February 14th… Valentine’s Day, the day of love. In retail, a fierce competition unfolds over the best Valentine’s Day gifts. But what do women actually want for Valentine’s Day? Flowers? Chocolates? Perfume? Or perhaps something more sentimental, like a love lock romantically placed on a bridge or a heartfelt poem written by their partner – maybe even without the help of AI?
Online broker Trade Republic highlights a gift idea that may be less romantic but certainly more sustainable: personalized stock gifts. Their motto? Seed capital for life goals instead of fleeting presents like flowers or perfume.
Trade Republic explains in a press release: "Our gifting feature allows users to give stocks and ETFs that can grow in value over time, contributing to long-term wealth building." At first glance, "contributing to wealth building" might not sound romantic – but on second thought, could it actually be?
The idea of gifting stocks seems to be catching on. Trade Republic only introduced this feature in December 2024, and within just two months, one million stock gifts have been given, totaling over 50 million euros for long-term wealth building. The most popular gifts? The MSCI World ETF, as well as NVIDIA and Apple stocks. Through the app, users can select the desired stock or ETF, set an amount (even fractional shares are possible), choose the recipient, and add a personal message. The gift can also be scheduled for a specific date in advance. The only requirement? Both the giver and recipient must have a Trade Republic account.
Now that’s a creative marketing idea from the finance sector!
Anke Dembowski is a financial journalist and author of various investment fund-related and other financial books. She is also a co-founder of the "Fondsfrauen" network.