James Earle, leader of Troutman Pepper Locke’s Tax + Benefits Practice Group, was quoted in the February 4, 2026 Pensions & Investments article, “Trump Touts Trump Accounts.”
I spoke on Monday with James Earle, a partner at law firm Troutman Pepper Locke, who said Trump accounts have the power to do a lot of good for children, but he is concerned that only investor-savvy families will take advantage of the program since parents or guardians have to register their child online in order to open an account.
“What I worry about is that the folks who will take action are the investor class, folks who understand the value of putting $1,000 into an account and letting it ride for 18 years in the S&P 500, and have the wherewithal to put more monies in over time, or work for an employer that does matching contributions or allows for cafeteria plan funding, like I expect a lot of companies to do,” Earle told me.
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Earle told me that any firm that currently manages IRAs is going to want in on Trump accounts.
“It’s more assets under management, which has fees associated with it, and opportunities to upsell other products,” Earle said. “Or when the child turns 18, get them into an IRA product, or do some sort of Roth transaction.”
He added: “Sounds like good client development.”