WA Prepaid and other state investment accts

Greetings all,

In WA - Looking at the various 529s plan options for my 3 yr old.

Wondering if someone has looked at the pros and cons between the WA prepaid plan (which I must say seems to be on the expensive side) and investment acct plans from other states, and could share it here.

If the state investment acct option is the way to go (or part of the overall game plan), any point of views on which is (are) among the better ones.

I have looked at www.savingforcollege.com, and have come up with a list of appr 10+ based on
- Investment manager,
- Invesmtent options
- Fees etc.

Since WA has no state income tax, I have not considered it. Thoughts ?

Thanks
Regards
DJ

DJ

There have been a number of previous posts and threads on this board (including both users and Kiplinger staff) comparing 529 prepaids and 529 savings plans, with some specific mention of the WA GET as well. You can use the board's search function to find these other posts rather quickly.

I tend to believe that the development of a college savings plan can very well include both prepaids (or other guaranteed savings options) and savings plans, as well as other savings vehicles both tax-advantaged and not. So much depends on the circumstances of the family/individual - including income/tax status, savings goals, ability to contribute/save, time frame, investment experience/philosophy (including risk tolerance), etc. I think the initial focus has to be on defining these types of parameters in order to build an effective savings plan.

And I think that the selection of 529 savings plans is, in large part, based on the overall savings plan. There are some very good plans out there - both direct and broker-sold. How important are having multiple age-based tracks to choose from? and/or static investment options? How well designed is the age-based track? How much diversification do you want and how much is offered in the underlying funds? What is the performance/management history of the underlying funds? Is indexing or active management preferred? How significant are the fee considerations for you? Is there a role for guaranteed savings options within your overall plan?

I reviewed the 529 offerings with fairly specific needs/interests identified and short-listed maybe 5-6 plans (last year) for more detailed review. But then again, these plans were identified based on the factors I considered to be important for my circumstances. Your results might vary.

Hope this helps.

TJ