Opening a joint brokerage account with parent vs. having POA

Hello,

I wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts on opening a joint brokerage account with a parent versus having POA over their brokerage account.

Backstory: I (age 29) am in finance and love personal investing. My parent (age 70) has finally come around to the idea of investing after being apprehensive for years. They have some money for retirement (my guess is $0-100,000). They do collect social security as well. I’d like them to invest what they do have so they can delay running out of money/receive supplemental income. They don’t understand the wherewithal on proper investing, so ideally I would help guide them. I’ve thought of a few ways on how to set this up and run the account. I am an only child.

1: Open a JTWROS with them:

Pros: + (my input)

• I can contribute to the account financially along with them. (I wouldn’t be able to commit too much but it’s better than nothing $100/mo)
• I can make investment choices for them (primarily ETF’s based on income) and they can utilize the income from the account.
• Transfers ownership to me on death (Not a huge plus because I’m an only child)

Cons: + (my input)

• They could siphon all the funds in there. (Not really a concern of mine, this account is for their benefit, if they take it all they take it all)
• They can impact my credit (They have good credit but I do suppose they could make poor choices outside of the account that could hurt me. Don’t think this will happen but you never know.)
• Don’t have stepped up tax advantages (Don’t think this is a big issue since I’m contributing with them, the value when I take full ownership wouldn’t be a large difference since it’s shorter term and not growth securities.)

2: Have them open a individual account and be granted POA

Pros:

• No risk of my credit being harmed
• Ability to make investment choices for them
• Tax advantages with inherited account
• Utilize income from the account

Cons:

• Inability to help contribute funds to the account (as far as I know / I could send them money to deposit but that may qualify as gifts, which could also technically happen in a JTWROS as well)
• Having to have them take control on setting up the account and setting up POA (They live in CA and I live in MI, it would take a few phone calls and coordination to probably get this all set up)
• Fiduciary obligation (I want the best for them, but I’m not registered as a CFP, so I can guide them but not sure if I’m “officially” qualified to make investments in their behalf)

Any and all input is welcomed! Would love to hear your thoughts on how you would approach it and anything I’ve missed. If anyone would like additional info, I’m happy to provide it.

Thanks