Smarter Investing Starts Early: How Fintech Empowers Parents and Kids
For thirty years, parents have raced the clock on rising college costs, using financial tools like 529 plans to start investing from the day their child is born.
But as valuable as these tax-advantaged accounts have been for some families, they also have some very real limitations. For most families, particularly those without an investment advisor or financial planner, they can be a paperwork nightmare. And a 529 account only has one primary use — a college education. Beyond that, there are limited ways to use the saved funds if the child elects not to attend college.
With growing doubts about whether college is worth the cost, parents are increasingly questioning if their money could be better used in a simpler, more flexible savings and investment option.
Thankfully, fintech companies have filled the void, creating apps to help parents more easily plan their child’s financial future. Instead of becoming bogged down in complex paperwork, parents can open and manage an investment account for their child in minutes through apps that are well aligned with millennials and Gen Z.
Parents can track contributions, investment performance, and growth with ease. Designed for how families actually live, today’s modern fintech tools enable recurring deposits, invest spare change through purchase roundups, and open the door for friends and relatives to contribute.
Artificial intelligence is taking this a step further, helping fintech platforms like Mostt deliver more personalized and proactive support. By analyzing spending patterns, income, and goals, AI can recommend smarter contribution levels, automate investing in the background, and adjust strategies over time — making it easier for parents to build for their children’s future without added complexity.
Saving and Investing Made Immeasurably Easier
Millennial and Gen Z parents are approaching money — and their children’s futures — very differently than previous generations. They’re less tied to traditional paths and more focused on flexibility, optionality, and real-world outcomes. While college remains an important goal for many families, it’s no longer the only one. Parents today are just as likely to think about funding a first home, supporting a business idea, or creating a broader financial cushion for adulthood.
That shift has exposed the limitations of more rigid tools like 529 plans. While some fintech platforms still center on education savings, many now allow families to invest toward a wider range of goals—without locking funds into a single use case.
And yet, despite being around for more than 30 years, 529 plans have never fully broken into the mainstream. An Edward Jones and Morning Consult study found that just 14% of Americans say they have or plan to use one, while 52% don’t even know what a 529 plan is. That’s not just a marketing problem—it’s a usability problem.
I saw this firsthand earlier in my career as a financial advisor. My wealthier clients consistently prioritized saving for their children, whether through trusts, 529 plans, or custodial accounts. For them, the system worked. They had guidance, resources, and the time to navigate complexity.
But when friends asked me for a simple way to start saving for their kids, the options fell short. When I showed them 529 plans, they weren’t reassured—they were overwhelmed. The applications alone could run a dozen pages or more. They asked for something easy, and what I had to offer didn’t feel easy at all.
That gap — between intention and accessibility — is exactly where modern fintech is gaining ground.
Fintech – Radically Transforming Financial Possibilities
The challenge for parents isn’t just saving — it’s saving enough, and doing it in a way that actually gives their children a meaningful head start. Avoiding student debt, funding early life milestones, and creating real financial freedom are no longer nice-to-haves—they’re becoming the baseline expectation.
This is where fintechs like Mostt are poised to make the biggest impact. By combining automation, personalization, and flexibility, these platforms are making it possible for parents to build meaningful savings in the background of everyday life. Small, consistent actions — automated contributions, receiving gifts, smart reallocations, and adaptive investment strategies — compound into outcomes that once required meaningful wealth or hands-on management.
Supporting this, an AARP survey found that 75% of parents assist their adult children financially, with a median contribution of $1,400 annually and an average contribution of $7,000 annually.
More importantly, fintech is shifting the goal from simply saving for college to setting up a child for financial independence. The parents who embrace these tools aren’t just planning for a single expense — they’re building a foundation that can help their children avoid debt, seize opportunities, and step into adulthood with options.
That shift may prove to be the most important investment of all.
About Ksenia Yudina
Ksenia Yudina, CFA, author of One Venture, Ten MBAs: A Warrior Guide to Building Startups, is a fintech entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Mostt, which helps families invest in their children’s financial futures. Yudina was also the founder of UNest, another platform that helps parents build a financial future for their children. She previously worked for a decade in traditional finance, with roles at Capital Group and J.P. Morgan. Yudina earned her MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. She was named one of the Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology by The Financial Technology Report and an honoree of 40 Under 40 by Investment News.
