Mutual fund firms with a leg in the college savings plan business may have room to grow their business if they can only get people to discover 529 plans. That is the takeaway from a survey sponsored by brokerage firm Edwards Jones, writes Liz Skinner writes for
InvestmentNews.
The BD's survey results show that most Americans who make less than $35,000 a year do not know what the 529 plan is. Only one in four of those Americans know the code for a college savings plan.
Meanwhile, wealthier Americans are much better informed of the plans. Out of the respondents, 62 percent of those that make more than $100,000 annually identified the plan correctly while 57 percent of those earning between $75,000 and $100,000.
May 29 is the 529 Day as formalized by the College Savings Plans Network and many states are holding promotional events around the date.
College savings 529 plans now hold about $144 billion of assets in roughly 10 million active accounts, according to Financial Research Corp. (FRC). 
Edited by:
HFD
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