investing money for a friends child

[heavy_chevy29]

my friend/bro of almost 20 years has a son that is about 8-9 months old. i was thinking of setting the kid up with something so that he has some cash for the future(wedding, kids, bills, college, bad ass car lol). i was thinking around 5k. my friend doesn't know im planning this, so I wont have a ss#. are bonds the only thing or can i do something else for him. any help would be great. thanks

[V]

Buy 5k worth of gold, and wrap it up as a gift. lol

but seriously, i would suggest savings bonds, don't think you need SS#, but with our government, id be weary of even those now.

[Squirrel]

something like a precious metals mutual fund might be a cool gift to give 20 years from now

[sweetbmxrider]

Buy gas, should be worth more than gold by then