Vanguard exec says Trump Accounts are a good idea, but don’t bank on them for college

Starting this July, every time you think about your child’s financial future, you may also think about the president.

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The Trump administration is offering “Trump Accounts,” with $1,000 seed funding to U.S. citizens born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028. Joel Dickson, Vanguard’s global head of advised strategies, told Fortune he welcomes this change—but if a family’s goal is saving for education, a tax-deferred 529 college savings plan is a more efficient option for the same amount of contribution.

Parents should still seriously consider Trump Accounts to help kids save for their financial futures, Dickson said. Even as some questions remain unanswered about the accounts’ details and speculation grows over how much the accounts will appreciate, he recommends that you don’t leave free money on the table.

“Trump accounts are an ‘and’ account, not an ‘or’ account,” Dickson said. “More flexibility, more liquidity, more uses that very well may happen with the Trump Account, which is yet another reason to get one established right to get the free money,” he said, “because we don’t know how this is going to evolve.”

The climbing cost of college

More savings could make all the difference as families question the ROI on college and more than 60% of voters say college isn’t worth the cost. Student loans and credit debt have landed Gen Z with an average of $94,101 in personal debt.

Parents are sacrificing retirement, taking second jobs, and liquidating investments just to get their kids through college. One Citizens Bank survey found that nearly a third of parents are borrowing against their 401(k) or liquidating personal funds to pay for college.

Families have their pick among the many types of child savings accounts. In addition to 529 accounts, parental brokerage accounts, and individual retirement accounts (IRA) are just a few of the options parents have to save for their children’s future.

But, Trump Accounts offer a significant amount of seed funding. On top of the $1,000 seed for newborns, some companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, SoFi, BlackRock, and Robinhood will match the $1,000. Children under 10 will get an extra $250, thanks to a $6.25 billion pledge from billionaires Michael and Susan Dell.

**What Trump Accounts are good for **

On top of the seed funding, Trump Accounts are a tax-deferred IRA account, and how you use the funds is not as limited as other child savings accounts.

“It fills a gap for many to allow for savings and gaining financial experience or literacy earlier in life with real-world experience,” Dickson said. If funded, the account can be a game-changer for people, especially as they enter young adulthood, he said.

Some options may be better

The best savings option depends on what each individual’s goals are, Dickson said. Other accounts may offer better liquidity, flexibility, or taxes. A traditional IRA may be a more tax-effective option because contributions can be tax-deductible, unlike most savings accounts.

There are some downsides to the Trump Accounts. They lack global diversification, though U.S. stocks only account for roughly 60% of the global market. Dickson recommends that families find other sources of diversification in their portfolios.

Another consideration with the Trump Accounts is that because it is 100% equities, they can be more volatile than other savings accounts.

“There’s a lot of risk in having a potentially volatile equity return, and that being the only source of investment within the Trump Account,” Dickson said. “As you get closer to when you are going to use the money in the account, often, you want to mitigate the risk of sharp swings in asset returns.”

This may be less of a concern if the account’s goal is retirement, but if parents plan to cash out the account in the middle term or use it as an emergency savings, Dickson said, they should find a way to derisk their accounts.

Ultimately, Dickson said he looks at this development as a favorable thing for all Americans. “One of the big times of financial fragility for people is as young adults,” he explained. “Oftentimes you see them having to bridge gaps in maybe unexpected expenses, or how they’re trying to fund their own goals, like education, where you have to take on large amounts of debt. Or you get into this cycle of debt, or under consumption, just to try to make ends meet.”

By having a pool of assets with the Trump Account, people can enter adulthood with stronger long-term financial security, Dickson said.

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