Meet the 17-year-old whose ‘ultimate goal’ is to help his parents retire — but is it risky to put your family’s finances in your kids’ hands?

But in some cases, kids may actually be the ones helping their parents manage money. Take Dave Lee, a 17-year-old high school senior from New York, who advises his parents on their investments and has $26,000 saved up in his own brokerage account.

“The ultimate goal is to help my parents retire,” Lee told The Wall Street Journal.

When Lee’s parents moved to the U.S. from Korea, they didn’t speak much English. So, along with his siblings, Lee helped translate the household bills. But his interest was piqued in middle school while playing a board game where players learn how to build income.

“It was just the feeling of winning and accumulating money,” Lee told WSJ. “It was just exciting.”

Since then, he’s become the family’s informal financial advisor, helping his mom open a brokerage account, negotiating an interest rate on a car loan and providing retirement savings advice to his parents.

Financial literacy is on the rise

In previous generations, families often didn’t talk about money. And in some cultures it’s still considered taboo. But these days, more families are starting to talk more openly about their finances.

Less than half (49%) of baby boomers said they discussed money with their parents growing up, according to a survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults by U.S. Bank conducted in partnership with Morning Consult.

But nowadays, nearly nine in 10 parents are comfortable talking to their kids about money, “signaling a significant shift toward transparency and early financial education,” according to the survey.

At the same time, more states are requiring high school students to take personal finance courses to graduate. To date, this is a mandatory requirement in 39 states, according to the Council for Economic Education’s biennial Survey of the States.

Kids also have much more access to financial information than their parents or grandparents did, thanks to YouTube and social media. This has led to the rise of FinTok and “finfluencers,” who dole out financial advice — for better or worse.

One in three (34%) students now learn about money on social media, according to research published by MABS (Money Advice & Budgeting Service). However, not all finfluencer advice is credible — many don’t have financial credentials and their recommendations may be biased (based on brand partnerships).

This is where parents and educators can step in — to help young people understand the difference between credible sources of financial information and questionable advice from self-proclaimed financial gurus looking to boost their followers.

But in other cases, kids might actually know more about finances than their parents. Lee’s parents, for example, faced a language barrier when they moved to the U.S., so Lee became financially literate by necessity.

Some kids, like Lee, have an aptitude for finance. But not all kids do — and that’s why guardrails are increasingly important, particularly around brokerage accounts.

Options to help kids invest

Teens have a couple of options when it comes to brokerage accounts. Custodial brokerage accounts allow a parent or guardian to open and manage an investment account on behalf of a minor, until the minor reaches the age of majority.

A teen brokerage account, on the other hand, is specifically designed for young investors (typically ages 13 to 17). The teen takes an active role in managing their investments, but typically a parent or guardian supervises the account and has to approve trades.

However, there are a few accounts that allow teens to make trades without a parent’s consent.

“We encourage students to begin learning about investing early through education, research and hands-on experience,” Christine Tobin, chief operating officer of Young Investors Society (YIS), told Moneywise. YIS is a global nonprofit that provides financial literacy and investing education to high school students.

But YIS doesn’t endorse platforms or accounts that allow minors to trade independently without parental or guardian involvement.

“While these types of accounts may provide access to investing, they can also present potential risks,” said Tobin. Risks include a limited understanding of investment risks, emotional decision-making and excessive trading, as well as exposure to complex financial products before a teen has the necessary knowledge and experience.