• Aviva have released their Family Finances Report, which shows that over a third of millennials regret going to university because of the debt burden they are left with afterwards.
• 18 percent are hoping for a family inheritance, with 12 percent banking on a financial gift to help out.
• Saving £200 a month into the average UK stock market fund over the last 18 years would have generated a university fund of £81,300, a sum which could give youngsters a real head start in life.

Aviva’s report also shows a significant proportion of millennials are relying on family money to dig them out of a hole; 18 percent are hoping for a family inheritance, with 12 percent banking on a financial gift to help out. Ultimately the bank of mum and dad is likely to be a key participant in a bailout, so it makes sense to plan family finances accordingly. That may well account for the increasing sums saved in Junior ISAs, over £1.6 billion has been subscribed to these accounts since they were launched in 2011. 

Danny Cox, Chartered Financial Planner, Hargreaves Lansdown: ‘A university education now comes at a hefty price, which puts many young people in a precarious financial position, and hampers their ability to save up to get on the property ladder. Many are going to be relying on the bank of mum and dad for a bail out at some point, so it makes sense for parents and grandparents to plan ahead for this eventuality. Setting aside some money each month into a college fund can be used to minimise debt, and to give young people a helping hand when they need it most. 

One way of doing this is to invest regularly into a Junior ISA, which protects savings from tax, and can harness the long term returns from the stock market to boot. Saving £200 a month into the average UK stock market fund over the last 18 years would have generated a university fund of £81,300, a sum which could give youngsters a real head start in life. Junior Cash ISAs are also available for more risk averse investors, and tend to pay more interest than adult cash ISAs, though returns are likely to be impacted by the low interest rate environment, which looks here to stay for the foreseeable future.’ 

Top 10 Junior ISA funds
Here are the 10 most popular funds held in the HL Vantage Junior ISA, listed alphabetically. The list shows investors looking to traditional engines of long term growth, like smaller companies and emerging markets, as well as trying to harness the compounding power of re-invested dividends with the likes of Woodford Equity Income and Invesco Perpetual High Income.