Investments for kids

[ModMan]

My niece and nephew are 5 and 3. They get so many toys and things at Christmas they'll still be opening them at Easter probably. So I'd like to pop them both £50 in some kind of account and then keep topping it up at Birthdays and perhaps every now and again throughout the year if I have some spare cash. I'd like them to be able to get to it when they're about 17 or 18 and put it towards Uni fees, College or a house deposit - whatever.

Any suggestions on the best way to do this and get decent returns (Better than the low ISA or poor chance on Premium Bonds) I'd prefer it to be in their names with me or the parents allowed to manage it. I also have a nephew (2 years old) who lives abroad and would like to do the same thing for him too, but would like it to be in the UK if possible.

[ModMan]

Thanks chaps. It looks like JISAs are the way to go then. It looks like April 2015 the ruled will change so they can both have one then regardless of when they were born. I may just wait until then and ask their parents to open them and I'll deposit some money. A Stocks and Shares ISA with a FTSE tracker seems like a good bet.

I found some useful information here: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/artic...