Morningstar Releases Medalist Ratings for 529 College-Savings Plans, Including 11 Upgrades and Nine Downgrades
"Our 2024 assessment of 529 education savings plans highlights significant strides in investment quality and state stewardship, with more than half of evaluated plans receiving a Bronze rating or better," said
A full list of Morningstar’s 529 ratings and key insights is available in a Fund Spy article published today on Morningstar.com. The 2024 ratings reflect Morningstar’s updated methodology for evaluating 529 education savings plans. The updated framework increases the emphasis on the Process and Parent pillars. Plan fees, now evaluated using a modified z-score, have a varying impact on the overall rating.
In this year’s assessment, Morningstar analysts upgraded 11 plans and downgraded nine. Five plans are new to coverage from the 2023 ratings. The table below shows these changes.
Upgrades
|
State |
Current
|
Previous Morningstar
|
T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan (Direct) |
AK |
Gold |
Silver |
Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings (Direct) |
IL |
Gold |
Silver |
U. Fund College Investing Plan (Direct) |
MA |
Gold |
Silver |
ScholarShare College Savings Plan (Direct) |
CA |
Silver |
Bronze |
CHET Direct College Savings Plan (Direct) |
CT |
Silver |
Bronze |
NextGen College Investing Plan Direct (Direct) |
ME |
Silver |
Bronze |
UNIQUE College Investing Plan (Direct) |
NH |
Silver |
Bronze |
BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan (Advisor) |
OH |
Silver |
Bronze |
Indiana529 Direct Savings Plan (Direct) |
IN |
Bronze |
Neutral |
Bloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan (Direct) |
NE |
Bronze |
Neutral |
|
NJ |
Neutral |
Negative |
|
|
|
|
Downgrades
|
State |
Current
|
Previous Morningstar
|
The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan (Direct) |
NV |
Bronze |
Silver |
Invest529 (Direct) |
|
Bronze |
Silver |
Edvest 529 Plan (Direct) |
WI |
Bronze |
Silver |
CollegeCounts 529 Fund Direct-Sold Plan (Direct) |
AL |
Neutral |
Bronze |
CollegeInvest Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan (Direct) |
CO |
Neutral |
Bronze |
Bright Directions Advisor-Guided 529 College Savings Plan (Advisor) |
IL |
Neutral |
Bronze |
National College Savings Program (Direct) |
NC |
Neutral |
Bronze |
Future Scholar 529 (Direct) |
SC |
Neutral |
Bronze |
Future Scholar 529 (Advisor) |
SC |
Negative |
Neutral |
|
|
|
|
New to Coverage
|
State |
Morningstar
|
Previous Morningstar
|
DC College Savings Plan (Direct) |
DC |
Bronze |
|
Scholars Choice Education Savings Plan (Advisor) |
CO |
Neutral |
|
The Louisiana START Saving for College (Direct) |
LA |
Neutral |
|
MFS 529 Savings Plan (Advisor) |
OR |
Neutral |
|
|
NV |
Negative |
|
For more information on 529 college-savings plans – including use cases and tips for selecting a plan – visit Morningstar’s 529 Plan Guide on Morningstar.com.
About
Morningstar’s
Morningstar’s
Medalist Ratings are not statements of fact, nor are they credit or risk ratings, and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. A Medalist Rating is not intended to be nor is a guarantee of future performance. This press release is for informational purposes only; references to securities should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the securities.
©2024 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MORN-R
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Source: Morningstar, Inc.