529 College

How Do I Compare 529 Colleges?

Today nearly all the states in the US offer a 529 college plan. And with over 70 plans on the platter the choice is rather difficult and baffling. Hence the 529 college comparison is not simple. Let's just consider the top 5 and the bottom five plans.

The top five: 1. Utah Educational Savings Plan - Trust Managed by the highly reputed Vanguard the asset costs here is very low. The asset range varies between 0 to 0.44 %. The quality of choices is excellent. The plan's flexibility is good and the friendliness with the shareholder is excellent. 2. Nevada Vanguard 529 College savings Plan Also managed by Vanguard it's very similar to the Utah Educational savings plan Trust. But if minute 529 College comparisons is considered then it is seen that the Nevada Vanguard 529 College Plan scores over the Utah Educational Plan Trust in terms of flexibility. The asset range is also from 0.65 to 0.85 %. 3. Virginia College America - This is managed by American and the asset cost are below average. The range is between 0.67 to 1.47 % but this figure is exclusive of the front-end load of the cost for class A shares. The rest of the features are similar to the Nevada vanguard 529 College Savings Plan. 4. Michigan Education Savings program - Managed by TIAA-CREF the asset cost is low and the asset range is 0.65 %. Quality of choices and friendliness with the shareholder is good but not as good as the above 529 college plans. Further 529 college comparison reveals that the flexibility is also fair but not as good as the above plans. 5. Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings plan - It has the lowest asset range of 0.65 to 1.27 % but is excellent in terms of quality of choices and friendliness with the shareholder. Managed by T. Rowe Price the asset cost is below average but flexibility is decent.

We see that most of the top 529 college plans are managed by Vanguard who's brand is known for low costs.

The bottom five are: 1. Wisconsin EdVest College Savings 2. Arizona Wadell & Reed InvestEd Plan 3. Arizona Family College Savings Program 4. Wyoming 529 College Achievement Plan 5. Ohio Putnam CollegeAdvantage

In all these plans the common feature is the high cost which is the most noticeable flaw. Flexibility is also impaired in most of them except the Ohio plan. Moreover most of these are overpriced.

Now that the best and the worst is in front of you make your choice and invest wisely. Making the right choice is crucial. Consider various parameters while making your 529 college comparison and choose the one that you think best suits your requirements.