Robo is everywhere — and now it's going to be in 529 college savings plans, too.
A partnership among automated investing service Wealthfront, the State of Nevada, and Ascensus College Savings is launching the Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan. The plan is low cost, according to Wealthfront, which says it "represents the lowest cost 529 plan offered by any advisor" (citing a May 2015 Morningstar report on the 529 plan landscape), adding that it "even costs less than the majority of plans for investors who manage their 529 portfolios on their own."
The new plan, then, is following the trend in 529s, which is for fees to fall even as assets rise — and for direct-sold plans to be on the increase as participants gravitate away from the more expensive advisor-sold plans.
Recommended For You
Direct-sold plans now account for about 53 percent of the industry's assets of $227 billion — understandable, since direct-sold plans cost participants about 20 basis points over and above the cost of the underlying funds, while advisor-sold plans cost an additional 70 basis points.
As of the end of 2015, net new flows of about $10 billion for the year represented a 4 percent increase.
According to Wealthfront, costs for the new 529 break down as follows: No Wealthfront advisory fee for the first $10,000 of assets under management, and for amounts above that, a monthly advisory fee at an annualized rate of 0.25 percent. In addition, there are the costs of the underlying ETFs, as well as state and program administration costs, which together range from 0.18 percent to 0.21 percent.
During 2015, 529s saw fees head downward, decreasing to an asset-weighted average of 0.74 percent for the year from 0.79 percent in 2014.
Wealthfront is the investment advisor behind the Wealthfront 529 College Savings Plan, and will manage all 529 portfolios on behalf of its clients. The plan will be administered by the board of trustees of the College Savings Plans of Nevada, chaired by the Nevada State Treasurer, while Ascensus College Savings will serve as the program manager.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
