You can open an investment account in your child's name in Belgium. A parent or legal guardian opens it, and from that moment the money is legally your child's rather than yours.
What you give up is control. On their 18th birthday your child gets full access and you disappear from the account, and before then a large withdrawal can need a justice of the peace to sign it off. That is why we think investing in your own name, and handing the money over when your child is ready for it, suits most parents better.
The name on the account is only half of what it takes to invest for your child. The other half is what goes into it. Over eighteen years a savings account will not get your child where you want them to be, so this article also covers how much of their money belongs in savings rather than in ETFs, and how to set it all up as a Belgian parent.
Savings account isn't enough
Many parents begin saving for their child's future by opening a traditional savings account. While this seems like a smart first step, savings accounts give low returns. In fact, the savings of your child may lose value because of inflation. Inflation causes life to get more expensive every year. Or in other words, it reduces the purchasing power of your savings. The average inflation is around 2%, with regular peaks, as in 2022 when it reached 10.3%.
Unfortunately, most savings accounts yield an interest rate well below 2%. This means the savings of your child lose value over time instead of increasing. So keeping money in a savings account will hurt your child's future, as interest rates are typically lower than inflation. A €10,000 savings account in 2006 would be worth about €7,500 today, after inflation:
Investing money for your child's future can help it grow faster than inflation. This way, you prepare better for their adulthood and set them up for success. And as we'll see, we think ETFs are the best way to invest for the long-term.
Saving or investing for your child: you need both, in that order
Your child needs both, and the order matters more than the split. Money they will need within five years belongs in a savings account. Money they will not touch for ten years or more belongs in investments.
The same waterfall that works for your own finances works for a child. First a buffer for the unexpected, then the money for goals you can already name, like a driving licence or a first rental deposit. Only what is left after those two layers goes into shares, because that is the money that can sit through a bad year without being sold.
A savings account is the right home for the first two layers. Opening one for your child takes minutes and the money stays available on the day they need it. It is the wrong home for the third layer, which is where an eighteen-year horizon does its work and where inflation quietly eats a savings account instead.
Your family is one whole, so you do not have to solve the buffer and the long-term money inside your child's account alone. You may have a shorter horizon than your child but enough buffer of your own, which lets you invest in your own name for the long term and decide later how and when that money is used for them.
The power of compounding
Compound interest is when you earn interest on your initial investment and on the interest that builds up over time. Simply put, compounding causes your money to grow faster because you earn interest on your interest.
And the impact of compounding is significant in the long term. Let's say you save €100 every month for your child. Let's compare putting it in a savings account that earns 1.5% per year to investing in an ETF that yields 7% per year. After 18 years, your child will be €18,000 richer if you had invested in ETFs rather than leaving the money on the savings account:
| Savings account | ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Contributions | €21,600 (€100 every month for 18 years) | €21,600 (€100 every month for 18 years) |
| Yearly return | 1.5% | 7.0% |
| Amount after 18 years | €24,779 | €43,072 |
| Earnings | €3,179 | €21,472 |
You might think that 7% is an unrealistic return for an ETF. But it's not. Over the last 46 years, an ETF that simply tracks the global MSCI World index yielded an average 10.5% per year.
In this real-world example, investing in an ETF almost doubles your savings in 18 years. Investing, especially in diverse options like ETFs, is better for long-term growth than a traditional savings account.
Ways to save money for your child in Belgium
As a Belgian, you have several ways to invest money for your child. Each option has its own strengths and weaknesses. Let's break down the most common choices so you can understand which are right for your family:
| Investment | Pros | Cons | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Savings account |
✅ Safe and familiar ✅ Easy access to funds |
❌ Low returns ❌ Doesn't keep up with inflation |
Short-term saving goals |
| Individual stocks & bonds |
✅ Potentially high returns ✅ Full control over investment selection |
❌ Complexity ❌ Requires financial expertise ❌ High volatility and risk |
Experienced investors comfortable with risk |
| ETFs |
✅ Low fees ✅ Diversified ✅ Simple and accessible |
❌ Market risk (moderate) | Long-term growth and easy management |
Savings accounts: safe but limited growth
Many parents turn to savings accounts first because they feel safe and familiar. But savings accounts in Belgium usually have low returns with an interest rate that often doesn't keep up with inflation. That means your child's savings are gradually losing purchasing power over time. This means that savings accounts are good for short-term goals, but they aren't effective for long-term planning.
Individual stocks and bonds: potentially high returns, but risky
Investing in individual stocks or bonds can offer great growth. However, it is riskier and more complex. Picking stocks or bonds on your own needs strong financial knowledge. You must also do regular research and manage your investments carefully. Volatility can cause big changes in your investment's value. This makes individual stocks or bonds less ideal for long-term stability for your child's future.
Investing in ETFs is a sensible option
It's pretty clear that we believe ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) are the best way for most parents to invest for their family. A single ETF invests in hundreds, or even thousands, of stocks, bonds, or other types of investments. This diversification is an important benefit. But there are several reasons why ETFs are the best long-term investment for most people:
- Best for the long term: Investing in ETFs compounds to high returns. And it beats the active funds sold by your bank! The chart below compares the historical performance of a fund sold by KBC and the ETF that it's supposed to beat:
- Diversification: You're exposed to thousands of companies in one go through a single fund. And diversification is key to good investing.
- Simplicity: After choosing the right funds, you can relax and watch your investments grow. There's no need to waste time analysing individual stocks.
- Cheap: ETFs are a cheap way to invest. They enjoy economies of scale and have no active management costs.
So if you want to help your child build a nice nest egg for the future, investing in ETFs is a great idea. It's a smart way to set them up financially for their adult life. And of course, the earlier you start saving for them, the better!
Investing in your child's name or your own name
Anyone who invests for a child runs into the same choice: ownership or control. You cannot have both, so it helps to know exactly what each direction costs you before you open anything.
An account in your child's name
The advantage is clarity. What is in your child's name is legally theirs, and it does not fall into your estate when you pass away. Only a legal representative can open the account. Keytrade Bank, for example, opens a Keypack for a minor that includes a securities account. Your child can look at that account but cannot trade on it.
What you give up is control. On their 18th birthday your child gets full access and you disappear from the account. Not every 18-year-old is ready for an amount that took eighteen years to build, and saying so is realism rather than distrust. Before then you have less freedom too, because a large withdrawal from a minor's account can need the approval of a justice of the peace.
Insurance providers offer a second route, through life insurance products in your child's name. The returns are low and the fees are high, so the tax argument that sells these products is often swallowed by their costs.
A portfolio in your own name
Here you keep the flexibility. You decide when the money is used and what for: studies, a first rental deposit, a contribution towards a home, or nothing at all until your child turns 25 and stands more firmly on their own feet. You also decide when to hand it over.
The money does stay legally yours, so it falls into your estate when you pass away unless you plan for it. For young parents that chance is statistically small, and it is worth weighing against the downsides of a minor's account, which are certain.
Age tips the balance. A 35-year-old parent usually gains more from control and flexibility, while an 85-year-old great-grandparent has more reason to think about estate planning. Middle grounds exist, such as a will or a registered gift, but they belong in a conversation with a notary or an independent financial planner rather than in a quick product choice.
On Curvo, the account is always in your own name. You can open a separate portfolio for each of your children, give it their name, and keep it completely separate from your own investments.
If your child has an itsme account, you can share their portfolio with them for read-only access. It is a good way to let them watch compounding do its work on money that is meant for them.
Be clear about what the money is for
Whichever name the account is in, agree on whose money it is legally, what it is meant for and when it will be handed over. That matters most when grandparents want to contribute, because opening an account for a minor grandchild is rarely straightforward and a portfolio in your name is usually the simplest route for them. With family and money, being explicit is not a lack of trust. It is how you protect it.
Handing the portfolio over when your child is an adult
You transfer the ETF units, not the euros. Moving securities from your account to an account in your child's name is free at the same broker, while a transfer between two brokers usually costs money. You also do not have to hand everything over at once, so you can pass on parts of the portfolio as your child gets older or has a concrete plan for the money.
The tax side depends on where you live. A gift you do not register starts a risk period, and if you die inside that period the gift can still fall under inheritance tax. Registering the gift costs a one-off gift tax and ends that uncertainty. In Flanders, the Vlaamse Belastingdienst charges that tax when you register a gift of movable assets. The rates and the length of the risk period differ between Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia and they change over time, so check your own region's rules at the moment you make the transfer.
How to invest in ETFs for your child
There are two ways to invest in ETFs in Belgium:
- Through a broker, where you manage your own portfolio of ETFs
- Through an app like Curvo, which takes care of the difficulties of investing by yourself
1. Buying ETFs with a broker
Investors trade ETFs on stock exchanges. To access a stock exchange, you have to go through an intermediary called a broker. There are several brokers that Belgians can choose from, each with their pros and cons.
The most popular stock exchanges are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq. But in Belgium, it's better to buy ETFs on European exchanges, for example Euronext Amsterdam or XETRA.
Investing through a broker gives you the most flexibility. You have access to any of the thousands of ETFs available in the market. But, it's also the hardest because you're fully responsible for the management of your portfolio. You have to learn how to build the best portfolio for your child, how taxes work, which broker to use, how to select the best ETFs, make the trades every month...
2. Curvo: invest for your child with peace of mind
We built Curvo to solve the difficulties of investing through a broker. And it's a great way to invest for your children. In fact, over 400 Curvo members are currently investing for their children through the app:
- The right portfolio for your child: Answer a short questionnaire. Then, you can invest in a portfolio that matches your and your child's time horizon. The best portfolio is selected for you.
- Invest on auto-pilot: Set up a monthly contribution where money is invested automatically. Adopt the best money habits for your child without effort!
- Set up a portfolio for each of your children: Keep their investments organised and easy to track.
- Each euro you invest is put to use: With fractional shares, all the money is invested, unlike with a broker. No cash is left on the side.
- No transaction fees: There are no transaction fees every time you buy or sell. Also, the funds in the portfolios aren't liable for the Belgian transaction tax. This saves you between 0.12% and 1.32% compared to a broker for every purchase or sale!
A Curvo member manages his three teenagers' accounts as their retirement rather than an eighteenth-birthday payout. Read about Sam's long-term accounts.
Teach your child about investing
Investing early for your child has psychological and educational benefits that reach far beyond the money itself. By involving your child in discussions about investments and long-term financial goals, you provide them with essential financial literacy skills. They'll grow up understanding key financial concepts such as budgeting, saving, and investing, and develop healthy money-management habits from a young age.
Investing early sets a positive example and creates the opportunity to educate your child about money in a practical and meaningful way: skills that are often overlooked in traditional education yet essential for their financial independence.
Our dream: €1,000 of ETFs for every Belgian newborn
At Curvo, we believe in good investing. It's a great tool to improve people's financial lives. And we have this crazy idea: what if the Belgian state would give €1,000 worth of ETFs to every Belgian newborn? The children aren't allowed to touch it. It simply sits in an account and compounds.
Under this scheme, every Belgian who turned 18 in 2023 would have €4,000 in their account at the start of adult life. And the state had to contribute only 25%. Beyond the financial boon, each Belgian child would experience first-hand the benefits of compounding. This is an important lesson that will be sure to help them for the rest of their lives!
Conclusion
Investing for your child early is one of the most useful financial decisions you can make as a parent. Over eighteen years a savings account will not keep up with inflation, so the money your child will not touch for a decade belongs in investments, while the money they need sooner stays where they can reach it.
The name on the account matters as much as what is in it. An account in your child's name gives them clear ownership and hands them everything on their 18th birthday. A portfolio in your own name keeps you in charge of when and how the money is used, and lets you hand it over in parts when your child is ready for it.
By choosing ETFs you give your child a head start through compounding, and you teach them something about money along the way. With Curvo you can set up a separate portfolio for each of your children in a few minutes, with a monthly contribution that runs by itself. If you are unsure where to begin, pick an amount you know you can keep up every month and raise it when your budget allows.