Recommend a 529

[Anonymous]

Can anyone recommend a 529 account? We started one for our 5 year old last year but it seems to have lost money, not tons maybe a few dollars and it seems to be that way for all of the options they have (we have a MD 529 account). I'm wondering if an IRA would be a better route also.

[Anonymous]

The market is down since last year, so the fact that your account is down is expected. If you live in MD and can take advantage of the MD tax break, it is best to keep it there, at least up to the tax break limit.

[Anonymous]

What fund do you have it in?

You should probably have it in the age based funds. Or all in bonds if your going to flip out about market dips.

[Anonymous]

Your states up until the tax break. Then transfer to a low cost one like at vanguard.

[Anonymous]

Years ago, when we lived in MD, we started an account at the Georgia 529. It's done incredibly well over the last decade+. The grandparents put their gift into the Nevada Vanguard fund and it provides a good return. Buy now while the market is low!

[Anonymous]

Thanks, I will look into both Vanguard and the Georgia 529. I have it an aged based program, but it's lost money since I opened it last year so I'm just not seeing the benefit vs using a regular savings account.

[Anonymous]

The market sucked in December and January (I lost a ton), but it seems to have rebounded. Just got my March statements and they were up by a good %age.

I put my daughter's 529 money in 5 different funds, equally allocated, and watched them for a year or two. One was clearly outperforming the rest so when I increased my total contributions, I put the total increase into that one fund, which is the age-targeted one. (VA.)

You'll make yourself crazy if you look at all the little blips every month.

[Anonymous]

I say this kindly, but you really need to learn and better understand what you are investing in. The stock market can be volatile, and you investing in stock market securities. It's down slightly over the past year. The previous year was up about 8%, depending on allocation. The year before was up 30%.

Asking people to "recommend a 529" is kind of ridiculous. Imagine if you had invested in a rental house, but the real estate market dropped a little bit over the first year. Your question is essentially analogous to saying "recommend a new real estate agent for me, I used Remax a year ago, and I've lost money."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The market sucked in December and January (I lost a ton), but it seems to have rebounded. Just got my March statements and they were up by a good %age.

I put my daughter's 529 money in 5 different funds, equally allocated, and watched them for a year or two. One was clearly outperforming the rest so when I increased my total contributions, I put the total increase into that one fund, which is the age-targeted one. (VA.)

You'll make yourself crazy if you look at all the little blips every month.

That's called chasing performance, and that, too, is a losing strategy over the long term. Also known as selling low and buying high.

OTOH, the targeted funds are a great choice, it's just that your reasoning for picking one is wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Years ago, when we lived in MD, we started an account at the Georgia 529. It's done incredibly well over the last decade+. The grandparents put their gift into the Nevada Vanguard fund and it provides a good return. Buy now while the market is low!

...........Is the market low? I thought very measure of valuation shows it to be very high. But what do I know?