CollegeAccess 529 of South Dakota and The Hartford SMART529 of West Virginia went from negative to neutral by smoothing their glide paths within age-based portfolios and lowering their fees, Morningstar said.
Morningstar downgraded CollegeInvest Direct Portfolio of Colorado, which went from bronze to neutral, and New York’s 529 Program, which dropped from silver to bronze. Morningstar said it will publish a follow-up report addressing 529 plans that were downgraded on Thursday.
The rating system has five tiers: gold, silver, bronze, neutral and negative. Among the factors behind the rankings are Morningstar’s assessment of the money managers and how well the state manages the plan.
The full report can be found here.