According to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Terry Savage, Illinois is close to a deal that would recoup $77 million from the manager of the state’s Bright Start college savings plan. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has been trying to negotiate a settlement with Oppenheimer Funds,…

The Missouri Saving for Tuition Plan ranked fourth in investment performance last year among similar college-savings plans, according to a report by SavingForCollege.com. The state-sponsored investments, generically known as 529 plans, are a tax-advantaged way to save for college.

Among 53 plans…

If you’re a Missouri parent trying to save money for college, you should be aware of an important tax-law change that took effect last month. Accounting firm RubinBrown reminds us that, beginning this year, Missouri taxpayers can take a deduction…

The Missouri Legislature passed a law in 2004 allowing banks to participate in the state’s college savings plan. The Missouri Bankers Association lobbied hard for the law, which it saw as a way to keep some of the money that was…

The broker-sold version of the Missouri Saving for Tuition plan is no longer on Morningstar’s list of worst college-savings plans. In releasing this year’s list, the analysis firm says:

… one of 2007’s worst, Missouri’s MOST 529 Advisor Plan, made its way off the…

A new fee study by Joseph Hurley’s SavingforCollege.com finds that Illinois’ Bright Start is among the least costly college-savings plans. In fact, among plans that are available nationwide, only Ohio’s CollegeAdvantage  has lower costs than Bright Start. (Louisiana, Utah, Oregon and Kansas have cheaper options…

It’s been a few months since we last wrote about the changes to Illinois’ BrightStart college-savings plan, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that Illinois parents are getting a good deal. A Morningstar.com  report says that BrightStart’s index-fund option “jumps immediately to the…

When Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman announced the addition of a “terror-free” fund to a state college-savings plan, she said it was the first such investment option of its kind.  A news release from UMB Financial Corp., which will manage the fund,…

Mark Keller, chief investment officer at A.G. Edwards & Sons, called to provide more information on the Gallatin portfolios that I discussed in a previous post.  In particular, he says the words “market timing” in my headline misrepresent what Gallatin does.

Market timing…

In Morningstar’s broadside against Missouri’s MOST 529 Advisor plan, one of the  analyst Kerry O’Boyle’s  specific criticisms is that the plan charges “a rich 1.45% for the plan’s three ETF offerings.” These offerings turn out to be the much-ballyhooed asset-allocation portfolios run by…