Press releases

Savingforcollege.com Releases 529 Plan Performance Rankings for Q2

Monday, August 15th 2011

T. Rowe Price continues to deliver winning investment results in its 529 plans, according to 529 Plan Composite Performance Rankings as of June 30, 2011 released by Savingforcollege.com. At least one of the 529 plans managed by T. Rowe Price for the states of Alaska and Maryland appears among the top-five, direct-sold plans for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year investment performance.

Kansas’ Schwab 529 College Savings Plan was first among all direct-sold 529 plans in three- and five-year investment performance as of June 30, 2011, but failed to place among the top 10 plans for one-year performance.

South Dakota’s CollegeAccess 529 plan, available on a direct-sold basis only to residents of South Dakota, placed first in the one-year performance category.

“The results suggest that 529 plans using actively-managed funds can compete effectively with those programs relying exclusively on lower-cost index funds,” said Joseph Hurley, founder of Savingforcollege.com. Many states have switched to index funds in recent years in their efforts to shave expenses for plan participants. However, the 529 plans cited above have a substantial portion of their assets invested in actively-managed funds.

Hurley cautions, however, that past performance does not guarantee future returns, and that a plan currently ranking high will not necessarily outperform its peers in the future. “Our rankings often show significant movement from quarter to quarter,” he said.

The full reports showing one-year and three-year rankings for all direct-sold 529 plans can be viewed at http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/2011-plan-performance-rankings-q2

Savingforcollege.com also produces rankings for advisor-sold 529 plans along with all underlying investment data, available through a subscription. Rankings are updated each quarter.

One-year Composite Performance Rankings (48 plans ranked)

1. South Dakota: CollegeAccess 529 (Multiple fund families)
2. Alaska: T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
3. Maine: NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Direct Series (Multiple fund families)
4. Alaska: University of Alaska College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
5. Maryland: College Savings Plans of Maryland -- College Investment Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
6. Vermont: Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan (TIAA-CREF funds)
7. Utah: Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust (Vanguard mutual funds)
8. Oklahoma: Oklahoma College Savings Plan (TIAA-CREF funds)
9. Michigan: Michigan Education Savings Program (TIAA-CREF funds)
10. Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold, Alternative RI) (AllianceBernstein mutual funds)

Three-year Composite Performance Rankings (45 plans ranked)

1. Kansas: Schwab 529 College Savings Plan (Multiple fund families)
2. Wisconsin: EdVest (Direct-sold) (Mostly Wells Fargo funds)
3. Maryland: College Savings Plans of Maryland -- College Investment Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
4. Michigan: Michigan Education Savings Program (TIAA-CREF funds)
5. Alaska: University of Alaska College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
6. New Jersey: NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan (Franklin Templeton funds)
7. Alaska: T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
8. New York: New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan (Vanguard funds)
9. West Virginia: SMART529 Select (Dimensional Funds)
10. Utah: Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust (Vanguard mutual funds)

Five-year Composite Performance Rankings (36 plans ranked)

1. Kansas: Schwab 529 College Savings Plan (Multiple fund families)
2. Michigan: Michigan Education Savings Program (TIAA-CREF funds)
3. Alaska: University of Alaska College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
4. Maryland: College Savings Plans of Maryland -- College Investment Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
5. Nevada: The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan (USAA mutual funds)
6. Wisconsin: EdVest (Direct-sold) (Multiple fund families)
7. Alaska: T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
8. Utah: Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust (Vanguard mutual funds)
9. Virginia: Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST) (Multiple fund families)
10. Ohio: Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan (Vanguard mutual funds)

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