529 Plan Investment Options

As you get ready to open your 529 plan account, decide which investment strategy will work best for you. Our plans offer options for every type of investor.

You can change the investment instructions on your future contributions at any time. But under federal tax rules governing 529 plans, you can reallocate your current plan's investments only twice per calendar year or whenever you change beneficiaries, without incurring federal taxes.

Our Age-Based Strategy includes portfolios that are managed according to the beneficiary's birth year with the asset allocation automatically becoming more conservative as the beneficiary nears college age. Your beneficiary's birth year will help determine the Age-Based portfolio in which you'll invest.

This strategy offers a choice of three types of funds:

Fidelity Funds

  • Seek to beat a combination of major market indices over the long term
  • Portfolios invest solely in Fidelity funds.
  • Managed by dedicated Fidelity portfolio managers

Multi-Firm Funds

  • Seek to beat a combination of major market indices over the long term
  • Portfolios invest across multiple fund companies, offering an opportunity to diversify your funds.
  • Managed by dedicated Fidelity portfolio managers

Fidelity may use its proprietary asset allocation research to make active asset allocation decisions in the Age-Based portfolios that invest in Fidelity Funds and Multi-Firm Funds. Such active asset allocation decisions may better enable the portfolios to take advantage of short- to medium-term opportunities and market conditions. Although an active asset allocation strategy is designed to add value, there is no guarantee any value will be added, and the strategy may result in losses to the Portfolios. Please review a 529 plan fact kit for more information on Portfolio asset allocation.

Fidelity Index Funds

  • Seek to closely mirror the performance of a combination of major market indices over the long term
  • Portfolios invest solely in Fidelity Index funds.
  • Passively managed; securities currently held in the respective index determine investments.

For investors who prefer to manage their own asset allocations, our Custom Strategy provides the flexibility you'll need to build your own customized approach to college saving and investing.

This strategy allows you to create an investment mix from portfolios that fall into four categories:

Static Portfolios

  • Asset mix remains the same over time.
  • Two types: Fidelity Funds and Fidelity Index

Individual Fund Portfolios

  • Options include a mix of equity, fixed income, and money market portfolios.
  • Each portfolio has the same investment objective as its underlying mutual fund.

Age-Based Portfolios

  • Managed according to the year the beneficiary is projected to enter college, becoming more conservative over time
  • Three types: Fidelity Funds, Multi-Firm, or Fidelity Index.

Learn more about the Age-Based Strategy.

Bank Deposit Portfolio1

  • Composed exclusively of a deposit in an FDIC-insured, interest-bearing account.2
  • Seeks preservation of principal.
1. Bank Deposit Portfolio is not an eligible investment selection for Trust Account Registrations.
2. Although the underlying deposits are eligible for FDIC insurance, subject to applicable federal deposit insurance limits, the units of the Bank Deposit Portfolio are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. You are responsible for monitoring the total amount of your assets on deposit at the depository bank, including amounts held directly at the depository bank. All such deposits held in the same ownership capacity at the depository bank are subject to aggregation and to the current FDIC insurance coverage limitation of $250,000. Please see your 529 Fact Kit for more details.
The asset allocation strategy you choose for any Custom Strategy should be based on your investment objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, and other factors you determine to be important. Different asset allocations offer different balances between risk and potential returns. Generally, the greater the stock allocation, the greater the potential for long-term returns and the greater the risk of volatility, especially over the short term. Conversely, the greater the allocation to bonds and/or short-term investments, the lower the potential for high long-term returns but the lower the short-term risks.