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NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Select Series

Maine

The Maine NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Select Series broker-sold 529 plan consists of age-based, static multi-fund, and individual-fund options from a number of money managers: Allianz/PIMCO, BlackRock, Eaton Vance, Franklin Templeton, MainStay, MFS, and Thornburg. In addition, the Principal Plus Portfolio and NextGen Savings Portfolio are offered. For complete details, see a Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor or, for Maine residents, a participating Maine Distribution Agent. To find a financial advisor in your area, use the Find a 529 Pro Directory.

5-Cap Rating

Resident:
Non-Resident:

Savingforcollege.com's 5-Cap Ratings provides an evaluation and comparison of 529 plans, utilizing a formula that examines dozens of factors grouped into the following categories. (Scale 0 to 5; 5 is highest)

Performance	Costs	Features	Reliability	Resident Upgrade
3.48	4.03	3.97	4.70	0.28

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Enroll in NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Select Series through a financial advisor. Search our directory of qualified 529 professionals to find one near you.

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General

Did you know?

Residents are not limited to investing in their own state's plan. Another state may offer a plan that performs better and has lower fees. If there is no tax break offered for in-state investors ... shop around!

Also, the plan chosen does not affect which state the student enrolls in. An investor can live in NY, invest in a plan from NV and send a student to college in FL.

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Program type:

Savings

Telephone:

1-877-463-9843

Telephone for broker use:

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Web site:

Click here to visit

How to enroll:

Enroll through a Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor or certain other Maine distribution agents.

Initial year of operation:

1999

State agency(ies):

Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) with investment oversight provided by the State Treasurer

Program manager:

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

Program distributor:

Merrill Lynch

Manager contract term:

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Eligibility

State residency requirements:

None

Who can be a participant/owner in the program?

U.S. citizens and resident aliens at least 18 years old, UGMA/UTMA custodians, and legal entities.

Significant time or age restrictions imposed by the program:

None

Contributions

Maximum contributions:

Accepts contributions until all account balances in 529 plans for the same beneficiary reach $380,000.

Minimum contributions:

With lump-sum contributions, the minimum initial contribution is $250 ($25 per portfolio), and the minimum subsequent contribution is $50 ($25 per portfolio), may be waived for Maine residents eligible for certain Maine grants. With the automatic investment plan, the minimum contribution level is $50 per month.

Investment Options

Age-based investment options:

4 age-based options are offered, each using a different investment manager. The Franklin Templeton Age-Based Portfolios option contains five portfolios of underlying mutual funds. The Allianz/PIMCO Age-Based Portfolios, MFS Age-Based Portfolios and the BlackRock Age-Based Portfolios each contains 6 portfolios of underlying mutual funds. Contributions are placed into the portfolio corresponding to the beneficiary’s age and desired investment manager, and later reassigned to more conservative portfolios as the beneficiary approaches college age.

Static investment options:

Select among 3 multi-fund and 4 individual-fund portfolios using Franklin Templeton funds, 2 multi-fund and 2 individual-fund portfolios using MFS funds, 3 multi-fund and 3 individual-fund portfolios using BlackRock funds, 2 multi-fund and 3 individual-fund portfolios using Allianz/PIMCO funds, an Eaton Vance large-cap value portfolio, a MainStay large cap growth portfolio, a Thornburg international equity portfolio, the Principal Plus Portfolio, and the NextGen Savings Portfolio.

Underlying investments:

Allianz/PIMCO, BlackRock, Eaton Vance, Franklin Templeton, MainStay, MFS and Thornburg mutual funds. The Principal Plus Portfolio consists of one or more guaranteed investment contracts issued by one or more insurance companies, corporate fixed-income investments, cash equivalents and/or similar instruments. The NextGen Savings Portfolio is comprised of an interest-bearing bank deposit account with Bank of America, N.A.

Underlying fund allocations:

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Investment performance link:

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Portfolio Fees & Performance Lookup

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Fees & Expenses

Enrollment or application fee:

None, but contributions may be subject to a sales charge depending on share class.

Account maintenance fee:

$50 annually on accounts less than $20,000, waived when the account owner or beneficiary is a Maine resident, for employees of the program manager, for anyone making at least $2,500 in contributions during the year, and for Merrill Lynch employees. The annual account maintenance fee is reduced to $25 if an employer has arranged for an employee payroll direct deposit relationship with the program manager.

Program management fees:

For the Principal Plus Portfolio:
0.46%, includes 0.11% fee to the state

None for the NextGen Savings Portfolio.

For all other portfolios:
None (Class A) or 0.75% (Class C), with additional 0.11% fee to the state

Expenses of the underlying investments:

Ranges from 0.53% to 1.25% (portfolio weighted average) in the age-based and static multi-fund portfolios and from 0.94% to 1.27% in the individual-fund portfolios. None for the Principal Plus Portfolio and NextGen Savings Portfolio.

Total asset-based expense ratio:

Class A: 0.00% - 1.38%
Class C: 0.00% - 2.13%

Broker loads and commissions:

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Breakpoint pricing:

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Taxes and other Benefits

Program match on contributions:

New accounts opened for Maine residents after January 1, 2011 are eligible for three one-time grants: a NextGen Initial Matching Grant of $200 if the account is opened with at least $50; a NextStep Matching Grant which provides a one-third match on contributions made in the first two years after opening an account up to a maximum of $400; and a NextGen Automated Funding Grant of $50 by choosing the automated funding option.

Separately, the Harold Alfond College Challenge makes a one-time $500 grant available to all Maine babies to start a NextGen account, regardless of family income.

State tax deduction or credit for contributions:

Contributions to Maine AND non-Maine 529 plans of up to $250 per beneficiary per year are deductible in computing Maine taxable income for taxpayers with federal adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less (single or married filing separate) or $200,000 or less (joint or head of household).