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Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan

Colorado

The team of Upromise Investments and The Vanguard Group manages the Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan. It features age-based and static portfolio options utilizing Vanguard mutual funds. Accounts can be linked to the Upromise rewards service.

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
3.33	2.76	3.50	4.40	0.75

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Access enrollment materials and open an account with Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan in just a few easy steps.

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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.

Research other state plans
or
Compare between state plans

Program type:

Savings

Telephone:

1-800-997-4295

Web site:

Click here to visit

Twitter

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How to enroll:

Enroll directly with the program.

Initial year of operation:

2004

State agency(ies):

CollegeInvest, a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education

Program manager:

Upromise Investments, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc.

Program distributor:

Vanguard Marketing Corporation

Manager contract term:

Premium subscription required for this data.

Eligibility

State residency requirements:

None

Who can be a participant/owner in the program?

U.S. citizens or resident aliens, trusts, 501(c)(3) organizations, and local governments.

Significant time or age restrictions imposed by the program:

None

Contributions

Maximum contributions:

Accepts contributions until all account balances in Colorado's 529 plans for the same beneficiary reach $350,000.

Minimum contributions:

The minimum initial contribution is $25, and the minimum subsequent contribution is $15.

Investment Options

Age-based investment options:

The Age-Based option is offered in 3 different risk levels (Aggressive, Moderate, and Conservative) each containing 4 or 5 portfolios of underlying mutual funds. Contributions are placed into the portfolio corresponding to the risk level selected and the number of years to expected enrollment, and later reassigned to more conservative portfolios as the beneficiary approaches college age.

Static investment options:

Select among 5 multi-fund portfolios with varying risk tolerances and 3 individual-fund portfolios.

Underlying investments:

Vanguard mutual funds.

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.

Account maintenance fee:

$20 for accounts with less than $2,500, waived for Colorado residents and for accounts opting to receive all documents electronically.

Program management fees:

0.46% manager fee; fee includes underlying fund expenses and a 0.06% fee to the state.
CollegeInvest may charge an administrative fee of up to 0.10%. Effective September 1, 2011, 0.04% of the manager fee was waived for a net fee of 0.06%. CollegeInvest will periodically reevaluate the 0.06% administrative fee rate and raise or lower it not to exceed 0.10%.

Expenses of the underlying investments:

Not applicable, included in the program management fee.

Total asset-based expense ratio:

0.46%

Taxes and other Benefits

Program match on contributions:

The Matching Grant Program provides a dollar-for-dollar match of up to $500 in contributions for lower- to middle-income Colorado residents to accounts with an eligible beneficiary (a dependent under age 13 at the time of initial application). Applications are accepted each year between September 1 and December 31. The match can extend for a maximum five years. Matching grants for future years are subject to continued funding by the sponsor. The CollegeInvest 529 Scholarship provides a $2,000 scholarship to any full-time student who is a Colorado resident, has maintained or has had a parent/guardian maintain a CollegeInvest account for at least two years, and can substantiate an expected family contribution (EFC) of $25,000 or less. The scholarship is renewable each year up to a total of four years or $8,000. Applications are accepted January 1 through July 31.

State tax deduction or credit for contributions:

Contributions to a Colorado 529 plan, to the extent of the contributor's federal taxable income, are deductible in computing Colorado taxable income. Rollover contributions are not eligible for the deduction.

Value of in-state tax benefits:

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State tax recapture provisions:

The principal portion of rollovers and nonqualified withdrawals from this plan are included in Colorado taxable income to the extent of prior Colorado tax deductions. Nonqualified withdrawals for this purpose do not include withdrawals made as the result of the beneficiary's death or disability or withdrawals made on account of the beneficiary's receipt of a scholarship.