JEFFERSON CITY –Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick today announced that MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan, has again received a Silver rating from Morningstar, an investment research company. Each year, Morningstar assigns ratings to education savings plans based on cost, performance, tax benefits, and oversight. Nationally, only 11 plans received a Silver Medal rating, while three achieved Gold.
“I have worked to make MOST 529 a strong, versatile, and cost effective education plan for Missourians. Today’s announcement is a continued reflection of that work,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “When I came into office, plan participants had not received a fee reduction in five years. Last year, I negotiated a contract extension with our program manager that has already resulted in one fee reduction and will reduce fees two times over the next four years. This year, I worked with the legislature to expand eligible expenses to include student loan repayment and registered apprenticeships. These improvements mean that the plan is better suited to serve the needs of Missourians and that participants will keep more of their investment earnings in their 529 accounts, making it a little bit easier to save for education.”
“MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan, offers a powerful mix of well-resourced and collaborative investment teams, tireless state oversight, and enticing fees, nabbing a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Silver,” Morningstar wrote in its review. “The Missouri State Treasurer’s industrious approach to overseeing this 529 plan buffers investors from the sharpest gales of the 529 industry.”
Earlier this year, assets under management in the MOST 529 plan crossed the $4 billion thresh hold for the first time. This was an increase of over $1 billion since Treasurer Fitzpatrick took office. In July, Governor Parson signed HB297 into law which made up to $10,000 of student loan repayment and registered apprenticeships eligible expenses for MOST 529.
In 2020, Treasurer Fitzpatrick announced that MOST 529 Board members voted to approve a contract amendment with program manager Ascensus. The contract amendment extended the contract period while guaranteeing program management fee reductions—taking the fees from the current level of 19 Basis Points (bp) to 16bp immediately, and 14bp over five years, a reduction of over 26%. This reduction means over $8 million in savings for plan participants.
MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan, is a tax-advantaged savings plan for education expenses. Money in MOST accounts can be used to pay for K-12 tuition, and trade, college, apprenticeships, and graduate school tuition and expenses. Additionally, up to $10,000 may be spent on student loan repayment. Contributions are eligible for state tax deductions, which can save families up to $864 a year, and assets in MOST 529 accounts grow tax free.
There are currently more than 183,000 active accounts with over $4.125 billion assets under management.
More information about MOST 529 can be found at MissouriMost.org.