Not One Size Fits All: Investing by Life Stage
Originally published on Substack
Whether you’re a parent investing for a one-year-old, a college student making your first real money move, or a 35-year-old thinking “I should have started sooner”, the account you use changes everything.
Let’s break it down.
🧒 For the little ones (Under 18)
Account type: UGMA/UTMA Custodial Account
Kids can’t open investment accounts on their own, but you can open one for them. A custodial account (UGMA or UTMA) lets a parent, grandparent, godparent, or any adult invest on a child’s behalf. The money legally belongs to the child from day one. When they reach adulthood, the account transfers to them completely.
One tip: Put it in a simple index fund like VTI and don’t touch it. Time is the only ingredient that matters at this stage, and children have more of it than anyone.
🎓 College students and young adults (18+)
Account type: You have more options than you think
Good news! you don’t need a financial adviser or a lot of money to start. Platforms like Fidelity, Schwab, and even Cash App Investing have made it possible to open an investment account in minutes, with no minimums and no fees to get started.
Got a job? Even part-time or freelance counts. Open a Roth IRA. You invest money you’ve already paid taxes on, it grows tax-free, and you never pay taxes on it when you retire.* Up to $7,000 a year. Most people find out about this way too late. Don’t be that person.
No income yet? A regular brokerage account is your move. No rules, no limits, no restrictions on when you can access your money. Open one, put it in VTI, and start.
One tip: $50 a month at 19 beats $500 a month at 35. The platform matters less than just starting.
💼 Young graduates with a 401k at work
Account type: 401k first (up to the match), then Roth IRA, then brokerage
If your employer offers a 401k match, that is free money. Contribute at least enough to get the full match because every dollar of match is an instant 50–100% return before the market does anything. After that, open a Roth IRA and max it out if you can ($7,500 for 2026). Still have more to invest? A regular brokerage account is your next stop. It has no limits, no restrictions, and people in your life can even contribute to it directly.
One tip: Check what funds are available inside your 401k. If there’s a total market index fund with a low expense ratio, use it. Avoid anything with an expense ratio above 0.5%. Remember, fees compound against you just like returns compound for you.
🚀 Young graduates without a 401k
Account type: Roth IRA + taxable brokerage
No employer plan? Got earned income? Go straight to the Roth IRA. You can contribute up to $7,500 a year, or however much you earned, whichever is less.
A regular brokerage account is the perfect complement. No contribution limits. No income restrictions. No rules on when you can access your money. Use it for any financial goal that isn’t retirement, a house, a business, a safety net that actually earns something.
Build both at the same time if you can. The Roth IRA is for your future self. The brokerage account is for everything else.
One tip: Automate both. Set up a transfer the day after your paycheck hits and never think about it again. And if your friends and family want to support your financial goals, more on that below.
🏡 Adults at any stage
Account type: It depends — but here’s the order
If you don’t have these in place yet, work through them in this order:
401k up to the employer match: always first, it’s free money
Roth IRA: max it if your income qualifies ($168k single / $252k married for 2026; limits adjust annually)
Back to the 401k: max it out ($24,500 limit for 2026)
Taxable brokerage: anything beyond that goes here
One tip: it’s never too late to start. The second best time to invest is today.
The account is just the container. What matters is that you fill it consistently, with low-cost investments, and without touching it every time the market sneezes.
One more thing…
What if the people who love you could help?
That’s exactly what Endowe is built for. Endowe is an investment gift registry that lets your friends and family contribute directly to your investment portfolio, instead of buying you something you’ll return or regift.
Right now, Endowe supports contributions to UGMA/UTMA custodial accounts and regular taxable brokerage accounts (perfect for college students or young graduates building wealth beyond their Roth IRA). So whether you’re a parent building a head start for your child, or a young professional stacking your brokerage account, Endowe makes it easy for the people who love you to give something that actually grows.
Think of it as a birthday registry, holiday wishlist, or graduation gift guide except every contribution goes straight into the market, not into clutter.
With lots of love,
Your godmother Ada
*This applies to qualified distributions: meaning you’re at least 59½ years old and it’s been at least 5 years since your first Roth IRA contribution. Withdraw earnings before then and you’ll owe taxes and a penalty on those gains. The contributions themselves (the money you put in) can always be withdrawn tax and penalty-free.
Disclaimer: As someone in finance as a regulated investment professional, I want to be clear: I’m not your financial adviser, and this post is education, not personalized advice. All investments carry risk including possible loss of principal, and past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Talk to a professional who knows your full situation before making money moves.
