Enrollment Year Investment Portfolios

Select Your Enrollment Year

Your first step is to determine the year in which you expect your future student will need to use the savings. Typically, families assume their student will need their education savings at age 18 but it could be at any age. Once you’ve estimated when you expect your student will need to use their savings, select the enrollment year portfolio that represents the date closest to your estimated date of enrollment. For example, if in 2020 your future student is 5 years old and you anticipate they will begin college when they are 18 years old, they may need their college savings in 13 years. This means you would select the 2032/2033 (2020 plus 13 years).

Enrollment Year Investment Portfolios

Select Your Investment Management Approach

The asset allocations in the Enrollment Year Investment Portfolios change each quarter moving from more aggressive the longer the time horizon to more conservative as the time horizon for needing the funds shortens. You may choose either an Active or Passive strategy for the underlying funds when choosing an Enrollment Year Investment Portfolio.

• Active Management. The Active Enrollment Year Investment Portfolios are intended for those who prefer to invest primarily in mutual funds that are actively managed. An actively managed fund has a portfolio manager or a team of managers who, through the combination of research, market forecasting, experience and expertise, actively manage the fund in an attempt to beat a particular benchmark (usually a broad index). Depending on the manager and fees charged, active management provides the opportunity to outperform the market.
• Passive Management. The Passive Enrollment Year Investment Portfolios are intended for those who prefer to invest primarily in mutual funds that are index mutual funds. Passive management is a low-cost investment strategy in which a mutual fund attempts to match, rather than outperform, a particular stock or bond market index, also known as indexing.

Consider Your Education Savings Goals

Families can also take advantage of the versatility of the Enrollment Year Investment Portfolios to save for all types of qualified education, including college/university, technical college, professional and graduate schools, and K-12 tuition.* Simply choose the portfolio which corresponds to the year you estimate your student will need the savings.

*The tax reform legislation changes allowing withdrawals for K-12 expenses were on a federal level. Tax consequences of using 529 plans for elementary or secondary education tuition expenses will vary depending on state law, and may include recapture of tax deductions received from the original state as well as penalties. Consult with a tax or legal advisor in this regard.

Align with Your Risk Tolerance

What level of risk are you comfortable with? To help you better understand your risk level, you can take our Risk Tolerance Quiz. If you are a conservative investor, you may wish to choose an earlier enrollment year fund regardless of the year your future student begins college or technical college. More aggressive investors can select a later date. Investors aligning with their risk tolerance or seeking particular investment objectives can view asset allocation across enrollment year dates below to help guide their decision.