"Brokers and 529 Plans - An Eight-Step Guide"

http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/brokers-and-529-plans---an-eight-step-guide

"Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code was greeted with little fanfare when it first arrived in 1996. Granting federal tax breaks to participants in state-sponsored tuition savings programs, the provision went largely unnoticed in the investing world even as states began offering these programs. Until recently, few families had heard of "529 plans" and brokers generally had little reason to recommend them. How times have changed! Following a path laid by 401(k) plans nearly 20 years previously, state-sponsored college savings programs have now broken out into the mainstream. Millions of parents and grandparents have already established accounts in these programs for their college-bound children and grandchildren (or even for themselves), and new accounts continue to be opened at record pace. Assets in all 529 savings programs grew from $2.5 billion at the beginning of 2001 to over $9 billion at the end of that year. They are expected to reach $25 billion by the end of this year...."