Morningstar Releases Medalist Ratings for 54 of the Nation's Largest 529 College-Savings Plans, Including 10 Upgrades and Seven Downgrades

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Morningstar, Inc. announces Morningstar Medalist Ratings™ for 54 of the nation's largest 529 college-savings plans. The ratings represent over 90% of the industry's $415 billion in 529 plan assets. Morningstar analysts assigned 2 Gold ratings, 15 Silver ratings, 17 Bronze ratings, 16 Neutral ratings, and 4 Negative ratings to the plans.

CHICAGO, Nov. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment insights, today announced Morningstar Medalist Ratings™ for 54 of the nation's largest 529 college-savings plans, which represent more than 90% of the industry's approximately $415 billion in 529 plan assets as of Aug. 31, 2023. The Medalist Rating expresses Morningstar manager research analysts' forward-looking views of which plans are best suited to help investors reach their goals. It has five tiers—Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative. This year, Morningstar analysts assigned two Gold ratings, 15 Silver ratings, 17 Bronze ratings, 16 Neutral ratings, and four Negative ratings to 529 plans.

"Since we debuted our 529 ratings in 2012, we've been pleased with the overall improvement in the 529 industry, namely through more sophisticated investment approaches, increased state oversight, and lower fees," said Hyunmin Kim, manager research analyst at Morningstar. "Rightly, asset managers no longer consider education savings plans as an afterthought. With the right plan, families can effectively save for education and even kickstart retirement plans, and our team remains focused on providing these 529 ratings to guide investors through the available options."

A full list of Morningstar's 529 ratings and key insights is available in a Fund Spy article published today on Morningstar.com.

In this year's assessment, Morningstar analysts upgraded 10 plans and downgraded seven plans. The table below shows these changes.

Upgrades (Distribution Channel)	State	Current Morningstar Medalist Rating	Previous Morningstar Medalist Rating
Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan (Direct)	PA	Gold	Silver
AZ529, Arizona's Education Savings Plan (Direct)	AZ	Silver	Bronze
DE529 Education Savings Plan (Direct)	DE	Silver	Bronze
U.Fund College Investing Plan (Direct)	MA	Silver	Bronze
New York's 529 Program (Direct)	NY	Silver	Bronze
CollegeAmerica (Advisor)	VA	Silver	Bronze
Invest529 (Direct)	VA	Silver	Bronze
NextGen College Investing Plan Direct (Direct)	ME	Bronze	Neutral
The Education Plan (Direct)	NM	Bronze	Neutral
NextGen College Investing Plan Select (Advisor)	ME	Neutral	Negative
Downgrades (Distribution Channel)	State	Current Morningstar Medalist Rating	Previous Morningstar Medalist Rating
Michigan Education Savings Program (Direct)	MI	Silver	Gold
Oregon College Savings Plan (Direct)	OR	Bronze	Silver
MOST Missouri's 529 Education Plan (Direct)	MO	Bronze	Silver
ScholarShare College Savings Plan (Direct)	CA	Bronze	Silver
CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan (Direct)	IN	Neutral	Bronze
Bloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan (Direct)	NE	Neutral	Bronze
CollegeBound 529 (Advisor)	RI	Negative	Neutral

For more information on 529 college-savings plans – including use cases and tips for selecting a plan – visit Morningstar's 529 Plan Guide on Morningstar.com.

About Morningstar, Inc. 

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment insights in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The Company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers and owners, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the debt and private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, debt securities, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with approximately $264 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2023. The Company operates through wholly- or majority-owned subsidiaries in 32 countries. For more information, visit www.morningstar.com/company. Follow Morningstar on Twitter @MorningstarInc.

Morningstar's Manager Research Group

Morningstar's Manager Research Group consists of various wholly owned subsidiaries of Morningstar, Inc. including, but not limited to, Morningstar Research Services LLC. Morningstar Manager Research provides independent, fundamental analysis on managed investment strategies. Morningstar views are expressed in the form of Morningstar Medalist Ratings, which are derived through research of three key pillars—People, Process, and Parent. The Morningstar Medalist Rating is the summary expression of Morningstar's forward-looking analysis of investment strategies as offered via specific vehicles using a rating scale of Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative. A global research team issues detailed research reports on strategies that span vehicle, asset class, and geography.

Medalist Ratings are not statements of fact, nor are they credit or risk ratings, and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. A Medalist Rating is not intended to be nor is a guarantee of future performance. This press release is for informational purposes only; references to securities should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the securities.

©2023 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MORN-R

Morningstar Media Contact:

Michael Claussen, +1 312 696-6037 or newsroom@morningstar.com

 

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.

FAQ

What is the news about Morningstar, Inc.?

Morningstar, Inc. has announced Morningstar Medalist Ratings™ for 54 of the nation's largest 529 college-savings plans.

What do the Morningstar Medalist Ratings™ represent?

The ratings represent more than 90% of the industry's approximately $415 billion in 529 plan assets.

How many Gold ratings were assigned to the 529 plans?

Morningstar analysts assigned 2 Gold ratings to the 529 plans.

How many Silver ratings were assigned to the 529 plans?

Morningstar analysts assigned 15 Silver ratings to the 529 plans.

How many Bronze ratings were assigned to the 529 plans?

Morningstar analysts assigned 17 Bronze ratings to the 529 plans.

How many Neutral ratings were assigned to the 529 plans?

Morningstar analysts assigned 16 Neutral ratings to the 529 plans.

How many Negative ratings were assigned to the 529 plans?

Morningstar analysts assigned 4 Negative ratings to the 529 plans.

Where can I find the full list of Morningstar's 529 ratings?

The full list of Morningstar's 529 ratings and key insights is available in a Fund Spy article on Morningstar.com.

Which plans were upgraded in this year's assessment?

Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan, AZ529, Arizona's Education Savings Plan, DE529 Education Savings Plan, U.Fund College Investing Plan, New York's 529 Program, CollegeAmerica, Invest529, NextGen College Investing Plan Direct, and The Education Plan were upgraded in this year's assessment.

Which plans were downgraded in this year's assessment?

Michigan Education Savings Program, Oregon College Savings Plan, MOST Missouri's 529 Education Plan, ScholarShare College Savings Plan, CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan, Bloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan, and CollegeBound 529 were downgraded in this year's assessment.

Where can I find more information on 529 college-savings plans?

For more information on 529 college-savings plans, including use cases and tips for selecting a plan, visit Morningstar's 529 Plan Guide on Morningstar.com.