WI College Savings Program Profitable Last Year

MADISON, Wis. (Midwest Communications) - Parents who have money in Wisconsin’s college savings program made more than expected last year. All 12 investment options in the EdVest program had gains ranging from three-tenths-of-one percent in the conservative Wells Fargo Money Market Fund to 79 percent in Legg Mason’s aggressive portfolio. Acting EdVest director Marty Olle said all but one of the 12 options outperformed their benchmarks. And the only one that didn’t meet its goal – the Vanguard Stock Index portfolio – came close.

Meanwhile, more parents kept taking advantage of EdVest for tax-free college savings. New accounts rose by 2.7 percent to just over 250,000. Total assets in EdVest and the smaller Tomorrow’s Scholar program were $2.2 billion as of January 1st. That’s up 30 percent from a year ago. A national rating service said EdVest had the 25th strongest one-year performance among 52 college savings programs as of September 30th. And over the last 3 years, EdVest ranked 13th among 43 U.S. programs. Meantime, a new person is about to oversee the Wisconsin funds. State Treasurer Dawn Marie Sass has appointed James DiUlio as EdVest’s permanent director.

(from WTAQ-Green Bay)