Word: marketed
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Buoyed by a run of good news in the stock market, I recently decided to check the balance in my son's 529 college savings account for the first time in many months. To my dismay, the account was still down some 40% from a year ago, far below the amount my husband and I had originally invested. Given the extent of the losses, I couldn't help but wonder: would it make sense to just ditch this thing? (Read "Investing in a 529 College Savings Plan...
...sure I'm not the only one contemplating this question. Named after section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, these plans can be a terrific tax-advantaged way to save for college, but many of these accounts have been seriously thwacked in the bear market. As of Feb. 28, half of 529 portfolios had one-year returns of -30%, and a third had returns of -40% or less, according to Morningstar, which tracks the performance of over 3,600 plan portfolios. In some cases, 529 investors may not have been well informed of the risks. On April 13, the state...
...risky investment within your plan (a new IRS rule allows 529 holders to swap their investments twice this year). But if you're concerned about the conservative options your plan offers, you may be better off cashing in and parking the money in an online savings account or money market fund. Finally, if you have other resources to cover college costs for the next couple of years, says Levin, your best option may be to leave the 529 untouched and hope to make up some of the losses. After all, Levin notes, "You'll see growth in the account again...
...American towns, comes out in May, thinks Worth is on the right track. "You have to try dramatic things if you're in the traditional media business," says Jones. "In the next few years, those who are in control of their finances will be spending. Better to market to them than anyone [else]." (See how Americans are spending differently in the recession...
...figures which caused the market to rise and the average person to feel better about his prospects where a short dodge in the wrong direction, the economy will have played a cruel trick. Cruelty and tricks are part of the fiber of daily living at this point, so perhaps the shocks will begin to hurt less...