If you have come to Europe looking for the equivalent of a US UTMA/UGMA account or a one-click “custodial investment account”, I have to give you the honest answer first: in most of continental Europe, that single standard product does not exist. There is no pan-European custodial account. What you can do for a child depends almost entirely on which country you pay tax in, and the options range from genuinely excellent to “just use your own account and keep good records”.
I have invested for my own family this way for years, and the confusion is real. A German parent has access to something quite powerful. A French, Italian, Dutch, Irish or Spanish parent usually does not, and has to build the same outcome by other means. A UK reader has the Junior ISA, which is a different animal again. So the useful question is not “what is the best custodial account”, it is “what is available where I live, who legally owns the money, and how is it taxed”. Below I walk through the real options country by country and a simple framework for picking the investment itself.
Why there is no single “custodial account” in Europe
The US has federal frameworks (UTMA/UGMA) that every broker supports, and the UK has the Junior ISA, a defined statutory wrapper. Continental Europe has neither. Investment accounts are regulated at national level, tax is national, and “investing for a minor” is handled in whatever way each country’s civil and tax law allows. That is why you cannot copy a US or UK guide and expect it to apply in Frankfurt, Milan or Madrid.
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See the full curriculum — €147, 30-day guarantee →In practice the choices collapse into three patterns. First, a dedicated account held in the child’s name, of which Germany’s Junior Depot is the standout example. Second, a parent investing in their own account and earmarking it for the child, which is the default across France, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain. Third, an assurance-vie wrapper that can name a child as beneficiary. Each has very different ownership and tax consequences.
Germany’s Junior Depot / Kinderdepot: the one with a real tax edge
Germany is the clearest good-news case. A Junior Depot (also called a Kinderdepot) is a brokerage account opened in the child’s own name, with the parents acting as legal guardians managing it until the child comes of age. Most of the big platforms offer one, including Scalable Capital, Trade Republic, ING and comdirect, and the good ones let you run a free or near-free ETF savings plan (Sparplan) inside it from as little as €1 to €25 a month.
The tax advantage is the whole point
The reason a Junior Depot beats simply investing in your own name is that the child is a separate taxpayer with their own allowances. A child gets the annual saver’s allowance (Sparer-Pauschbetrag, around €1,000 as of 2026) plus, crucially, their own basic income-tax allowance (Grundfreibetrag, roughly €12,000). Because a child normally has little or no other income, investment income inside the Junior Depot can be sheltered well beyond the €1,000 saver’s allowance if you file a non-assessment certificate (Nichtveranlagungsbescheinigung, “NV-Bescheinigung”) with the broker. That combination can make years of dividends and realised gains effectively tax-free, which a parent’s own account cannot do because the parent has already used their own allowances. Treat those figures as approximate 2026 numbers and confirm the current thresholds with your Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt) or your local Finanzamt before relying on them.
There is a catch worth knowing: if the child’s income (including this investment income) climbs too high, it can affect family health-insurance co-insurance status and, for older students, other means-tested calculations. For ordinary savings-plan amounts this rarely bites, but it is the reason not to pour a very large lump sum into a Junior Depot without checking.
The ownership catch: it is legally the child’s money
This is the single most important thing to understand, and it applies to any account held in a minor’s name. The money in a Junior Depot legally belongs to the child. You manage it as guardian, but you are not supposed to spend it on yourself, and German courts take that seriously. When the child turns 18 they gain full, unconditional control. They can sell the whole ETF portfolio and buy a car with it, and there is nothing you can do. That is a feature if your goal is genuinely to give the child the money, and a real risk if you wanted to keep a say.
Country approaches at a glance
Here is how the landscape looks across the countries I get asked about most. Tax rules change, so treat the tax column as directional and verify current specifics locally.
| Country | Dedicated minor account? | Common real-world approach |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Yes — Junior Depot / Kinderdepot | Account in child’s name; use child’s allowances + NV-Bescheinigung |
| France | Rare as broker product | Assurance-vie naming the child, or a minor’s securities account at some banks |
| Italy | Rare | Parent’s own account earmarked for the child |
| Netherlands | Some banks offer a child account | Parent’s account, mindful of Box 3 wealth tax |
| Ireland | No standard product | Parent’s account; note ETF deemed-disposal rules |
| Spain | Rare | Parent’s account, or an account opened with the child’s NIE |
| UK | Yes — Junior ISA (JISA) | Tax-free wrapper in child’s name, locked until 18 |
Where there is no minor account: investing in your own name for the child
In France, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain, the everyday solution most parents use is to open a normal brokerage account in their own name and run the child’s savings plan there, kept separate from their own investing. This is completely legitimate. The trade-offs are that you owe tax on the income under your own situation (no second person’s allowance), and the money counts as your wealth, which matters in a wealth-tax country like the Netherlands (Box 3) or Spain. The upside is total control: nothing is handed over automatically at 18, and you decide when and whether to gift it.
The other common route is a life-insurance or assurance-vie wrapper, especially in France where it has favourable tax treatment after a holding period and lets you name the child as beneficiary. These wrappers can be sensible for long horizons, but read the fee schedule carefully, because many bundle in management charges that quietly dwarf the cost of a cheap ETF held directly. If you want to sanity-check what a wrapper’s fees do over 18 years, our free calculators and tools let you compare the drag of one all-in percentage against another.
The UK Junior ISA for UK readers
UK readers have it comparatively easy. The Junior ISA is a statutory, tax-free wrapper in the child’s name with a generous annual contribution limit (around £9,000, confirm the current figure). Growth and income inside it are free of UK income and capital gains tax, and it converts into an adult ISA at 18. The same ownership rule applies: it is the child’s money and they take control at 18. You can check current rules and limits on the official gov.uk Junior ISA page.
Choosing the actual investment: a cheap global ETF savings plan
Once the account question is settled, the investment choice is refreshingly simple. For an 18-year runway, a single broad, low-cost global equity UCITS ETF savings plan does almost all the work. Think of an all-world or developed-world accumulating fund with a total expense ratio in the low tenths of a percent. You do not need a clever multi-fund portfolio for a child, and you certainly do not need a themed fund chasing last year’s story. If you are new to this, start with our beginner’s guide to ETFs, then use the UCITS ETF comparison tool to line up candidates on TER, size and replication.
On the platform side, pick a broker that offers a free or cheap automated savings plan, a low minimum, and (in Germany) a proper Junior Depot. Trade Republic and Scalable Capital are the usual low-cost picks for German savers, and if you want the step-by-step, our Trade Republic ETF savings plan guide covers the mechanics. German readers weighing all the options should read our roundup of the best brokers for German investors, and readers elsewhere can start from the European ETF broker hub to find a home-market option.
What I would do
If I lived in Germany and wanted the money to genuinely become the child’s, I would open a Junior Depot, file the NV-Bescheinigung, and run a €50–€100 monthly savings plan into one global ETF. The tax shelter is real and I would not leave it on the table. If I wanted to keep control past 18, or if I lived in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland or Spain where no comparable minor account exists, I would invest in my own name in a separate, clearly-labelled account and gift the money deliberately when the time felt right. UK readers should default to the Junior ISA unless they specifically want to retain control. In every case, keep the investment boring: one cheap global fund, automated, left alone.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is there a standard custodial investment account across Europe?
A: No. Unlike the US (UTMA/UGMA) or UK (Junior ISA), most of continental Europe has no single custodial-account standard. Provision is country-specific, and in many countries there is no dedicated minor account at all, so parents invest in their own name instead.
Q: What is a German Junior Depot and why is it worth it?
A: A Junior Depot (or Kinderdepot) is a brokerage account held in a child’s name and managed by the parents until adulthood. Its advantage is tax: the child has their own saver’s allowance and basic income-tax allowance, so with a non-assessment certificate much of the investment income can be effectively tax-free.
Q: Who legally owns the money in an account held in a child’s name?
A: The child does. Parents manage it as guardians and are not meant to spend it on themselves. At 18 the child gains full control and can do whatever they like with the balance, which is both the point of the structure and its main risk.
Q: What can I do if my country has no minor investment account?
A: The standard approach in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain is to invest in your own account and earmark it for the child, or to use a life-insurance/assurance-vie wrapper. You keep control, but you pay tax under your own situation rather than the child’s allowances.
Q: What should I actually invest in for a child?
A: For a long horizon, a single broad, low-cost global equity UCITS ETF run as an automated monthly savings plan does the job. Keep the total expense ratio low, avoid themed funds, and let it compound. There is rarely any need for a complex multi-fund portfolio for a child.
Q: How much do I need to start?
A: Very little. Many European brokers run ETF savings plans from as little as €1–€25 per month, and German Junior Depots are no different. Consistency over 15–18 years matters far more than the starting amount, so it is fine to begin small and increase later.
European UCITS/ETF investor with 11+ years building a global dividend and index portfolio, and founder of Financial Expert Class. I write every guide here from first-hand experience investing across EU brokers and tax regimes — not theory. More about me →