Revolution in children's portfolios: Finanz.net Zero vs. Trade Republic!

Revolution in children's portfolios: Finanz.net Zero vs. Trade Republic!

Finanz.net Zero recently announced a new children's portfolio that is in direct competition with Trade Republic's already established offering. From 2026, the federal government plans to introduce an “early start pension”, in which children aged 6 to 18 will receive a monthly subsidy of 10 euros. The exact details of this early start pension are currently unclear. However, there is speculation that the money may potentially be invested in an ETF savings plan.

Children's portfolios are very popular, especially given the bonuses or reimbursement of ETF costs that are often offered with these offers. There are currently waiting lists set up for children's accounts with providers such as Scalable Capital and Finanz.net Zero. While Trade Republic has already launched a children's portfolio, some with no fund costs, Finanz.net Zero offers the advantages of not charging any custody fees and offering free ETF savings plans.

Conditions and offers of the children's depots

In order to open a child custody account with Finanz.net Zero, both parents must have a custody account with this provider. In addition, Finanz.net Zero commits to transferring 10 euros per month to a clearing account until January 2026 if a savings plan of at least 25 euros is created. However, this promotion may be terminated or adjusted without prior notice.

In contrast, Trade Republic uses a different strategy: instead of a cash reward, certain ETFs offer automatic reinvestment of the ETF costs (TER). In the long term, this model could be more advantageous, especially if the campaign continues over 18 years.

Advantages of child deposits

Children's deposits are not only useful if they are supported by the state. An example makes this clear: a monthly deposit of 150 euros into an ETF savings plan with an assumed annual return of 6 percent could amount to over 57,000 euros by the child's 18th birthday. In addition to Finanz.net Zero and Trade Republic, the recommended providers for children's accounts include ING, Consorsbank, Flatex, Comdirect and 1822direkt.

There is a lot going on in the children's portfolio market, and various brokers are developing new offers to prepare for the upcoming early start retirement. Both competition between providers and government funding could encourage parents to invest more in their children's financial future.