Trump rings the opening bell for the stock market from his desk

President Donald Trump brought the symbolism of the stock market into the Oval Office Monday morning as he rang the opening bell on top of his ceremonial desk and encouraged American parents to open new investment accounts for their children.

The businessman-turned-president has long prided himself on the stock market’s performance during his tenure, and he’s rung an opening bell before. But this time he rung the bell for both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, the first time he’s brought so much of Wall Street straight into the heart of the White House.

Young kids dressed in their Sunday best stood beside his desk, too. Their parents can now open what the president has branded Trump Accounts to invest in the stock market on their behalf. Other loved ones can put money in, too, and the kids can take the money out when they’re 18 to buy homes or go to college.

“Between individual contributions and the seed funds, $800 million in new capital will be invested in the stock market for America’s children this week,” Trump said, flanked by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, lawmakers and other stakeholders.

The Treasury will deposit $1,000 in government money into these accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028. Separately, the Dell Foundation is putting $250 into accounts of kids under 10 born in 2024 or earlier. Many private companies are also putting money into accounts that employees open for their children.

“It’s really not costing us anything,” Trump said. “We’re giving this money to children so they can have a good life, very early on, they can have a good life.”

The money in these accounts will go directly into one fund managed by the investment firm State Street. The fund is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SPYM and tracks the overall performance of the stock market’s largest companies.

Fund managers collect fees, but the SPYM is considered one of the lowest-cost investment options of its kind. Over time, the Treasury said it has selected four other low-cost funds that parents will be able to choose instead.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, turned to the kids in attendance to congratulate them on getting $250 from the people in the room and explain how their new accounts work.

“You know McDonald’s?” he asked. “You now own a little bit of McDonald’s. When you go to McDonald’s you can look around and say, ‘I own this place!'”

Trump, in his own kid-in-a-candy-store moment, told the group how much he loved having the opening bell on his desk.

“You mean the bell that I’m not giving back?” Trump quipped.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump rings the opening bell for the stock market from his desk