The administration announced Wednesday that it would automatically enroll children under 18 in investment accounts, a program the White House calls Trump Accounts. Treasury officials released new regulations that convert an earlier voluntary initiative into a mandatory enrollment system, expanding participation from roughly 10 million accounts before the change to about 70 million now.

The move follows a broader push to help families build wealth early. Accounts receive a one-time $1,000 deposit for children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, though parents must claim the funds through the Trump Account app or the IRS. Early-childhood investment programs are linked to higher educational attainment, improved social and emotional development, and greater financial stability later in life, according to Jin Huang, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis who studies asset-building initiatives.

Automatic enrollment is intended to benefit children in lower-income households and encourage contributions from private donors, nonprofits and corporations. The regulations allow companies to donate individual stocks directly to accounts, which must be held for five years and cannot be rejected by parents or beneficiaries. Donations may be targeted to specific groups of at least 5,000 children defined by age or geography. Treasury officials noted that concentrating assets in single stocks introduces additional risk but argued that the structure could attract more corporate funding than cash contributions would.

William McBride, chief economist at the Tax Foundation, said the changes could increase the capacity of these accounts to function as charitable outlets. However, Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research warned that preventing parents from declining or selling donated stock could create uncomfortable investment situations or conflicts of interest.

The White House reported that about 80 percent of Trump Accounts are linked to families earning less than $200,000 annually. Michael and Susan Dell have already contributed $6.25 billion to over a million children through the program, a donation expected to fund $250 payments for up to 25 million children in lower- and middle-income zip codes.

The expansion reflects a shift in how investment accounts for children are structured and administered, with potential long-term implications for wealth accumulation and financial inclusion.