The Government announced earlier this month that the number of children with a Child Trust Fund has reached over 3 million. However, The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Kitty Ussher, also highlighted that only three-quarters of parents have actively opened their Child Trust Fund accounts. This means that for the seven-hundred and fifty-thousand children whose parents did not open the Child Trust Fund themselves, the opportunity to gain one year's worth of interest is lost. In fact, the accumulated loss of interest for all those Funds that have not been opened amounts to an estimated �15 million! The Child Trust Fund is a long-term savings and investment plan set up by the Government to encourage parents to save for their children's future. The Child Trust Fund is available to all children born on or after 1 September 2002 . Children will receive an initial �250 in vouchers to open their Child Trust Fund accounts, with a further �250 when they reach seven years of age. In addition to this money, parents, family and friends can contribute up to �1,200 each year into the Fund. Although opening a Child Trust Fund is relatively straightforward, choosing one can be more difficult. With three types of accounts (cash, stakeholder or shares) available from numerous banks and building societies each with their own offers, terms and conditions and rates, finding the right Child Trust Fund for their children leaves many parents confused. Recent research from The Actuarial Profession has shown that most parents are simply overwhelmed by the huge amount of information they receive. Often, the just need concise information which simplifies and compares the various accounts available. Currently, there are several websites that compare only Cash Child Trust Funds, but only MyEggNest.com leads the way by providing a comparison table of all three types of Child Trust Funds: Cash, Stakeholders and Equity (or Shares) Child Trust Funds. MyEggNest.com has an all-inclusive, easy to understand comparisons of all Child Trust Funds provides parents the tools they need to make informed decisions about the best ways to compare Child Trust Funds available or to see how their children's current Child Trust Fund compares to others on the market. Joe Luong, Marketing Director for MyEggNest.com said, "Our feedback has shown that many parents are overwhelmed by the multitude of leaflets and fliers from financial bodies available regarding Child Trust Funds. Some even believe it is too much that they don't even know where to start." "What parents of newborns need is clear and concise information explained in simple English on how best to compare their children's Child Trust Fund. With MyEggNest.com, new parents are able to research everything they want to know about the Child Trust Fund from one reliable source. On one site, they can seek guidance from other parents in the form of a Child Trust Fund discussion forum, look at product reviews and learn how best to compare Child Trust Funds." To further relieve some of the other stresses and strains for new parents, MyEggNest.com recently introduced a simple table of Child Trust Funds available where parents can simply click and download Child Trust Fund E-brochures of their choice in a PDF format. Each brochure provides information specific to that particular Child Trust Fund. Access to this information on this one site saves parents the hassle and time of having to find every website for each product to investigate further. The message from the Government is clear. Parents who decide to invest their children's Child Trust Fund voucher and earn interest on that investment will be better off than the 25% of parents who choose not to do anything at all. So ACT NOW! and start comparing the best Child Trust Funds for your children before you miss out on even more interest!
