Best custodial brokerage accounts for non-US residents

In the US and the UK, opening an investment account for your children is commonplace. These are known as custodial accounts.

They let parents introduce children to investing early, building a pot that can grow over many years and be handed over once the child reaches adulthood. Given the time horizon involved, even modest regular contributions can compound substantially.

Many US brokers offer these accounts for minors, including Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab, and Vanguard.

However, it is considerably harder to find a broker that will open an account in your child’s name if you live outside the US, including across much of Europe.

In this article we cover the options available to non-US residents wanting to invest on behalf of their children.

What is a custodial brokerage account?

A custodial brokerage account is held in a minor’s name but managed by an adult (the custodian) until the child reaches the age of majority, at which point control transfers to them. The assets legally belong to the child throughout.

That last point matters more than it sounds. Because the assets are the child’s, the custodian cannot reclaim them, and the transfer at majority is automatic. Depending on the jurisdiction, this can also affect eligibility for student financial aid and means-tested benefits, since the assets count as the child’s rather than the parent’s.

Historically, most European and international brokers did not offer these accounts. The landscape has shifted since 2025, though: German neobrokers including Trade Republic and Scalable Capital launched dedicated child accounts, partly in anticipation of Germany’s planned Frühstart-Rente state pension scheme. Trade Republic has since extended its account to France and Spain, and Saxo offers a minor account in the Netherlands. Elsewhere, most international brokers still do not offer this account type.

Brokers supporting custodial accounts outside the US

If you are a non-US resident, the options remain limited, though the picture has improved since 2025. Here is where the main brokers stand:

• Interactive Brokers: offers custodial (UGMA/UTMA) accounts to US residents only.
• DEGIRO: stopped opening accounts for minors in 2018.
• Trading 212: not offered (account holders must be 18 or older, and there is no Junior ISA).
• Saxo: offers an account for minors in the Netherlands only, managed by a parent or guardian until the child turns 18.
• XTB: not offered.
• eToro, Lightyear and Bitpanda: not offered, and all require account holders to be 18 or older.
• Trade Republic: launched its Child Savings Account (Kinderdepot) in Germany in May 2025, then in France and Spain in autumn 2025.
• Scalable Capital: launched children’s accounts in October 2025, available in Germany only.

Beyond those, a small number of robo-advisors offer the account type, including Finax in several Central and Eastern European countries and inbestMe in Spain.

UK residents are in a better position than most of Europe. The Junior ISA allows up to £9,000 per tax year to be invested free of UK income tax and capital gains tax, a limit the government has frozen until April 2031. The child can take control of the account at 16 and withdraw from 18, when it converts to an adult ISA. Several UK brokers offer Junior Stocks and Shares ISAs, and the tax treatment is considerably more favourable than a standard custodial account elsewhere.

Outside these options, choices remain limited. Below we cover the practical alternatives available if no custodial account is offered where you live.

Check your country’s national savings offerings

Most countries offer their own incentives for saving and investing, and governments frequently create tax-efficient structures aimed at families. These are often more favourable than a standard custodial account would be. Some examples:

• Junior ISA (UK): a tax-free account allowing up to £9,000 per tax year, with all gains and dividends free of UK tax. Parents or guardians manage it until the child takes control at 16, and it converts to an adult ISA at 18. This is among the most generous structures available anywhere.
• PPR (Portugal): the plano poupança reforma is primarily a retirement savings product, but it can be opened for a child and used for longer-term family goals such as education. It offers tax benefits on contributions and favourable treatment on withdrawal, subject to holding period conditions.
• Livret A (France): a savings account available to children, paying tax-free interest at a government-set rate. Parents manage it until the child reaches majority. It is simple, but the rate is set by the state and it is a savings product rather than an investment one.
• Kinderdepot (Germany): investment accounts in the child’s name for stocks, ETFs, bonds and funds. Since 2025, Trade Republic and Scalable Capital have offered fully digital versions with fund-fee refunds.
• Italy: banks and Poste Italiane offer savings books (libretti) for minors. These are savings rather than investment products.
• Netherlands: banks offer children’s savings accounts, and Saxo offers a minor investment account, though the Dutch market has fewer dedicated structures for minors than Germany or the UK.

One distinction worth keeping in mind: several of these are savings products rather than investment accounts. A Livret A or a fixed-term deposit protects capital but will struggle to outpace inflation over an 18-year horizon, whereas a diversified equity portfolio has historically delivered considerably more over that timeframe, with more volatility along the way. Given how long the horizon typically is when investing for a young child, that trade-off usually favours investing over saving.

If none of these structures suits your situation, there are other options worth exploring.

Germany: Frühstart-Rente (planned for 2027)

Germany plans to introduce the Frühstart-Rente (early start pension). Under the draft law, the state would pay €10 per month from age 6 to 18 (up to €1,440 in total) into a capital-funded investment account for each child living and attending school in Germany. Growth would be tax-free until payout.

The bill was approved by the federal cabinet in August 2026 and had its first reading in the Bundestag on 25 September 2026. It is meant to take effect on 1 January 2027, with payments for 2026 made retroactively for the first eligible cohort, children born in 2020. Only children born in 2020 or later would receive the state contribution. Families could choose a provider (with costs capped at 1% a year) or fall back on a public default account, and could add up to €6,840 a year of their own money.

Worth understanding before assuming it solves the problem: the money is locked until age 65, not accessible at 18. That makes it a pension product rather than a general-purpose savings vehicle, and it does not replace a Kinderdepot if your goal is funding education or a first home deposit.

Alternative 1: open a secondary account at Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers is among the largest and most established brokers available internationally, accepting clients from over 200 countries and territories.

If you already use Interactive Brokers, opening a secondary account earmarked for your child can be a practical workaround. IBKR allows multiple additional accounts under a single login, and you can transfer the holdings to them once they open their own account at 18.

Creating an additional account is straightforward, giving you separate accounts for yourself and each child, all accessible through the same login and with consolidated reporting.

Two things to be clear about, since this is not a true custodial account:

• The investments remain legally yours, not your child’s. That means they count as your assets for tax purposes, any gains are taxable in your name, and they form part of your estate.
• The transfer at 18 is not automatic. Your child would open their own brokerage account and you would transfer the holdings across, which may itself be a taxable event depending on your country’s rules on gifts and capital gains.

Neither point makes this a bad approach. Keeping control can be an advantage, particularly if you are unsure your child will be ready to manage a portfolio at 18. But it is a different arrangement from a custodial account, so check the gift tax treatment in your country before the transfer rather than after.

Alternative 2: create a Pie on Trading 212

Trading 212 is a well-known international broker aimed largely at newer investors, with a modern and straightforward app.

Its Pies feature lets you build a portfolio around a specific long-term goal, which makes it a practical way to ring-fence investments intended for a child, even though it is not a custodial account.

Step 1: open a Trading 212 account.

Step 2: create a Pie.

1. Access the Pie feature: go to the Pies section in the app.
2. Build your Pie: you can include up to 50 stocks or ETFs, or start from a ready-made Pie.
3. Set allocations: assign a percentage to each holding, for example 20% each across five positions.

Step 3: fund your Pie.

1. Recurring contributions: set up AutoInvest to invest a fixed amount on a schedule.
2. Allocation: each contribution is invested according to your target weightings.

Keep in mind that the fewer holdings a Pie has, the more the outcome depends on a handful of companies performing well over many years.

Pies & AutoInvest is an execution-only service. Not investment advice or portfolio management. Automatic investing refers to executing scheduled deposits. You are responsible for all investment and rebalancing decisions. When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.

Transferring the investments to your child at 18

Trading 212 does not offer a custodial account. You would hold the investments in your own account and transfer the value once your child reaches majority:

1. Opening their account: at 18, your child opens their own Trading 212 account.
2. Transferring value: since holdings cannot be moved directly between Trading 212 accounts, you would sell the positions, gift the proceeds and let your child buy again.

Two consequences are worth planning for. Selling to transfer realises any capital gain, which is taxable in your name, potentially a significant bill after eighteen years of growth. And the gift itself may fall under gift tax rules depending on your country, though many countries have generous parent-to-child allowances.

This is the main drawback of the workaround approach compared with a genuine custodial account, where assets belong to the child from the outset and no disposal is required. If you are in a country where a proper custodial or tax-wrapped option exists, that will almost always be the better route.

Alternative 3: Trade Republic Child Savings Account (Germany, France, Spain)

Trade Republic launched its Child Savings Account (Kinderdepot) in Germany in May 2025, followed by France and Spain in autumn 2025. It is the closest equivalent to a US custodial account for residents of those three countries. Key features:

• The account is opened in the child’s name by a parent or legal guardian resident in Germany, France or Spain (one account per child).
• No account or custody fees, savings plans on stocks and ETFs from €1 at no cost, and single trades for €1.
• Interest on the full cash balance at the European Central Bank (ECB) deposit rate, which is variable.
• Trade Republic Kindergeld: the ongoing fund costs (TER, total expense ratio) of three Vanguard ETFs (FTSE All-World, ESG Global All Cap and LifeStrategy 80%) are refunded into the account every month until the child turns 18.
• Savings Patrons: grandparents and other relatives can contribute directly through their own direct debit.
• Fully digital onboarding, with a photo of the child’s ID document and the consent of the second parent (unless you have sole custody).

The TER refund is the standout feature. Over eighteen years, having fund costs refunded rather than deducted compounds into a meaningful difference, particularly on a portfolio built through regular monthly contributions.

Alternative 4: Scalable Capital Kids’ accounts (Germany)

Scalable Capital launched its children’s accounts (Kinderdepot) in October 2025, available in Germany only and in two versions:

• Scalable Broker for kids: self-directed, with a “Taschengeld” (pocket money) feature that refunds the TER of hundreds of iShares and Xtrackers ETFs every quarter until the child comes of age.
• Scalable Wealth for kids: the robo-advisory service, with the management fee waived until 18 (fund costs still apply).

Because the account is in the child’s name, the child’s own German tax allowances apply: the Grundfreibetrag (€12,348 in 2026), the Sparer-Pauschbetrag (€1,000) and the Sonderausgaben-Pauschbetrag (€36). Together they can shelter up to €13,384 a year of investment income from tax, provided the child has no other income. The same applies to Trade Republic’s German Kinderdepot.

Conclusion

Options for non-US residents have expanded notably since 2025, though geography still determines a great deal.

Where you live largely dictates the best route:

• UK: the Junior ISA remains the strongest option in Europe, with up to £9,000 a year free of UK tax and automatic conversion to an adult ISA at 18.
• Germany: Trade Republic’s Kinderdepot and Scalable Capital’s children’s accounts both offer genuine child accounts with fund-fee refunds and use of the child’s tax allowances.
• France and Spain: Trade Republic’s Child Savings Account is available, alongside local options such as the Livret A in France and inbestMe in Spain.
• Netherlands: Saxo offers an investment account for minors.
• Elsewhere in Europe and internationally: a secondary account at Interactive Brokers or a dedicated Trading 212 Pie are the practical workarounds, with the caveat that the assets stay legally yours and the eventual transfer may trigger tax.

Whichever route you take, the time horizon does most of the work. An eighteen-year holding period is long enough that keeping costs low and contributing consistently matter far more than the specific broker you choose. Where a tax-efficient national structure exists, use it first, since the tax saved will typically exceed any difference in platform fees.

If you have questions, feedback, or know of a broker offering custodial accounts to international investors, please contact us.

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