MOST Disturbing

While the Blunt administration continutes its efforts to raid student lending options for college bound Missourians, your State Treasurer Sarah Steelman was retooling Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan to ensure your savings options were among the worse as well.

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that Morningstar's annual survey of 529 College Savings Plans now includes Missouri's MOST plan as one of the worst.

Morningstar has this to say about the 2006 changes implemented by Steelman:

"Disappointingly, a new plan rolled out in May 2006, Missouri's MOST 529 Advisor, also makes our list for its high costs and mixed bag of underlying investments. The plan doesn't offer an age-based option, instead providing 24 funds from which brokers can construct portfolios suited to their individual client needs. Again, though, a 0.30% program management fee and 0.25% distribution fee for the Class A shares are piled on top of mostly more expensive A fund shares. Indeed, the total annual asset-based costs for the individual fund options range from 1.22% to 2.70%, including a rich 1.45% for the plan's three ETF offerings. Missouri does offer a state tax deduction on 529 contributions to the home-state plan, so residents have good reason to consider the state's direct-sold option."

This years plan eliminates the guaranteed return option offered by former manager TIAA-CREF for all but current plan investors.

The MOST program was developed by former State Treasurer and Governor Bob Holden. When it was created in 1999 it was considered one of the premier plans in the country.

Good job Madam Treasurer.