I am from Ohio and used to invest in the Utah plan until Ohio added Vanguard plans. I was pleased with the Utah plan. I then rolled it from Utah to Ohio without any problems.
A great site for comparing 529s is Savingforcollege.com - The internet guide to funding college and Section 529 college savings plans. and Joe Hurley is an expert in 529s and Coverdells, among other things.
I have Vanguard accounts and a 529 with Ohio in VG accounts.If you go direct, can you see your balance, etc, online? I don't have a Vanguard acct and Fido doesn't really have much to offer for 529's as they only manage 2 plans.
I have "outside" accounts linked to my Fido accounts, so I can easily monitor my asset allocation, etc.
From within Vanguard, they have a section labeled:You mean "Full View"?
I was trying not to have to open another account, but it looks like I will have to, if I want a 529.
From my experience, if you are a middle income earner, you won't get much financial assistance short of loans. I have 2 in college now and my EFC was a ridiculously high number. IIRC, it was somewhere close to 1/2 my salary. Ya right. And I made sure my kids didn't have large account balances by my contributions to 529s/Coverdells....529 plans and Coverdell ESAs may be two of the better options to save for college without jeopardizing financial aid. These are treated as assets of the account owner, not the beneficiary. If a parent owns the 529 account or ESA, up to 5.6% of the value is included in EFC. A 529 account or ESA owned by the student, or by a trust or custodian for the student, will not be counted as the student's asset.
529 plans and Coverdell ESAs may be two of the better options to save for college without jeopardizing financial aid. These are treated as assets of the account owner, not the beneficiary. If a parent owns the 529 account or ESA, up to 5.6% of the value is included in EFC. A 529 account or ESA owned by the student, or by a trust or custodian for the student, will not be counted as the student's asset.
Am I the owner? For financial aid purposes, is this my asset or my childs? Does it matter that it has my daughter's name on the account or are ALL ESA's for minors the parents asset?
This is the reply I got back from my broker...
In summation, the guardian on the account controls asset deposit and allocation but the money belongs to the child.