The Vanguard Group with Upromise has banded together with the state of Nevada to offer accessible 529 college savings plans that leverage Vanguard's low-cost investments with help from other leading brands.

The plan also features investment options managed by Strong, American Skandia and USAA Investment Management.

"With rising tuition costs and today's volatile financial markets, families are finding themselves in a crunch to preserve their education savings and attain reasonable growth for their assets," said Vanguard Chairman John J. Brennan, in a release. "To help families meet this challenge, we have teamed with Upromise and the State of Nevada to offer an array of Vanguard portfolios."

For investors preferring simplicity, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based Vanguard expects to launch The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan in December 2002. The plan will offer three risk-based investment tracks -- conservative, moderate, and aggressive asset allocations. These tracks automatically adjust from a higher weighting of stocks at younger ages to a higher allocation of bonds and money market investments during the teenage years.

Families registered in the Upromise Loyalty Service can direct the contributions received from the companies that participate in the service to their investments within the plan.

Vanguard expects the plan to be available via payroll deduction to those employees in the first quarter 2003. The firm will provide marketing, distribution, investment management and customer service to the plan, which is expected to have all-in costs as low as 65 basis points.

Also, Upromise will introduce the Upromise College Fund through www.upromise.com in November 2002. This plan will offer the same three risk-based investment tracks in addition to eight individual portfolios of Vanguard investments. The Vanguard portfolios in The Upromise College Fund are expected to have all-in costs as low as 0.65 percent. The Upromise College Fund will also include investment options managed by other advisors.

Both The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan and The Upromise College Fund will offer online enrollment and account administration to investors.

Both plans are sponsored by the State of Nevada and will be administered by Upromise Investments, a wholly-owned broker dealer subsidiary of Upromise. Investors in either 529 plans will be able to link their accounts to the free Upromise Loyalty Service. 

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