2008 1-year Top Performing Direct Plans Q4

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 1-year, 3-year and 5-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan, selecting portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds, and money-market funds, allowing for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven different 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. 529 Performance Rankings as of December 31, 2008 Direct sold 529 Plans Ranked by 1 Yr performance Updated February 23, 2009 1-year Performance Ranking (click here for 3 Year Performance Table and 5 Year Performance Table) Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Florida Florida College Investment Plan 18.08 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 23.20 3 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 23.33 4 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 26.09 5 Georgia Path2College 529 Plan 26.31 6 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 26.39 7 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 26.48 8 Iowa College Savings Iowa 27.84 9 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 28.36 10 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 28.55 11 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 28.77 12 West Virginia SMART529 Select 28.83 13 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 30.25 14 Louisiana START Saving Program 30.28 15 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 30.51 16 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 30.58 17 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 31.98 18 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 32.24 19 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 32.28 20 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 32.98 21 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 34.28 22 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 34.98 23 North Dakota College SAVE 35.46 24 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 36.25 25 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 36.34 26 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 37.48 27 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 39.43 28 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 39.87 29 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 40.80 30 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 41.02 31 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 41.11 32 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 41.26 33 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 41.39 34 Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan 43.04 35 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 45.96 36 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 46.03 37 Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program - Direct-sold-Plan 48.52 38 Nevada USAA College Savings Plan 51.40 39 Virginia Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST) 52.32 40 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 55.51 41 Montana Pacific Life Funds 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) MT 56.08 32 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan - Client Direct Series 56.10 43 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 58.32 44 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 58.85 45 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland - College Investment Plan 61.44 46 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 61.93 47 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 64.42 48 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold Alternative R) 67.55 49 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 68.83 50 Alabama Higher Education 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 72.97 51 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 73.11 52 North Carolina National College Savings Program 74.49 53 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 84.73 - Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) NA NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least 3 portfolios with sufficiently-long performance 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% Equity, 80% Equity, 60% Equity, 40% Equity, 20% Equity, 100% Fixed, and 100% 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 represents past performance and is 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 of 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: Bankrate, Inc. 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 1-year, 3-year and 5-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan, selecting portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds, and money-market funds, allowing for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven different 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. 529 Performance Rankings as of December 31, 2008 Direct sold 529 Plans Ranked by 1 Yr performance Updated February 23, 2009 1-year Performance Ranking (click here for 3 Year Performance Table and 5 Year Performance Table) Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Florida Florida College Investment Plan 18.08 2 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 23.20 3 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 23.33 4 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 26.09 5 Georgia Path2College 529 Plan 26.31 6 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 26.39 7 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program - Direct Plan 26.48 8 Iowa College Savings Iowa 27.84 9 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 28.36 10 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 28.55 11 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 28.77 12 West Virginia SMART529 Select 28.83 13 Wisconsin EdVest (Direct-sold) 30.25 14 Louisiana START Saving Program 30.28 15 Nevada The Upromise College Fund 30.51 16 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 30.58 17 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 31.98 18 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 32.24 19 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 32.28 20 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 32.98 21 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 34.28 22 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 34.98 23 North Dakota College SAVE 35.46 24 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 36.25 25 Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program 36.34 26 Nebraska College Savings Plan of Nebraska (Direct-sold) 37.48 27 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 39.43 28 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 39.87 29 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 40.80 30 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 41.02 31 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 41.11 32 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 41.26 33 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 41.39 34 Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan 43.04 35 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 45.96 36 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 46.03 37 Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program - Direct-sold-Plan 48.52 38 Nevada USAA College Savings Plan 51.40 39 Virginia Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST) 52.32 40 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 55.51 41 Montana Pacific Life Funds 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) MT 56.08 32 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan - Client Direct Series 56.10 43 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 58.32 44 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 58.85 45 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland - College Investment Plan 61.44 46 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 61.93 47 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 64.42 48 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold Alternative R) 67.55 49 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 68.83 50 Alabama Higher Education 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 72.97 51 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 73.11 52 North Carolina National College Savings Program 74.49 53 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 84.73 - Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) NA NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least 3 portfolios with sufficiently-long performance 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% Equity, 80% Equity, 60% Equity, 40% Equity, 20% Equity, 100% Fixed, and 100% 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 represents past performance and is 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 of 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: Bankrate, Inc. 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.