OK - so I'm thinking about christmas presents for my brother, his wife, and their 2 month old. They have more clothes and diapers then they know what to do with and both make very comfortable livings.<p>I'd like to put away some money for my nephew in some sort of investment vehicle that cannot be touched until he's 18 (or out of college). I was wondering if there were any funds, CDs, ETF's or other investment tools I should be researching. Please, share your thoughts/experiences.
A 529 is the way to go for this sort of thing...much better than the savings bonds I received as gifts when I was a child.<p>My son's 529 is with USAA...they have great customer service, free financial advisory services, and their plans have a great performance history (relative to other 529 plans.) Setting up a 529 is also one of the most pain-free financial planning things you can do, IMHO.
Search for information about 529 plans for college savings, see if that fits your intent.<p>Otherwise you should be looking at trust funds, I think, if you want to keep the money away from the child/parents by law until a specific point in time or condition.
I've actually often thought there is a business idea here - there is no easy way to give kids investment gifts without a bunch of painful dealing with banks.