2009 Best 529 College-Savings Plans by Several Publications

Update: Added more links

Recently, I just went through research of 529 plans for my second daughter. I ended up with selecting West Virginia Smart 529 Select plan. I used several online resources and direct links to each plans that I reviewed. I looked at the fees, details, funds offering, and other information for each plans. The best source to do research for 529 plan is probably www.savingforcollege.com.

I also looked at top 529 plans selection by several publications. Here are several links to "Best 529 Plans" articles that I found.

Kiplinger - Best 529 College-Savings Plans
The best 529 college-savings plans according to Kiplinger are:

• For low fees: Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program (Note: From all the plans I review, I agree with this. It is actually the runner-up for me personally)
• For overall investment mix: Alaska's T Rowe Price College Savings Plan
• For conservative investors: Michigan Education Savings Program
• For fund choices: College Savings Plan of Nebraska
• For adviser-sold plan: Virginia CollegeAmerica plan

The Best and Worst 529 College-Savings Plans
This article from MorningStar.com listed the best and worst 529 plans. The best 529 college-savings plans according to morningstar.com are:

• Ohio CollegeAdvantage
• Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan
• Utah Educational Savings Plan Trust
• Virginia Education Savings Trust
• Virginia CollegeAmerica 529 Savings Plan (Broker-sold)
  

The worst 529 college-savings plans according to morningstart.com are:

• Nebraska State Farm College Savings Plan (Broker-sold)
• New Jersey Best 529 College Savings Plan
• Montana Pacific Life Funds 529 College Savings Plan
• Ohio Putnam CollegeAdvantage (Broker-sold)
• Nebraska AIM College Savings Plan (Broker-sold)

You can see a lot of broker-sold 529 plans are rated low, which I think come down to the fees.

Consumer Reports - Some of the best and worst 529 plans
Consumer Reports also has a list of best and worst 529 plans. The best 529 plans according to Consumer Reports are:

• Georgia Path2College 529 Plan
• College Savings Iowa
• Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program
• Mississippi Affordable College Savings Program
• Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings

The worst 529 plans according to Consumer Reports are:

• Wisconsin Tomorrow's Scholar
• Arkansas John Hancock Freedom 529
• New Jersey Franklin Templeton 529 College Saving
• Columbia New York Advisor 529 Plan
• Nevada Columbia 529 Plan

Money Magazine - Best low-risk 529 plans
Money Magazine list is slightly different, since it is focused mainly on "low-risk 529 plans".

• Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program
• Ohio CollegeAdvantage Savings Plan
• Utah Educational Savings Plan