What's the smartest way to invest money gifted to a child?
I was in a similar situation with my now 6 year old.  So I'll share what I chose.  Like you, I was already funding a 529. So I opened a custodial brokerage account with Fidelity and chose to invest in very low expense index fund ETFs which are sponsored by Fidelity, so there are no commissions.  The index funds have a low turnover as well, so they tend to be minimal on capital gains. As mentioned in the other answer, CDs aren't paying anything right now.  And given your long time to grow, investing in the stock market is a decent bet. However, I would steer clear of any insurance products.  They tend to be heavy on fees and low on returns.  Insurance is for insuring something not for investing.