TIAA-CREF will reportedly be offering advisor shares through the Missouri 529 College Savings program. Officials at the firm were not available for comment, nor were officials from the Missouri Most program.

The New York City-based asset manager has been seeking to add ways to compensate fee-based advisor for the state programs that it administrates in order to maintain its competitive position in the market.

The addition of loaded shares and advisor compensation has been one of the prominent trends in the 529 college savings plan market as program providers face stagnant sales in direct sold programs. The hope is that advisors will educate investors to invest in these accounts.

TIAA-CREF is the provider for 14 states programs, making it one of the leaders in the market.

One change that the firm is considering is creating structures in which advisors can create a customized model portfolio for clients from underlying funds.  

See the list of all the 2002 Most Influential People



Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE