2009 Plan Performance Rankings Q1

Each quarter Savingforcollege.com analyzes the investment performance figures for thousands of 529 portfolios and ranks the 529 savings plans from best to worst for one-year investment performance and for three-year investment performance. The top performing 529 plans In producing our rankings, we compared the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. The lower the "percentile" the better the ranking. For more details on our methodology click here. We ranked plans that consumers can enroll in directly (see below), as well as those sold through brokers (click here). These rankings are for periods ended March 31, 2009. 1-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 21.37 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 21.78 3 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 26.85 4 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 27.06 5 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.17 6 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 37.41 7 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 32.52 8 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 33.10 9 Iowa College Savings Iowa 33.71 10 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 33.86 See the full list of 1-year direct sold rankings. 3-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 23.16 2 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 25.03 3 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 25.20 4 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 26.74 5 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 26.96 6 Iowa College Savings Iowa 28.18 7 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 28.26 8 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 28.67 9 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 28.82 10 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 28.88 See the full list of 3-year direct sold rankings. 5-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 19.66 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 28.12 3 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 28.75 4 Iowa College Savings Iowa 31.38 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 31.42 6 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.36 7 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 34.36 8 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 34.36 9 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 36.42 10 New Jersey NJBEST 529 Collee Savings Plan 37.13 See the full list of 5-year direct sold rankings. For broker sold plan rankings, click here. How to rank 529 plan performance Ranking over 3000 investment options is no easy task, considering the wide variety of options found in 529 savings plans, and it requires a special methodology. Step one: We select specific portfolios from each 529 plan that can be compared on an apples-to-apples basis to portfolios in other 529 plans based on their allocation among stocks, bonds, and short-term instruments (money market and guaranteed investments). We've set up seven different asset-allocation categories ranging from 100% equity to 100% short-term. Step two: Within each of the seven categories, we compare historical performance of the selected portfolios and assign each plan a percentile ranking between 1 (best) and 100 (worst). Separate rankings are developed for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year performance. Step three: We take the average of each 529 plan's percentile rankings in the seven asset-allocation categories to produce a combined or "composite" percentile ranking. We then produce reports showing how the 529 plans rank against each other in their composite percentile rankings. Note: we currently produce these composite rankings for 1-year, 3-year and 5-year performance. For a more in-depth explanation of our methodology, please read our white paper. See the 1-year direct sold, 3-year direct sold and 5-year direct sold rankings. More information Links to our full report on the composite rankings for this quarter are provided below for the direct-sold 529 plans. Only our Premium subscribers have access to composite rankings for adviser-sold 529 plans, to the underlying data supporting the rankings, and to separate 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year rankings for each of the seven different asset-allocation categories. In addition, subscribers can easily look up the historical performance for every 529 portfolio in every available share class by using our Fee and Performance Lookup Tool. Each quarter Savingforcollege.com analyzes the investment performance figures for thousands of 529 portfolios and ranks the 529 savings plans from best to worst for one-year investment performance and for three-year investment performance. The top performing 529 plans In producing our rankings, we compared the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. The lower the "percentile" the better the ranking. For more details on our methodology click here. We ranked plans that consumers can enroll in directly (see below), as well as those sold through brokers (click here). These rankings are for periods ended March 31, 2009. 1-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 21.37 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 21.78 3 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 26.85 4 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 27.06 5 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.17 6 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 37.41 7 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 32.52 8 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 33.10 9 Iowa College Savings Iowa 33.71 10 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 33.86 See the full list of 1-year direct sold rankings. 3-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 23.16 2 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 25.03 3 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 25.20 4 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 26.74 5 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 26.96 6 Iowa College Savings Iowa 28.18 7 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 28.26 8 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 28.67 9 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 28.82 10 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 28.88 See the full list of 3-year direct sold rankings. 5-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 19.66 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 28.12 3 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 28.75 4 Iowa College Savings Iowa 31.38 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 31.42 6 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.36 7 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 34.36 8 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 34.36 9 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 36.42 10 New Jersey NJBEST 529 Collee Savings Plan 37.13 See the full list of 5-year direct sold rankings. For broker sold plan rankings, click here. How to rank 529 plan performance Ranking over 3000 investment options is no easy task, considering the wide variety of options found in 529 savings plans, and it requires a special methodology. Step one: We select specific portfolios from each 529 plan that can be compared on an apples-to-apples basis to portfolios in other 529 plans based on their allocation among stocks, bonds, and short-term instruments (money market and guaranteed investments). We've set up seven different asset-allocation categories ranging from 100% equity to 100% short-term. Step two: Within each of the seven categories, we compare historical performance of the selected portfolios and assign each plan a percentile ranking between 1 (best) and 100 (worst). Separate rankings are developed for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year performance. Step three: We take the average of each 529 plan's percentile rankings in the seven asset-allocation categories to produce a combined or "composite" percentile ranking. We then produce reports showing how the 529 plans rank against each other in their composite percentile rankings. Note: we currently produce these composite rankings for 1-year, 3-year and 5-year performance. For a more in-depth explanation of our methodology, please read our white paper. See the 1-year direct sold, 3-year direct sold and 5-year direct sold rankings. More information Links to our full report on the composite rankings for this quarter are provided below for the direct-sold 529 plans. Only our Premium subscribers have access to composite rankings for adviser-sold 529 plans, to the underlying data supporting the rankings, and to separate 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year rankings for each of the seven different asset-allocation categories. In addition, subscribers can easily look up the historical performance for every 529 portfolio in every available share class by using our Fee and Performance Lookup Tool. 2009 Plan Performance Rankings Q1 Each quarter Savingforcollege.com analyzes the investment performance figures for thousands of 529 portfolios and ranks the 529 savings plans from best to worst for one-year investment performance and for three-year investment performance. The top performing 529 plans In producing our rankings, we compared the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. The lower the "percentile" the better the ranking. For more details on our methodology click here. We ranked plans that consumers can enroll in directly (see below), as well as those sold through brokers (click here). These rankings are for periods ended March 31, 2009. 1-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 21.37 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 21.78 3 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 26.85 4 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 27.06 5 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.17 6 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 37.41 7 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 32.52 8 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 33.10 9 Iowa College Savings Iowa 33.71 10 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 33.86 See the full list of 1-year direct sold rankings. 3-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 23.16 2 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 25.03 3 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 25.20 4 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 26.74 5 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 26.96 6 Iowa College Savings Iowa 28.18 7 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 28.26 8 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 28.67 9 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 28.82 10 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 28.88 See the full list of 3-year direct sold rankings. 5-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 19.66 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 28.12 3 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 28.75 4 Iowa College Savings Iowa 31.38 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 31.42 6 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.36 7 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 34.36 8 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 34.36 9 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 36.42 10 New Jersey NJBEST 529 Collee Savings Plan 37.13 See the full list of 5-year direct sold rankings. For broker sold plan rankings, click here. How to rank 529 plan performance Ranking over 3000 investment options is no easy task, considering the wide variety of options found in 529 savings plans, and it requires a special methodology. Step one: We select specific portfolios from each 529 plan that can be compared on an apples-to-apples basis to portfolios in other 529 plans based on their allocation among stocks, bonds, and short-term instruments (money market and guaranteed investments). We've set up seven different asset-allocation categories ranging from 100% equity to 100% short-term. Step two: Within each of the seven categories, we compare historical performance of the selected portfolios and assign each plan a percentile ranking between 1 (best) and 100 (worst). Separate rankings are developed for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year performance. Step three: We take the average of each 529 plan's percentile rankings in the seven asset-allocation categories to produce a combined or "composite" percentile ranking. We then produce reports showing how the 529 plans rank against each other in their composite percentile rankings. Note: we currently produce these composite rankings for 1-year, 3-year and 5-year performance. For a more in-depth explanation of our methodology, please read our white paper. See the 1-year direct sold, 3-year direct sold and 5-year direct sold rankings. More information Links to our full report on the composite rankings for this quarter are provided below for the direct-sold 529 plans. Only our Premium subscribers have access to composite rankings for adviser-sold 529 plans, to the underlying data supporting the rankings, and to separate 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year rankings for each of the seven different asset-allocation categories. In addition, subscribers can easily look up the historical performance for every 529 portfolio in every available share class by using our Fee and Performance Lookup Tool. Each quarter Savingforcollege.com analyzes the investment performance figures for thousands of 529 portfolios and ranks the 529 savings plans from best to worst for one-year investment performance and for three-year investment performance. The top performing 529 plans In producing our rankings, we compared the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. The lower the "percentile" the better the ranking. For more details on our methodology click here. We ranked plans that consumers can enroll in directly (see below), as well as those sold through brokers (click here). These rankings are for periods ended March 31, 2009. 1-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 21.37 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 21.78 3 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 26.85 4 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 27.06 5 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.17 6 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 37.41 7 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 32.52 8 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 33.10 9 Iowa College Savings Iowa 33.71 10 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 33.86 See the full list of 1-year direct sold rankings. 3-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 23.16 2 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 25.03 3 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 25.20 4 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 26.74 5 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 26.96 6 Iowa College Savings Iowa 28.18 7 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 28.26 8 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 28.67 9 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 28.82 10 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 28.88 See the full list of 3-year direct sold rankings. 5-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 19.66 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 28.12 3 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 28.75 4 Iowa College Savings Iowa 31.38 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 31.42 6 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.36 7 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 34.36 8 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 34.36 9 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 36.42 10 New Jersey NJBEST 529 Collee Savings Plan 37.13 See the full list of 5-year direct sold rankings. For broker sold plan rankings, click here. How to rank 529 plan performance Ranking over 3000 investment options is no easy task, considering the wide variety of options found in 529 savings plans, and it requires a special methodology. Step one: We select specific portfolios from each 529 plan that can be compared on an apples-to-apples basis to portfolios in other 529 plans based on their allocation among stocks, bonds, and short-term instruments (money market and guaranteed investments). We've set up seven different asset-allocation categories ranging from 100% equity to 100% short-term. Step two: Within each of the seven categories, we compare historical performance of the selected portfolios and assign each plan a percentile ranking between 1 (best) and 100 (worst). Separate rankings are developed for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year performance. Step three: We take the average of each 529 plan's percentile rankings in the seven asset-allocation categories to produce a combined or "composite" percentile ranking. We then produce reports showing how the 529 plans rank against each other in their composite percentile rankings. Note: we currently produce these composite rankings for 1-year, 3-year and 5-year performance. For a more in-depth explanation of our methodology, please read our white paper. See the 1-year direct sold, 3-year direct sold and 5-year direct sold rankings. More information Links to our full report on the composite rankings for this quarter are provided below for the direct-sold 529 plans. Only our Premium subscribers have access to composite rankings for adviser-sold 529 plans, to the underlying data supporting the rankings, and to separate 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year rankings for each of the seven different asset-allocation categories. In addition, subscribers can easily look up the historical performance for every 529 portfolio in every available share class by using our Fee and Performance Lookup Tool. 2009 Plan Performance Rankings Q1 Each quarter Savingforcollege.com analyzes the investment performance figures for thousands of 529 portfolios and ranks the 529 savings plans from best to worst for one-year investment performance and for three-year investment performance. The top performing 529 plans In producing our rankings, we compared the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. The lower the "percentile" the better the ranking. For more details on our methodology click here. We ranked plans that consumers can enroll in directly (see below), as well as those sold through brokers (click here). These rankings are for periods ended March 31, 2009. 1-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 21.37 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 21.78 3 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 26.85 4 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 27.06 5 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.17 6 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 37.41 7 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 32.52 8 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 33.10 9 Iowa College Savings Iowa 33.71 10 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 33.86 See the full list of 1-year direct sold rankings. 3-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 23.16 2 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 25.03 3 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 25.20 4 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 26.74 5 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 26.96 6 Iowa College Savings Iowa 28.18 7 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 28.26 8 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 28.67 9 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 28.82 10 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 28.88 See the full list of 3-year direct sold rankings. 5-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 19.66 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 28.12 3 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 28.75 4 Iowa College Savings Iowa 31.38 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 31.42 6 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.36 7 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 34.36 8 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 34.36 9 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 36.42 10 New Jersey NJBEST 529 Collee Savings Plan 37.13 See the full list of 5-year direct sold rankings. For broker sold plan rankings, click here. How to rank 529 plan performance Ranking over 3000 investment options is no easy task, considering the wide variety of options found in 529 savings plans, and it requires a special methodology. Step one: We select specific portfolios from each 529 plan that can be compared on an apples-to-apples basis to portfolios in other 529 plans based on their allocation among stocks, bonds, and short-term instruments (money market and guaranteed investments). We've set up seven different asset-allocation categories ranging from 100% equity to 100% short-term. Step two: Within each of the seven categories, we compare historical performance of the selected portfolios and assign each plan a percentile ranking between 1 (best) and 100 (worst). Separate rankings are developed for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year performance. Step three: We take the average of each 529 plan's percentile rankings in the seven asset-allocation categories to produce a combined or "composite" percentile ranking. We then produce reports showing how the 529 plans rank against each other in their composite percentile rankings. Note: we currently produce these composite rankings for 1-year, 3-year and 5-year performance. For a more in-depth explanation of our methodology, please read our white paper. See the 1-year direct sold, 3-year direct sold and 5-year direct sold rankings. More information Links to our full report on the composite rankings for this quarter are provided below for the direct-sold 529 plans. Only our Premium subscribers have access to composite rankings for adviser-sold 529 plans, to the underlying data supporting the rankings, and to separate 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year rankings for each of the seven different asset-allocation categories. In addition, subscribers can easily look up the historical performance for every 529 portfolio in every available share class by using our Fee and Performance Lookup Tool. Each quarter Savingforcollege.com analyzes the investment performance figures for thousands of 529 portfolios and ranks the 529 savings plans from best to worst for one-year investment performance and for three-year investment performance. The top performing 529 plans In producing our rankings, we compared the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. The lower the "percentile" the better the ranking. For more details on our methodology click here. We ranked plans that consumers can enroll in directly (see below), as well as those sold through brokers (click here). These rankings are for periods ended March 31, 2009. 1-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 21.37 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 21.78 3 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 26.85 4 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 27.06 5 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.17 6 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 37.41 7 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 32.52 8 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 33.10 9 Iowa College Savings Iowa 33.71 10 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 33.86 See the full list of 1-year direct sold rankings. 3-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 23.16 2 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 25.03 3 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 25.20 4 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 26.74 5 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 26.96 6 Iowa College Savings Iowa 28.18 7 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 28.26 8 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 28.67 9 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 28.82 10 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 28.88 See the full list of 3-year direct sold rankings. 5-year performance ranking Updated May 28, 2009 Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 19.66 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 28.12 3 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 28.75 4 Iowa College Savings Iowa 31.38 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 31.42 6 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 32.36 7 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 34.36 8 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)n 34.36 9 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 36.42 10 New Jersey NJBEST 529 Collee Savings Plan 37.13 See the full list of 5-year direct sold rankings. For broker sold plan rankings, click here. How to rank 529 plan performance Ranking over 3000 investment options is no easy task, considering the wide variety of options found in 529 savings plans, and it requires a special methodology. Step one: We select specific portfolios from each 529 plan that can be compared on an apples-to-apples basis to portfolios in other 529 plans based on their allocation among stocks, bonds, and short-term instruments (money market and guaranteed investments). We've set up seven different asset-allocation categories ranging from 100% equity to 100% short-term. Step two: Within each of the seven categories, we compare historical performance of the selected portfolios and assign each plan a percentile ranking between 1 (best) and 100 (worst). Separate rankings are developed for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year performance. Step three: We take the average of each 529 plan's percentile rankings in the seven asset-allocation categories to produce a combined or "composite" percentile ranking. We then produce reports showing how the 529 plans rank against each other in their composite percentile rankings. Note: we currently produce these composite rankings for 1-year, 3-year and 5-year performance. For a more in-depth explanation of our methodology, please read our white paper. See the 1-year direct sold, 3-year direct sold and 5-year direct sold rankings. More information Links to our full report on the composite rankings for this quarter are provided below for the direct-sold 529 plans. Only our Premium subscribers have access to composite rankings for adviser-sold 529 plans, to the underlying data supporting the rankings, and to separate 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year rankings for each of the seven different asset-allocation categories. In addition, subscribers can easily look up the historical performance for every 529 portfolio in every available share class by using our Fee and Performance Lookup Tool.