Here’s a holiday riddle.

What kind of gift:

☐ keeps growing after it’s given

☐ becomes more meaningful over time

☐ can’t be thrown away or forgotten

☐ requires no maintenance

☐ isn’t size, color, or style dependent?

A wool sweater? ✘
A gift card to your friend’s favorite coffeehouse? ✘
A plant? ✘ (A plant technically keeps growing, but it does require maintenance.)
A puppy? ✘ (Even a perfect puppy doesn’t pass the no maintenance test, and the person would have probably gotten a puppy if they wanted one anyway.)

If you answered “A gift to an investment account!” well, you’d be right! (If you came up with something else, let me know.)

That gift checks off all the boxes above: it keeps growing and becomes more meaningful over the long term, it can’t be forgotten because your recipient gets online reminders about its growth, and there’s no maintenance because if you give to a 529 College Savings Plan or a financial independence/retirement account, there are no taxes to pay.

That’s what I’m doing this month for two of my close friends. I’m setting up college savings plans for their newborn children. If the overall S&P 500 index continues its long-term average return of approximately 10% per year (the average return from 1930 to 2025), my gift will quintuple by the time they begin college. I have to admit: I’ve never been so excited about giving a gift!

So, what if your most important gifts this year didn't come from a store?

What if, instead of buying your niece or nephew another toy that'll be forgotten by January, you put that money into a College Savings Plan? You’d send a message that you believe in their future, planting a seed that keeps growing for decades. (Of course, check with your financial advisor before making any financial or investment decisions.)