My First Investment
OP Ensisijoitus
My First Investment
OP Ensisijoitus
Background & context
Finland has one of the oldest populations in the world, and the birth rate keeps declining.
This is a problem for the country, as the pension system is dependent on the working-aged population. It’s also a problem for OP Pohjola, as their customer pool will start declining and the competition for new clients will intensify.
Making independent retirement savings is the best way to secure one’s future. The earlier one starts saving and investing, the better. But not all families have equal financial know-how to pass along to their children. Without a nudge in the right direction, it can be hard to get started with investing.
OP wanted to equalize the playing field and encourage parents to get their children into investing as early as possible. This way, all Finnish children could have an equal start to learning financial skills, and using their skills when they reach adulthood. Simultaneously, OP wanted to secure a larger share of the future customers, and make the children lifelong customers that would choose OP for their other banking services once they reach adulthood.
Idea & strategy
The younger a person starts investing in their retirement the better. However, when a young person starts earning their first paychecks, it’s hard to get them interested in preparing for the distant future. But what if they’d already been doing it all their life?
The solution was My First Investment, a 100 euro initial investment to a world index fund that OP gives to every newborn in Finland. This initial investment helps get the new generation into the habit of investing early regardless of their background. It’s also an efficient way to acquire new customers that are tied to OP Pohjola from birth.
How it works
1
Parents claim the investment by opening an OP bank account for their child
2
OP gives the child 100 euros worth of world index fund units
3
Parents are continually educated on how to keep investing for their child
4
As the child grows, so do their investments. And once they start earning their own money, they already know how to invest it
Execution & results
My First Investment launched in February of 2025, making all children born in Finland from the start of 2025 forwards eligible for it. To claim My First Investment, the parents of the newborn just have to open an account for their child at OP. After that, the parents are continuously educated on how to keep investing for their child. As the child grows, so do their investments. And once the children grow up and start earning their own money, they already know how and where to invest it.
Through extensive PR and marketing campaigns, My First Investment generated over 80 news stories in Finland. So far 31,5% of the babies born in 2025 have claimed it. By keeping investing in the news, OP also has also seen a 16% increase in new investment accounts compared to 2024 so far. At the same time, the Finnish government has launched an initiative for a government-funded first investment that would be granted to all newborns automatically.
News stories around Finland
Overall impressions
during launch in Finland
of Finnish babies born in 2025 have claimed My First Investment
more investment accounts have been opened in OP compared to 2024