UNest

Overview

Help your kids achieve their dreams. UNest makes it easy for parents to invest in their children’s future with a simple, flexible, and tax-advantaged custodial account for minors. Plus, your family and friends can contribute funds to your child’s UNest Investment Account for Kids through a shareable gift link. Funds saved can be used across any of your child’s life events like college, their first car, down payment on the house, wedding day or any other important milestone. 

Why Invest

• Tax Advantages – Up to $2,200 of annual tax benefits
• Low advisory fee of just $3 a month
• You control how money is invested & spent until the child becomes an adult

How you make money

UNest is the robo advisor helping all parents build a better future for their kids. It easy to open a tax advantaged investment account for you kids, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. For a flat $3 a month per child, your money is invested in one of 5 portfolio options ranging from very conservative to very aggressive and include: 

• Fixed Income. This is the most conservative option available. Your money is invested entirely in Money Market and Fixed Income instruments in order to minimize risk and volatility. 
• 3x Age-Based Portfolios. There are three age-based portfolios (conservative, moderate, aggressive). Each of these portfolios includes a mix of fixed income and equity investments which shift the investment mix (what’s called rebalancing) from more aggressive to more conservative investments as the account beneficiary gets closer to college age. The goal is to maximize growth at a young age and gradually reduce risk of volatility in the account as they get closer to the time you’ll likely withdraw the money. 
• Vanguard ETFs (100% Equities). This is the most aggressive investment option UNest offers. 100% of the funds are invested in equities, regardless of the age of the beneficiary. All of UNest’s portfolios invest in low cost investments (ETFs).

You also can save money through taxes. Up to $2,200 in annual earnings in a UNest Investment Account for Kids grow in a tax-advantaged way. The first $1,100 of the earnings is completely tax-free. The next $1,100 is taxed at the child’s tax rate.

How UNest makes money

UNest charges no sales commissions. They generate money through their monthly advisor fee. UNest costs a flat monthly subscription of $3 per child. Their monthly subscription of $3 is a per child cost, so if you have multiple children, you will be eligible for their family plan with a monthly subscription of $6/month. There is no fee to receive gifts with UNest, but gifters will pay a standard convenience fee for payment processing. UNest also charges an annual fee of 0.1% on its investment fund.

Is it Safe?

UNest is a registered investment advisor (RIA) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Security is a priority for UNest. UNest provides the highest levels of security to ensure your information and data is safe. All accounts are protected with 256-bit SSL encryption and continually monitored for extraordinary or suspicious activity by their Compliance team.

Investment accounts are held with their trusted partner and custodian, Apex Clearing Corporation, a third-party SEC registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). This means the investments in your account are protected up to $500,000 in total. Gift funds received but not yet invested are FDIC insured up to $250,000 with their bank partner, First Horizon Bank, Member FDIC.

When investing in equities, it is important to note the investment risks you are taking. Although there are investment risks, the registration with the SEC and the SIPC insurance should allow you to confidently invest with UNest.