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CommentaryParenting

Babylist CEO: The Trump Accounts gold rush is overlooking moms

By
Natalie Gordon
Natalie Gordon
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By
Natalie Gordon
Natalie Gordon
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July 6, 2026, 3:00 PM ET
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US President Donald Trump rings the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, July 6, 2026. Trump rang the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq from the Oval Office on Monday, a celebratory event to mark the launch of Trump Accounts, a new investment vehicle for children. Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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From the moment Trump Accounts were announced, fintech companies, banks, and investment platforms moved quickly to position themselves at the heart of a federal program that would draw national attention. In this rush to build products and partnerships, there’s someone missing from the conversation–the people who will make this program actually work. It’s the ones who account for the majority of family spending and lead the way on education savings decisions. It’s the most influential voice for American families.  It’s the moms. 

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At Babylist, nearly 40% of first-time parents use our platform, which gives us a unique vantage point into how modern families actually prepare, spend, and make decisions during one of the most disorienting financial moments of their lives. We see firsthand that becoming a parent is often the moment when families first begin thinking seriously about long-term financial planning. And while the industry is focused on products, distribution, and customer acquisition, parents are focused on a much simpler question: How do I give my child a better future?

The story of college, education, and the future of work is changing at a breakneck speed and the savings playbook families inherited was built for a world that no longer exists. The future of the economy feels deeply in question, so it’s no surprise that there’s a generation who is putting pause on starting a family. But that won’t work for America.

The evidence is clear: young people are stressed. What has long been a worry about whether you can be a “good parent” has become something even bigger: am I financially equipped to become a parent at all?

When Babylist surveyed over 1,300 new parents, just 29% felt confident that they would be able to reach their savings goals for their kid’s education. And the looming stress of college is one of the biggest financial worries in their lives, tied only with childcare, which hits especially hard in the first few years of a kid’s life: the time when parents are also expected to start saving.

We see this every day as expecting moms spend painstaking hours building a registry that will support their first months, trying to envision what is just around the corner while calculating how much diapers are going to cost in the first year. We also know that these same moms are the ones likely to research educational savings accounts like the new 530A Trump Accounts, understand what they mean for their families, explain them to grandparents and relatives, and ultimately decide what to prioritize asking for.

That instinct to provide does not stop when the nursery is set up. I am a mom of two boys myself, and know firsthand that the moment you hold your newborn, the future stops being abstract. These moms want to teach their kids about resiliency, about kindness, and about what it means to be an American. They’re also playing out the realities of childcare, healthcare, and the unexpected. Let alone what the world will look like when this tiny baby turns 18. Every mom wants to set their kid up to feel like the world opens up to them when they become an adult, and a huge part of that is having financial safety to figure out where they want to go.

Having a baby is one of the most financially consequential moments in a family’s life. And we know that for many families, the need for support does not end when the baby arrives. This is the moment when both your community and your country should be able to show up for you.

Financial services have historically directed the investing conversation at men, even as moms are often the ones taking on the bulk of the research, planning, emotional labor and logistics of family life.

The challenge is that most parents still don’t know what a 530A account is, and that’s because much of the emerging Trump Accounts ecosystem has not been built or marketed in a way that parents can easily understand. The name alone is enough to make some parents walk away from $1000 that belongs to their kid and will compound over years. For years, we have talked to parents about these savings plans, but for many, opening a 529 account sinks to the bottom of a to-do list. It’s the thing you want to do and know that you need to do, but it just doesn’t rise above the daily grind of diapers, childcare, or the surprisingly short lifespan of an adorable outfit.

The details are buried under language like ‘contribution pilot program,’ IRS form numbers, and are built for compliance rather than someone holding a newborn. The industry is treating this like a financial product launch, packaging it in the language of markets, growth, and political proximity. The conversation about Trump Accounts is out of step with the real consumer need.

Moms need clear information, simple steps to take with their extremely limited free time, and confidence that their country supports them as they raise the next generation. For Trump Accounts to be a success, they need to be embraced and championed by everyday moms who believe that this is a story of opportunity, that it feels like true support.

This is what will truly determine the long-term success of Trump Accounts: not how many financial institutions offer them, but whether the millions of eligible moms decide they are worth opening, understand how they work, and encourage friends and family to invest in their child’s future from day one.

Trump Accounts have the potential to change how parents think about long-term savings, including college savings, by turning a “someday” decision into a “now” conversation. It’s the start of what should be a much larger story of access and support for moms and parents in this country. Growing families have long felt that this country is not set up to help them succeed, and while these accounts will not solve the cost of raising a child, they do offer a sliver of help and hope that how we support parents could become a mainstream conversation.

In 2043, the first kids eligible for Trump Accounts will be headed to college. Right now, those same kids are learning their first words and taking their first steps. And those moms see both the baby in their arms and the young adult stepping out of their house, hopefully, into a world of opportunity they were able to set up from day one.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

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By Natalie Gordon
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Natalie Gordon is the Founder and CEO of Babylist, the leading platform for growing families. Each year, more than 10 million people shop through Babylist, making it the go-to destination for seamless purchasing, trusted guidance, and expert product recommendations for new parents and the people who love them. Natalie founded Babylist in 2011 while pregnant with her first child, driven by a vision to create a better baby registry experience. Under her leadership, this bootstrapped start-up has grown into a profitable, multi-channel business. Today, Babylist stands as a generational brand driving $750M in revenue in 2025, recently celebrating 100 million gifts given through its platform. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Waterloo. Natalie is known for her founder-first approach, visionary leadership, and deep commitment to supporting new families. She lives in Berkeley, CA with her two sons.


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