Investment platform Pearler has announced an investment app for parents to invest on behalf of their children, with an aim to build financial literacy skills.
Pearler Headstart was a low-fee app designed to empower parents to share long-term financial goals with their children as they grow.
Once the individual turned 18 years old, the child could choose to manage the account themselves or engage through their parent or guardian who initially established it.
The app would offer a managed fund where parents could invest in ASX-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs), promoting ‘set and forget’ micro-investing.
Nick Nicolaides, co-founder of Pearler, described the app as a solution to the lack of investment opportunities for parents.
“We hear from our customers that they are seeking better options to invest on behalf of children, and chat with them about it as they get older. Finance apps today don’t address this issue,” he explained.
“They either gamify pocket money or, where investing is concerned, tag kids as an additional account under the adult – with no meaningful thought put into how children learn and engage with technology.”
The decreasing levels of financial literacy in Australia had prompted the co-founder to design the platform, he said.
Data released in December 2022 from the Melbourne Institute’s household, income and labour dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey found that Australians scored lower when asked five relatively simple financial questions than those tested in 2016.
The test covered topics such as numeracy, inflation, diversification, and risk and return.
“We are a country of investors, but without the education to match. There are way too many people, especially young people, who aren’t given enough guidance or support,” Nicolaides observed.
“As a result, they’re not thinking about long-term financial independence, much less their Government-mandated retirement savings.”
Promoting simple and passing investing would help parents and children build the beginnings of a sound investment strategy.
