2013 One-year Top Performing Direct Plans Q3

Savingforcollege.com ranks the performance of direct-sold 529 plans. Direct-sold plans are those that consumers can enroll in without using a broker. We have prepared one-year, three-year, five-year and ten-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. We selected portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds and money market funds, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven asset-allocation categories. The lower the "percentile," the better the ranking. This ranking could be a useful tool for you when selecting which direct 529 plan might be right for you. Here are our 529 performance rankings as of September 30, 2013 for Direct-sold 529 plans. One-year performance ranking (click here for three-year performance table, five-year performance table, and ten-year performance table ): Rank State Plan Percentile 1 West Virginia SMART529 Select 23.76 2 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 26.30 3 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 30.19 4 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 30.82 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 31.22 6 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 32.85 7 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland -- College Investment Plan 39.06 8 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Direct Series 42.70 9 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 43.29 10 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 43.60 11 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 44.68 12 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 44.86 13 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 46.61 14 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 46.80 15 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 48.82 16 Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program -- Direct-sold Plan 49.05 17 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) 50.17 18 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan 50.83 19 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold, Alternative RI) 51.93 20 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 54.14 21 Nevada USAA 529 College Savings Plan 54.64 22 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 55.10 23 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 55.51 24 Florida Florida 529 Savings Plan 55.78 25 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 56.46 26 Tennessee TNStars College Savings 529 Program 57.30 27 Nebraska Nebraska Education Savings Trust - Direct College Savings Plan 58.62 28 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 58.86 29 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 59.04 30 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 59.51 31 Louisiana START Saving Program 60.12 32 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 60.26 33 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 60.87 34 Nevada SSgA Upromise College Fund 60.98 35 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 61.19 36 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 61.72 37 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 61.79 38 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 62.41 39 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 62.43 40 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 62.56 41 Iowa College Savings Iowa 63.23 42 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 63.45 43 Virginia Virginia529 inVEST 63.47 44 North Carolina National College Savings Program 63.91 45 Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan 65.31 46 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 67.82 47 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 68.20 48 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 68.61 49 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 69.24 50 Montana Montana Family Education Savings Program Investment Plan 69.80 51 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 71.32 52 North Dakota College SAVE 72.00 53 Alabama College Counts 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 73.74 - Georgia Path2College 529 Plan NA - Wisconsin Edvest College Savings Plan NA NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least one portfolio with sufficiently-long performance in a minimum of four asset allocation categories under our ranking model. The Savingforcollege.com plan composite rankings are derived using the plans' relevant portfolio performance in seven unique asset allocation categories. The asset-allocation categories used are: 100 percent equity, 80 percent equity, 60 percent equity, 40 percent equity, 20 percent equity, 100 percent fixed and 100 percent short term. The plan composite ranking is determined by the average of its percentile ranking in the seven categories. The performance data underlying these rankings represent past performance and are not a guarantee of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data used. A plan portfolio's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares or units when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investors should carefully consider plan investment goals, risks, charges and expenses by obtaining and reading the plan's official program description before investing. Investors should also consider whether their beneficiary's home state offers any tax or other benefits that are available for investments only in such state's 529 plan. Brokers, please note: For internal use only and not for use with or to be shown to the investing public. Disclaimer: Saving For College, LLC shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in this report. Users should rely on official program disclosures. For broker-sold plan rankings, click here. Savingforcollege.com ranks the performance of direct-sold 529 plans. Direct-sold plans are those that consumers can enroll in without using a broker. We have prepared one-year, three-year, five-year and ten-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. We selected portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds and money market funds, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven asset-allocation categories. The lower the "percentile," the better the ranking. This ranking could be a useful tool for you when selecting which direct 529 plan might be right for you. Here are our 529 performance rankings as of September 30, 2013 for Direct-sold 529 plans. One-year performance ranking (click here for three-year performance table, five-year performance table, and ten-year performance table ): Rank State Plan Percentile 1 West Virginia SMART529 Select 23.76 2 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 26.30 3 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 30.19 4 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 30.82 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 31.22 6 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 32.85 7 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland -- College Investment Plan 39.06 8 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Direct Series 42.70 9 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 43.29 10 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 43.60 11 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 44.68 12 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 44.86 13 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 46.61 14 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 46.80 15 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 48.82 16 Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program -- Direct-sold Plan 49.05 17 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) 50.17 18 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan 50.83 19 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold, Alternative RI) 51.93 20 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 54.14 21 Nevada USAA 529 College Savings Plan 54.64 22 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 55.10 23 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 55.51 24 Florida Florida 529 Savings Plan 55.78 25 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 56.46 26 Tennessee TNStars College Savings 529 Program 57.30 27 Nebraska Nebraska Education Savings Trust - Direct College Savings Plan 58.62 28 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 58.86 29 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 59.04 30 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 59.51 31 Louisiana START Saving Program 60.12 32 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 60.26 33 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 60.87 34 Nevada SSgA Upromise College Fund 60.98 35 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 61.19 36 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 61.72 37 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 61.79 38 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 62.41 39 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 62.43 40 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 62.56 41 Iowa College Savings Iowa 63.23 42 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 63.45 43 Virginia Virginia529 inVEST 63.47 44 North Carolina National College Savings Program 63.91 45 Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan 65.31 46 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 67.82 47 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 68.20 48 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 68.61 49 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 69.24 50 Montana Montana Family Education Savings Program Investment Plan 69.80 51 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 71.32 52 North Dakota College SAVE 72.00 53 Alabama College Counts 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 73.74 - Georgia Path2College 529 Plan NA - Wisconsin Edvest College Savings Plan NA NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least one portfolio with sufficiently-long performance in a minimum of four asset allocation categories under our ranking model. The Savingforcollege.com plan composite rankings are derived using the plans' relevant portfolio performance in seven unique asset allocation categories. The asset-allocation categories used are: 100 percent equity, 80 percent equity, 60 percent equity, 40 percent equity, 20 percent equity, 100 percent fixed and 100 percent short term. The plan composite ranking is determined by the average of its percentile ranking in the seven categories. The performance data underlying these rankings represent past performance and are not a guarantee of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data used. A plan portfolio's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares or units when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investors should carefully consider plan investment goals, risks, charges and expenses by obtaining and reading the plan's official program description before investing. Investors should also consider whether their beneficiary's home state offers any tax or other benefits that are available for investments only in such state's 529 plan. Brokers, please note: For internal use only and not for use with or to be shown to the investing public. Disclaimer: Saving For College, LLC shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in this report. Users should rely on official program disclosures. For broker-sold plan rankings, click here.