2016 One-year Top Performing Direct Plans Q1

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 "performance score" determines 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 March 31, 2016 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 Performance score 1 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan 20.06 Plan Details 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 20.89 Enroll Now 3 Tennessee TNStars College Savings 529 Program 24.36 Plan Details 4 Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program -- Direct-sold Plan 24.55 Enroll Now 5 Nebraska Nebraska Education Savings Trust - Direct College Savings Plan 26.91 Enroll Now 6 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan 27.61 7 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 27.84 Plan Details 8 Virginia Virginia529 inVEST 29.84 Enroll Now 9 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 31.04 Plan Details 10 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 31.09 11 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 31.30 Enroll Now 12 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) 31.69 Plan Details 13 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 33.18 Plan Details 14 Iowa College Savings Iowa 33.36 Enroll Now 15 Georgia Path2College 529 Plan 34.22 Enroll Now 16 North Carolina National College Savings Program 35.38 Enroll Now 17 Alabama CollegeCounts 529 Fund 36.14 Enroll Now 18 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage Direct 529 Savings Plan 36.38 Enroll Now 19 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 36.60 20 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 37.37 Plan Details 21 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 37.60 Plan Details 22 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Direct Series 37.71 Enroll Now 23 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 38.51 Enroll Now 24 Florida Florida 529 Savings Plan 38.90 Plan Details 25 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 40.01 Enroll Now 26 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 40.51 Plan Details 27 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 40.97 Plan Details 28 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 41.54 Plan Details 29 Wisconsin Edvest 41.93 Plan Details 30 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 42.10 31 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 42.35 Plan Details 32 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan 42.87 Enroll Now 33 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland -- College Investment Plan 43.41 Plan Details 34 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 43.87 Plan Details 35 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 44.64 Enroll Now 36 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 45.17 Plan Details 37 Louisiana START Saving Program 46.27 Plan Details 38 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program 47.92 Enroll Now 39 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 48.75 Plan Details 40 North Dakota College SAVE 49.48 Enroll Now 41 Nevada SSGA Upromise 529 Plan 49.82 Plan Details 42 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 50.40 Enroll Now 43 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 50.51 Enroll Now 44 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 50.59 Enroll Now 45 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 50.80 Enroll Now 46 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 55.16 Enroll Now 47 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 55.48 Plan Details 48 West Virginia SMART529 Select 55.51 Plan Details 49 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold, Alternative RI) 59.56 Enroll Now 50 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 61.40 Plan Details 51 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 79.83 52 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 81.75 Plan Details 53 Nevada USAA 529 College Savings Plan 82.20 Plan Details - Montana Achieve Montana NA Plan Details - Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan NA Plan Details 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 "performance score" determines 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 March 31, 2016 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 Performance score 1 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan 20.06 Plan Details 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 20.89 Enroll Now 3 Tennessee TNStars College Savings 529 Program 24.36 Plan Details 4 Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program -- Direct-sold Plan 24.55 Enroll Now 5 Nebraska Nebraska Education Savings Trust - Direct College Savings Plan 26.91 Enroll Now 6 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan 27.61 7 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 27.84 Plan Details 8 Virginia Virginia529 inVEST 29.84 Enroll Now 9 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 31.04 Plan Details 10 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 31.09 11 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 31.30 Enroll Now 12 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) 31.69 Plan Details 13 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 33.18 Plan Details 14 Iowa College Savings Iowa 33.36 Enroll Now 15 Georgia Path2College 529 Plan 34.22 Enroll Now 16 North Carolina National College Savings Program 35.38 Enroll Now 17 Alabama CollegeCounts 529 Fund 36.14 Enroll Now 18 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage Direct 529 Savings Plan 36.38 Enroll Now 19 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 36.60 20 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 37.37 Plan Details 21 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 37.60 Plan Details 22 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Direct Series 37.71 Enroll Now 23 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 38.51 Enroll Now 24 Florida Florida 529 Savings Plan 38.90 Plan Details 25 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 40.01 Enroll Now 26 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 40.51 Plan Details 27 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 40.97 Plan Details 28 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 41.54 Plan Details 29 Wisconsin Edvest 41.93 Plan Details 30 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 42.10 31 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 42.35 Plan Details 32 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan 42.87 Enroll Now 33 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland -- College Investment Plan 43.41 Plan Details 34 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 43.87 Plan Details 35 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 44.64 Enroll Now 36 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 45.17 Plan Details 37 Louisiana START Saving Program 46.27 Plan Details 38 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program 47.92 Enroll Now 39 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 48.75 Plan Details 40 North Dakota College SAVE 49.48 Enroll Now 41 Nevada SSGA Upromise 529 Plan 49.82 Plan Details 42 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 50.40 Enroll Now 43 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 50.51 Enroll Now 44 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 50.59 Enroll Now 45 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 50.80 Enroll Now 46 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 55.16 Enroll Now 47 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 55.48 Plan Details 48 West Virginia SMART529 Select 55.51 Plan Details 49 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold, Alternative RI) 59.56 Enroll Now 50 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 61.40 Plan Details 51 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 79.83 52 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 81.75 Plan Details 53 Nevada USAA 529 College Savings Plan 82.20 Plan Details - Montana Achieve Montana NA Plan Details - Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan NA Plan Details 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.