Plan

To start, you’ll need to choose from our many investment options. Here’s some help with that.

Want help figuring it out? Use our five-decision Personal Plan. Open up each decision step in order. They’re designed to help you decide what’s important to your family so when you make an investment choice you’re as fully informed as possible. As you make decisions, the Personal Plan for each child will automatically fill-in.

Already know this stuff? Skip to the end and choose your investment(s). You don’t have to fill out a Personal Plan to go to the Start page — it’s simply there to help think things through. However, you will need to choose the actual investment(s) to start your 529 Plan(s) and adding those to the Personal Plan tool is a good way to keep track of your choices.

Either way, you can download and/or print a pdf so when you get to the Start page you have your well-informed investment(s) decision in hand. You’ll need that to actually start your 529 Plan(s). You’ll have all kinds of flexibility to change things as the kids grow and the future comes into focus.

The great news is you have maximum flexibility with Ohio’s 529 Plan because it can be used at any federally accredited school nationwide. Your kids will have tens of thousands of options when the time comes: traditional four-year colleges, community colleges, trade and specialty schools, certificate programs, apprenticeships, graduate and professional schools, and more.

For now, it helps to pick a type of school since the costs vary widely and will affect how much you’d need to save to reach a goal.

Decision

Here are some real-world examples of future degrees and how much to save to cover tuition and fees.

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On average, families expect to use personal savings and income to cover about 43%* of education expenses, with the rest coming from sources like financial aid, loans, work/study, and family gifts.

Beyond a general idea of percentages, some savers narrow down the kinds of expenses they want to cover (i.e. only tuition, books and fees). The only right answer is the one that works for you.

Future college costs can seem impossibly huge. Here’s how it can become doable.
Decision
(Select one or both)
(Move slider to choose percentage)
Want to see how much it takes to cover the expenses you select? Use our College Savings Planner to quickly run some simulations.
*Source: 2020 Sallie Mae & Ipsos — How America Pays For College.

The earlier you start getting tax-free growth the better. Even if you start small, your money has more time to snowball, building on itself as the years pass. A successful strategy shared by many savers is to make automatic deposits which you can easily set up at the Start page by securely linking your bank account to Ohio’s 529 Plan.

Decision
(Select one)
(Move slider to select amount)
Want to see how much it takes to cover the expenses you select? Use our College Savings Planner to quickly run some simulations.

To start your 529 Plan, you’ll need to choose an investment(s), which can vary widely by potential risk and reward. Use the slider to see these definitions. When you look at the investment options, most are designed around a particular risk/reward target. The exceptions are Ready-Made Target Enrollment Portfolios. Those manage risk for you, starting out more aggressively and automatically becoming more conservative as college nears.

Decision
You want FDIC insured safety and have no tolerance for downward fluctuation in the value of your portfolio. Options: Fifth-Third Bank tax-free 529 Savings Accounts and CDs.
You want a portfolio that’s much more focused on income-producing investments like bonds and cash reserves than stocks, so there’s more stability in your portfolio. Options: Ready-Made Portfolios and individual stock/bond funds.
You want growth potential but would like to dial-down the risk level – and the potential fluctuations – by having a blend of stock and income-oriented investments in the portfolio. Options: Ready-Made Portfolios and individual stock/bond funds.
You want the most growth potential possible which means a portfolio heavily invested in stocks. You can live with significant changes, up and down, in the value of your portfolio. Options: Ready-Made Portfolios and individual stock/bond funds.

Super simple? Highly customized? FDIC insured? We offer a solution for you.

At Ohio’s 529 Plan, we can’t offer individual investment advice but we want to do everything possible to empower you to find the solution that’s right for you. When choosing an investment option, you should review our Offering Statement for full disclosures regarding risks, fees, and performance of each investment option. You can keep it really simple with Ready-Made Portfolios. You can build your own portfolio of individual investment options from leading investment managers like Vanguard and Dimensional Fund Advisors. You can even choose the total safety of FDIC-insured banking options from Fifth Third Bank. And if your investment preferences or goals change, you can make changes twice yearly.

Decision

When saving for a long-term goal, these portfolios are as simple as it gets. Ready-Made means it’s a complete, diversified portfolio. Target Enrollment means you simply need to know when your student will likely graduate from high school. Your portfolio will automatically adjust based on how much time you have. If education after high school is far away, the funds will be invested more aggressively. As time passes, the investments change on a “glide path” toward a very conservative stance by the time college starts.

We offer two options in this category: Advantage Age-Based Portfolio and Vanguard Ohio Target Enrollment Portfolio. To compare them ... (click for more).

Want to better understand how these work? Watch our “529s in 29 seconds” video.

Advantage Age-Based Portfolios

These have a mix of actively managed and index funds comprised of stocks, bonds, and short-term investments. When college is far away, the funds are invested more aggressively. The risk level is automatically reduced on a glide path (watch video) as time passes.

Ready-Made, Age-Based

Investment Performance

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet
3-yr. 5-yr and Life of Fund shown as avg. annual returns

Growth of $1,000

Important Information About This Investment

Advantage Age-Based Portfolio is actively managed by Wilshire Consulting. The asset allocation mix shown is the target mix as of April 1, 2022. CollegeAdvantage may adjust the weighting in the investment options within each portfolio or change the investment option mix within the respective portfolios within a predetermined range. As such the target asset allocation mix, as well as the weightings of the underlying investment options are expected to change over time. The option is actively monitored to ensure the appropriateness of each underlying investment fund within the portfolio to meet the relevant benchmark.

Vanguard Ohio Target Enrollment Portfolios

These portfolios are comprised of Vanguard index funds – stock, bond and cash – to provide diversification at minimal investment cost. The portfolios adjust frequently on a glide path (watch video) from a more aggressive to a more conservative mix as college nears.

Vanguard Ohio Target Enrollment Portfolio

These portfolios are not new to Vanguard but they are to the CollegeAdvantage offering. Since our performance data reflects returns after fees and expenses, performance data will appear after a full quarter and will accumulate from there.

Investment Performance

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet

Growth of $1,000

Important Information About This Investment

The Vanguard Ohio Target Enrollment Portfolio uses a carefully balanced mix of Vanguard mutual funds representing a variety of asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash investments). These portfolios are designed for frequent, gradual adjustments on a glide path (watch video) from a more aggressive to increasingly conservative stance. Vanguard pioneered low-cost, index-based investing, helping millions of investors build a brighter future. It is one of the world’s largest investment companies.

Ready-Made means it’s a complete portfolio. Risk-Based means you choose a level of risk which is maintained over time, so if you want to get more or less aggressive you would need to choose a different portfolio.

Want to better understand how these work? Watch our “529s in 29 seconds” video.

Vanguard Passive Index-Based Portfolios

You can choose one or any combination of five risk levels. Remember, these stay constant over time, so any changes to risk-level would have to be self-managed. You can make fund exchanges up to two times per year.

You’re viewing the Vanguard Income Portfolio

Investment Performance

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet

Growth of $1,000

Important Information About This Investment

Vanguard Risk-Based Portfolios use a carefully balanced mix of Vanguard mutual funds representing a variety of asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash investments) to achieve the targeted level of risk. Allocations to each fund are static (+/-1%). Vanguard pioneered low-cost, index-based investing, helping millions of investors build a brighter future. It is one of the world’s largest investment companies.

Dimensional Fund Advisors World ex U.S. Core Equity Portfolio

Aggressive / Actively Managed

Invests in the stocks of international companies. Potentially higher returns over time with the highest level of risk. All-cap core fund class.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+6.60% -4.32% +16.00% +2.26% +4.15%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The World ex U.S. Core Equity Portfolio seeks to achieve its investment objective through exposure to a broad and diverse group of securities of non-U.S. companies in countries with developed and emerging markets. The Portfolio invests in companies of all sizes, with increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies as compared to their representation in the non-U.S. Universe. For purposes of the Portfolio, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) defines the non-U.S. Universe as a market capitalization weighted set (e.g., the larger the company, the greater the proportion of the non-U.S. Universe it represents) of non-U.S. companies in developed and emerging markets that have been authorized for investment as approved markets by the Advisor’s Investment Committee.

The Portfolio’s increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies may be achieved by decreasing the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets to larger capitalization, higher relative price, or lower profitability companies relative to their weight in the non-U.S. Universe. An equity issuer is considered to have a high relative price (i.e., a growth stock) primarily because it has a high price in relation to its book value. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. In assessing profitability, the Advisor considers different ratios, such as that of earnings or profits from operations relative to book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time. The Advisor determines company size on a country or region specific basis and based primarily on market capitalization. The Advisor may adjust the representation in the Portfolio of an eligible company, or exclude a company, after considering such factors as free float, momentum, trading strategies, liquidity, size, relative price, profitability, investment characteristics, and other factors that the Advisor determines to be appropriate. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in non-U.S. equity securities and/or investments that provide exposure to non-U.S. securities.

Vanguard Total International Stock Index Option

Aggressive / Index Fund

An index-based approach to investing in international stocks. Potentially higher returns over time with the highest level of risk. All-Cap blend fund class.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+6.63% -4.71% +12.56% +2.40% +3.78%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The Vanguard Total International Stock Index Option invests 100% of its assets in Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, which employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the FTSE Global All Cap ex U.S. Index, a float adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index designed to measure equity market performance of companies located in developed and emerging markets, excluding the United States. The index includes approximately 5,300 stocks of companies located in over 46 countries. The fund invests all, or substantially all, of its assets in the common stocks included in its target index.

Vanguard Strategic Equity Option

Aggressive / Actively Managed

Seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in U.S. small and mid-cap stocks that balance strong growth prospects and reasonable valuations relative to industry peers. Mid-cap blend fund class.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+3.21% -5.93% +24.33% +7.73% +9.32%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The Vanguard Strategic Equity Option invests 100% of its assets in Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund. The fund invests in small- and mid-capitalization domestic equity securities based on the advisor's assessment of the relative return potential of the securities. The advisor selects securities that he or she believes offer an appropriate balance between strong growth prospects and reasonable valuations relative to their industry peers. The advisor does this by using a quantitative process to evaluate all of the securities in the fund's Benchmark while seeking to maintain a risk profile similar to that of the Benchmark.

Vanguard Extended Market Index Option

Aggressive / Index Fund

A broadly diversified index fund that invests in stocks of small- to mid-size companies. Seeks to track the performance of the Standard & Poors Completion Index. Small & Mid-cap growth fund class.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+5.83% -14.23% +16.99% +5.92% +8.76%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The Vanguard Extended Market Index Option invests 100% of its assets in Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund, which employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Standard & Poor's Completion Index. The index is a broadly diversified index of stocks of small- and midsize U.S. companies. The S&P Completion Index contains all of the U.S. common stocks regularly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ over-the-counter market, except those stocks included in the S&P 500 Index.

The fund invests by sampling the index, meaning that it holds a broadly diversified collection of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full index in terms of key characteristics. These characteristics include industry weightings and market capitalization, as well as certain financial measures, such as price to earnings ratio and dividend yield. When the Vanguard Extended Market Index Option is combined with the Vanguard 500 Index Option, investors may obtain exposure to the entire U.S. stock market.

Vanguard U.S. Growth Option

Aggressive / Actively Managed

Invests mainly in large companies with strong growth potential relative to price and earnings. At least 80% of the fund will be in stock issued by U.S. companies. Large-cap growth fund class.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+15.81% -17.65% +12.23% +9.76% +10.36%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The Vanguard U.S. Growth Option invests 100% of assets in Vanguard U.S. Growth Fund, which invests mainly in large-capitalization stocks of U.S. companies considered to have above-average earnings growth potential and reasonable stock prices in comparison with expected earnings. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the fund’s assets will be invested in securities issued by U.S. companies. The fund uses multiple investment advisors. Each advisor independently selects and maintains a portfolio of common stocks for the fund.

Vanguard Windsor II Option

Moderate / Actively Managed

Seeks to invest in stocks that provide long-term capital appreciation and income.  Considered a value fund as focuses on stocks perceived by its managers to be undervalued. Large-cap value fund class.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+4.62% -5.65% +21.12% +10.19% +9.18%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The Vanguard Windsor II Option invests 100% of its assets in Vanguard Windsor II Fund. The fund invests mainly in large- and mid-capitalization companies whose stocks are considered by an advisor to be undervalued. Undervalued stocks are generally those that are out of favor with investors and that the advisor feels are trading at prices that are below average in relation to such measures as earnings and book value. These stocks often have above-average dividend yields.

The fund achieves diversification through a multi-manager structure, including both fundamental and qualitative styles. The fund's advisors work independently, each employing their own process and strategy through active management. Vanguard may invest a small portion of the fund's assets in stock index futures and/or shares of exchange-traded funds when doing so will reduce the fund's transaction costs or add value because the instruments are favorably priced.

Vanguard 500 Index Option

Aggressive / Index Fund

Uses an indexing approach to track the performance of the S&P 500, the largest publicly traded stocks of companies in the U.S. Large-cap blend fund class.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+7.46% -7.88% +18.42% +11.03% +9.16%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The Vanguard 500 Index Option invests 100% of its assets in Vanguard Institutional Index Fund, which employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. The index is a widely recognized benchmark of U.S. stock market performance that is dominated by the stocks of large U.S. companies. The fund attempts to replicate the target index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the stocks that make up the index, holding each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the index.

Vanguard Wellington Option

Moderate / Actively Managed

Seeks to provide a balance of long-term capital appreciation with moderate current income. Large-cap Blend fund class in stocks. Investment grade credit quality in bonds.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+3.32% -5.47% +10.52% +6.98% +10.11%
These portfolios are not new to Vanguard but they are to the CollegeAdvantage offering. Since our performance data reflects returns after fees and expenses, performance data will appear after a full quarter and will accumulate from there.

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The Vanguard Wellington Option invests 100% of its assets in the Vanguard Wellington Fund. The fund invests 60% to 70% of its assets in common stocks of established large companies that each pay dividends and (to a lesser extent) are non-dividend-paying. In choosing these companies, the advisor seeks those that appear to be undervalued but have prospects for improvement. These stocks are commonly referred to as value stocks. The remaining 30% to 40% of the fund's assets are invested mainly in fixed-income securities that the advisor believes will generate a moderate level of current income. These securities include investment-grade corporate bonds, with some exposure to U.S. Treasury and government agency bonds and mortgage-backed securities. The Vanguard Wellington Option is actively managed.

Vanguard High Yield Corporate Option

Moderate / Actively Managed

Seeks to provide a high level of current income by investing in higher-risk securities known as “junk bonds” with medium or lower credit quality ratings. Low to mid-tier credit quality in bonds. 

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+3.22% -2.01% +4.60% +3.12% +3.57%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

This option invests in Vanguard High Yield Corporate Fund, which invests primarily in a diversified group of high-yielding, higher-risk corporate bonds – commonly known as “junk bonds” – with medium- and lower-range credit quality ratings. The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds rated below Baa by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. They have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the fund’s advisor.

The fund may not invest more than 20% of its assets in any of the following, taken as a whole: bonds with credit ratings lower than B or the equivalent, convertible securities, preferred stocks or fixed and floating rate loans of medium- to lower-range credit quality. The loans in which the fund may invest will be rated Baa or below by Moody’s, have an equivalent rating by any other bond-rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the fund’s advisor. The fund’s high-yield bonds and loans mostly have short- and intermediate-term maturities.

Dimensional Fund Advisors – DFA Investment-Grade Portfolio

Moderate / Actively Managed

Seeks to maximize total returns from a broad universe of eligible investments, including investment-grade debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. corporate and government issuers. Investment grade credit quality with interest rate sensitivity.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+3.07% -4.24% -2.24% +1.24% +1.33%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The DFA Investment Grade Portfolio seeks to achieve its investment objective through exposure to a broad portfolio of investment grade debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. corporate and government issuers. At the present time, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) expects that most investments will be made in the obligations of issuers that are located in developed countries. However, in the future, the Advisor may consider investing in issuers located in other countries as well. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio’s net assets will be invested in fixed income securities considered to be investment grade quality.

The DFA Investment Grade Portfolio will be managed with a view to capturing expected credit premiums and expected term premiums. The term “expected credit premium” means the expected incremental return on investment for holding obligations considered to have greater credit risk than direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury, and “expected term premium” means the expected relative return on investment for holding securities having longer-term maturities as compared to shorter-term maturities. In managing the Portfolio, the Advisor will increase or decrease investment exposure to intermediate-term securities depending on the expected term premium and also increase or decrease investment exposure to non-government securities depending on the expected credit premium.

The DFA Investment Grade Portfolio invests in U.S. and foreign corporate debt securities with an investment grade credit rating. In addition, the Portfolio may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, bank obligations, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, obligations of other domestic and foreign issuers having investment grade ratings, securities of domestic or foreign issuers denominated in U.S. dollars but not trading in the United States, and obligations of supranational organizations. The Portfolio may invest with an emphasis on debt securities rated in the lower half of the investment grade spectrum (e.g., rated BBB- to A+ by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”) or Baa3 to A1 by Moody’s Investor’s Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”)). The Portfolio will not emphasize investments in the lower half of the investment grade spectrum, however, when the Advisor believes the expected credit premium is relatively low. The Portfolio will also invest in higher-rated debt securities. In addition, the Portfolio is authorized to invest more than 25% of its total assets in U.S. Treasury bonds, bills and notes, and obligations of federal agencies and instrumentalities.

The DFA Investment Grade Portfolio primarily invests in securities that mature within twenty years from the date of settlement. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will generally maintain a weighted average duration of no more than one quarter year greater than, and no less than one year below, the weighted average duration of the Portfolio’s benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, which was approximately 6.22 years as of December 31, 2020. From time to time, the Portfolio may deviate from this duration range when the Advisor determines it to be appropriate under the circumstances. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.

The DFA Investment Grade Portfolio’s investments may include foreign securities denominated in foreign currencies. The Portfolio intends to hedge foreign currency exposure to attempt to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency rates. The Portfolio may enter into foreign currency forward contracts to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates or to transfer balances from one currency to another. In regard to currency hedging, it is generally not possible to precisely match the foreign currency exposure of such foreign currency forward contracts to the value of the securities involved due to fluctuations in the market values of such securities and cash flows into and out of the Portfolio between the date a foreign currency forward contract is entered into and the date it expires. The Portfolio also may enter into credit default swaps on issuers or indices to buy or sell credit protection to hedge its credit exposure; gain market or issuer exposure without owning the underlying securities; or increase the Portfolio’s total return. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate or currency exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

The DFA Investment Grade Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Option

Conservative / Index Fund

Broadly diversified in U.S. Bonds (Government, Corporate, Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed securities) with maturities over one year weighted toward five to ten years. Tracks the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index. High Credit Quality and with interest rate sensitivity.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+3.13% -4.81% -2.91% +0.79% +1.10%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

This option invests in Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, which employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index. This index represents a wide spectrum of public, investment-grade, taxable, and fixed-income securities in the United States. These include government, corporate and international dollar-denominated bonds, as well as mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities – all with maturities of more than one year. The fund invests by sampling the index, meaning that it holds a broadly diversified collection of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the fund’s investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of the fund’s assets will be invested in bonds held in the Index. The fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the Index, which generally ranges between five and ten years.

Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Option

Conservative / Index Fund

Seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of inflation-protected public obligations of the U.S. Treasury with remaining maturities of less than five years. High credit quality and limited interest rate sensitivity.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+2.18% -0.42% +3.30% +2.79% +2.08%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

This option invests in Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund, which employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected (TIPS) 0-5 Year Index. The Index is a market capitalization-weighted index that includes all inflation-protected public obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury with remaining maturities of less than five years. The fund attempts to replicate the target index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the securities that make up the Index. It holds each security in approximately the same proportion as it is weighted in the Index. The fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the target index, which generally does not exceed three years.

NOTE: Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund seeks to provide protection from inflation (i.e., a rise in the general price level for goods and services) as measured by the Consumer Price Index. It is possible that the costs of higher education may increase at a rate that exceeds the rate of increase of the Consumer Price Index. There is no guarantee that the fund will protect investors from the rising costs of higher education.

Interest Accumulation Portfolio

Conservative / Stable Value Fund

Seeks to provide income consistent with the preservation of principal. Invests in the Vanguard Short-Term Reserves Account, which holds fixed-rate funding agreements issued by several highly-rated insurance companies, along with shares of Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund.

Investment Performance as of 03/31/2023

3-month 1-year 3-year 5-year Life of Fund
+0.59% +1.79% Data Not Available Yet Data Not Available Yet +1.02%

Growth of $1,000 as of 03/31/2023

Important Information About This Investment

The Interest Accumulation Portfolio directs all of its assets into Ohio Short-Term Reserves Account, through which the Portfolio owns funding agreements issued by one or more insurance companies, synthetic investment contracts (SICs), and/or shares of Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund. Funding agreements and SICs are interest-bearing contracts that are structured to preserve principal and accumulate interest earnings over the life of the investment. Funding agreements generally pay interest at a fixed interest rate and have fixed maturity dates that normally range from two to five years. SICs pay a variable interest rate and have an average duration range between two and five years. Investments in either new funding agreements or SICs are based upon available liquidity in the Portfolio and the competitiveness of offered yields, based on market conditions and trends. The Ohio Short-Term Reserves Account may also invest as little as 2% to 25% of its assets in shares of Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund, to meet normal liquidity needs, to as much as all or a large portion of its assets in this Fund if sufficient investments cannot be obtained from issuers meeting the minimum credit standards and contract terms.

Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund invests in high-quality, short-term money market instruments issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities. Although these securities are high-quality, most of the securities held by the Fund are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. To be considered high quality, a security must be determined by Vanguard to present minimal credit risk based in part on a consideration of maturity, portfolio diversification, portfolio liquidity, and credit quality. The Fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity of 60 days or less and a dollar-weighted average life of 120 days or less. The performance of the Interest Accumulation Portfolio will reflect the blended earnings of the funding agreements, SICs, and Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund shares held by the Portfolio, minus the Portfolio’s expenses, including the benefit responsive charge paid to the issuers of SICs and separate account funding agreements. The benefit responsive charges range from 0.15% to 0.20%. The Portfolio’s target duration is expected to range between 1.5 and 3.5 years. The Portfolio has a longer average maturity than most money market funds, which should result in higher yields when interest rates are stable or declining. However, because only a portion of the Portfolio’s investment matures each year, its yield will change more slowly than that of a money market fund. As a result, when interest rates are rising, the Portfolio’s yield may fall below money market funds’ yields for an extended time period.

Note: Ohio Short-Term Reserves Account’s investment in Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund seeks to preserve the value of the investment at $1 per share, it cannot guarantee that it will do so. It is possible that Ohio Short-Term Reserves Account may lose money by investing in the fund. The Vanguard Group, Inc., has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and there should be no expectation that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time.

An Account Owner cannot transfer assets in an account directly from Interest Accumulation Portfolio to an investment option that is considered a competing Investment Option or other Option that would have investment objectives, such as capital preservation, which are similar to a stable value fund. Thus, reallocations from the Interest Accumulation Portfolio cannot be directly reallocated to the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Option, Fifth Third 529 Savings Account Option, or the Fifth Third 529 Certificate of Deposit Option. Before an Account Owner may direct the transfer of assets in an account from the Interest Accumulation Portfolio to the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Option, Fifth Third 529 Savings Account, or the Fifth Third 529 CD, or any other competing investment option that may later be added to the Plan, the Account Owner must first direct the transfer to an investment option, other than a competing investment option, for at least 90 days. After 90 days, the Account Owner may then instruct the Plan to transfer the applicable amount to the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Option, Fifth Third 529 Savings Account, or the Fifth Third 529 CD, or any other competing investment option. Account Owners should note that moving allocations from the Interest Accumulation Portfolio to a noncompeting investment option for at least 90 days, and then to the desired competing investment option, will each count toward the limited number of times an Account Owner is permitted to direct changes in investment options for an account within a calendar year. Additional investment options could be restricted in the future, if the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority (OTTA) Investment Board votes to add additional competing investment options to the Direct Plan.

Fifth Third Bank is the official bank partner for Ohio’s 529 Plan. You get all the tax advantages of saving in Ohio’s 529 Direct Plan along with FDIC-Insured safety to the normal federal limits. Other advantages include competitive interest rates, guaranteed rate of return, no fees, and a low minimum deposit of $25 ($500 for a CD).

Fifth Third 529 Savings Account

Maximum Safety / FDIC Insured Bank Account

Rates are based on the balance amount and may change at any time based on market conditions.

Fifth Third 529 Certificate of Deposit

Maximum Safety / FDIC Insured Bank Account

You can choose maturities based on your goals (early withdrawal penalties apply). The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is based on the CD term length, not on the opening balance. Once CDs mature they will automatically transfer to a Fifth Third 529 Savings Account. You can 1) leave the funds there, 2) transfer to another investment option (using one of your twice per year exchanges), or 3) withdraw the funds for qualified expenses.

 


Important Information About Fifth Third Bank 529 Accounts

Fifth Third establishes the rates as well as the effective dates and times. Contributions to the Fifth Third 529 Savings Account and CD Options require two business days to complete the transaction. Accordingly, such contributions will receive the APY in effect on the business day following the receipt of a contribution received in good order before 4 p.m. on any given business day. Online contributions may take one to four banking days to process completely. Rates applicable to the opening of a Fifth Third 529 Savings Account or CD may be changed by Fifth Third at any time and without notice. The rates listed here may not be the rate in effect at the time a newly opened Fifth Third 529 Savings Account or CD option is processed. Minimum opening balance for the CD is $500. The interest rate will remain the same until the maturity date of the CD. Interest begins to accrue on the first business day of deposit and will be calculated using the daily balance method. This method applies a daily periodic rate to the balance in the account. Interest is compounded continuously for CDs and credited to the account monthly. For CDs issued prior to Aug. 10, 2015, these are the following penalties for early withdrawal. Penalties are recorded as a reduction of interest expense.

CD TermCD Penalties for Early Withdrawal
3-12 monthsWhich is greater: An amount equal to three months of interest or one-half of the interest for the unexpired term of CD
12 months or greaterWhich is greater: An amount equal to six months of interest or one-half of the interest for the unexpired term of CD

For CDs issued after Aug. 10, 2015, these are the following penalties for early withdrawal. Penalties are recorded as a reduction of interest expense.

CD TermCD Penalties for Early Withdrawal
less than 12 months1% of principal withdrawn
12-35 months2% of principal withdrawn
36-144 months3% of principal withdrawn

The amount of the penalty shall not exceed interest earned, except for during the first 6 days of the term where a minimum 7 day interest penalty must be applied and may be deducted from principal. You may lose money if you withdraw the CD prior to maturity.

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