Can one of you guys share a Program or Broker name that can/will take that 2000 and handle it for the newborn until they are adults??
I have a grand Niece on the way in April and this sounds like something that I could get done for the little tike. I would rather do a lump sum of about 2k upon her birth and not have to do any maintenance or Required additional payments.
This is something I would strongly recommend you NEVER do. What you are talking about is called discretionary trading authority. A broker must have written permission from you to make any trades either buy or sell, and also the approval of the brokerage firm. Many people had given these permissions prior to the crash of 1987. There were lots of law suits and disciplinary actions against brokers who made lousy and unauthorized trades during that time.
If you were to pursue granting this authority you should first investigate the person to whom you are giving permissions. See how long they've been doing this and check their licenses. Be sure to check for disciplinary actions against them. FINRA maintains a data base of all this information
If what you want is active professional management of an account for a child I would suggest an index mutual fund . That will give you professional management, oversight, and diversification at the outset. Any of the large mutual fund families can provide that for you. All trading within the fund will be done by professional managers. The account paperwork will address and explain that trading authority.
Just tell them what you want to do and they can guide you into the correct LEGAL vehicle. It may be an UGMA or UTMA or just a joint account with you and the minor as account owners.............also as Mark says a custodial account with a broker like TDA will work also.
Please do not give discretionary trading authority to any individual that you do not personally know well.............other than as described above in the case of a mutual fund