ManuLife Financial Services is courting parents and other college savers by adding breakpoints to its program. The insurer has distributed the state of Alaska sponsored plan since July of 2001. T. Rowe Price administers the plan.

ManuLife College Savings is offering the breakpoints to investors buying A-shares through the program. Investors get the first discount after they purchase $50,000 of shares, they get a second break at $100,000 and a third at $250,000.

"The changes help clients to optimize their investments by reducing expenses from sales charges, while providing a more secure principal portfolio for clients with conservative investment needs," said Bill Burrow, senior vice president and general manager, ManuLife College Savings. He added that the discounts and Rights of Accumulation will apply to all accounts as long as they are pooled under the same tax identification code, said ManuLife officials.

The insurer also added a dollar cost averaging feature to its plan that lets shareholders make systematic exchanges in the funds. The program was instituted to encourage people who are worried about the risk of investing at a peak in stock prices a simple and systematic way into the market.  

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