching them good investing habits is another thing which I think is potentially more important in the long run,” Kathman said.