BlackRock added a 529 plan section to the Products tab. The new CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan section is divided into three education tabs, similar in design to the firm’s Retirement Plan Solutions tab. The three tabs – Overview, Investment Options and Getting Started – consist of downloadable resources, forms and a new Morningstar College Savings tool. The new section emphasizes the need for parents to establish a 529 Plan and markets a number of different 529 Plan strategies offered by the firm.

This is a good addition by Blackrock and reduces the number of firms that we track in Mutual Fund Monitor Advisor without 529 plans to three: Evergreen, Federated, and iShares.

If you are interested in learning more on 529 Plan Kits, click here to read an abstract of a May 2008 Mutual Fund -Advisor Report.