Hate the Name? Open the Account Anyway
A few friends have called me in the past few weeks with some version of the same question:
"I can't stand the president — am I making a mistake by not opening one of these Trump Accounts for my kid?"
The answer? Yes; regardless of your politics, it would be a mistake to skip out on these accounts. (And I say that as someone who has voted for both Republicans and Democrats across elections.)
[A recent study found that 80% of U.S. adults don't even know what Trump Accounts are. If you're one of the millions who don't know the basics of how these accounts work, whether your child qualifies for a free $1,000 government deposit, and how to sign up, I covered all of it in this recent article.]
I also know these friends aren't alone. Recent presidential approval polls show that a significant majority of Americans currently disapprove of the president; 35% approval/61% disapproval as of the latest Economist/YouGov poll conducted between July 3 and July 6. That's a lot of parents who might be having this same internal debate.
That's why, today, I want to make a simple case for why your politics and your child's financial future should be two separate conversations.
Opening an Account Isn't an Endorsement
Here's something worth saying plainly: opening a Trump Account for your child does not mean you support Donald Trump, approve of his presidency, or endorse any part of his platform. It means you opened a tax-deferred investment account. Those are not the same thing.
People open accounts at banks whose politics they disagree with, shop at companies whose executives they can't stand, and invest in index funds that include businesses they'd never personally support. Financial tools are not loyalty tests. A 530A account — which is the formal name for these accounts, if "Trump Account" is genuinely too much to stomach — will grow your child's money at exactly the same rate regardless of what you think of the man who lent it his name.
If the branding is the sticking point for you, just call it a 530A, which fits in perfectly with the alphabet soup of 401(k) and IRA and 529. I promise, the S&P 500 won't care.
I Know How This Looks From the Other Side
This isn't just a Democrat thing. America is more politically divided than it's been in generations, and strong feelings about whoever is in the White House aren't exclusive to one side of the aisle. Plenty of conservatives couldn't stand Obama when he was in office.
If President Obama had launched something called "Obama Accounts" in 2014, I promise you I would have been fielding the same exact calls — just from my other friends.
That reaction is human. It doesn't make you a bad parent. It makes you someone whose political convictions run deep enough to show up in financial decisions, which is more common than most people want to admit.
And my advice then would have been exactly the same as my advice now: In 10 or 20 years, when your kid asks what you were thinking, "I couldn't stand the president" is going to sound pretty thin.
The Math Proves Opening a Trump Account Can Make a Difference
The program gives children born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028 a $1,000 starter deposit from the federal government. With just that amount — no additional contributions, nothing else — a child will have approximately $243,000 by age 55, assuming historical stock market growth rates continue. Add $250 a year in contributions, and that grows to roughly $878,000. Contribute the annual maximum of $5,000 per year, and some experts believe you could be looking at approximately $13 million.
These aren't projections designed to sell you something. They're the arithmetic of compound interest applied over decades. The S&P 500, where all 530A funds are automatically invested, doesn't have a party affiliation. It just compounds.
And for children born before 2025 who don't qualify for the government's $1,000 (including my own twin boys), the account is still worth opening. A growing number of employers and philanthropists are pledging additional contributions to certain accounts — but the only way to benefit is to open an account.
In fact, more than 50 companies have committed to contributing to their employees' children's accounts, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorganChase, Citi, Vanguard, Visa, Comcast, and Uber. The Dell family has pledged $6.25 billion to seed accounts for children under 10 in lower-income areas. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell is donating shares of the newly public company to children across the country. Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, pledged $250 of his own money to every qualifying child under 5 in Indiana. Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia called it "one of the most exciting product launches" he's ever been part of.
These aren't political endorsements. They're financial commitments from some of the most successful investors and business leaders in the country. And none of that money can reach your child unless an account exists in their name.
The Account Is Free, The Name Is Just a Name
It costs nothing to open a 530A account. The money that goes in will be invested in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund and grow tax-deferred until your child is ready for it. The president who named the program will be a historical footnote by the time your child retires. The account balance won't be.
The question was never whether you support Donald Trump. The question is whether you're willing to let his name stand between your child and a financial head start.
Call it whatever you want. Just open it.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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