College On The Cheap 

Sep 1, 2010,

By Lynne O'Shaughnessy

A lot of people pay full price. That doesn't mean your clients have to....

The True Cost Of College 

Jul 1, 2010,

By Lynn O'Shaughnessy

The sticker price can be reduced, if you know how to do it....

The True Cost of College 

Jun 23, 2010,

By Lynn O’Shaughnessy

Everyone knows that colleges’ costs are out of control. It used to be that the most expensive colleges in this country cost $30,000 and then $40,000. And now dozens of colleges have blown past the $50,000 mark. None of this is news, but here's what you don't know: It's not true. ...

The Right School At The Right Price  

Jun 1, 2010,

By Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Families With Teenagers Need More Than Simple 529 Plan Advice. ...

The 529 Solution 

Mar 1, 2010,

By Kevin McKinley

How college savings plans can help your clients cut taxes and rising education costs....

529s Trump Savings Bonds  

Dec 1, 2009,

By Kevin McKinley

It's that time of year, and grandma may want some tips on giving wisely. ...

College AidGenerations: College Aid Prep 

Feb 1, 2009,

By Kevin McKinley

How to help clients calculate and maximize the amount of money available to pay for higher education expenses by encouraging parents to apply for financial aid....

Generations 

Jan 1, 2009,

By Kevin McKinley

How to help clients calculate and maximize the amount of financial aid they can get when Junior goes off to get his degree....

Generations: College Credit 

Dec 1, 2008,

By Kevin McKinley

Clients who have children heading off to college next year and beyond are facing a convergence of events that will drastically reduce the typical family's...

Generations: Tough Questions On 529s 

Nov 1, 2008,

By Kevin McKinley

Clients frequently want to know how to avoid taxes and penalties and deduct losses on 529s....

Generations: Tackling the 529 

Oct 1, 2008,

By Kevin McKinley

There are a few major things to consider as you help your clients set up 529 college savings plans...

Generations: Smart Spending on Grandkids 

Aug 1, 2008,

By Kevin McKinley

Sometimes it makes sense for grandparents to fund a 529 plan—and not just for their kids’ kids sake....

The Words Not Spoken 

Dec 1, 2007,

By Stephen Gresham

If you are like most advisors, you usually approach client meetings in one of two ways: If the market is up, you underscore the recent growth in the client's...

Smart Dollars for College: Facts and Figures 

Nov 1, 2007

The next time one of your clients is passing out cigars to celebrate the birth of a baby, tell him that if he wants to educate that bouncing bundle of...

Smart Dollars For College 

Nov 1, 2007,

By Kevin McKinley

The next time one of your clients is passing out cigars to celebrate the birth of a baby, tell him that if he wants to educate that bouncing bundle of...

College Costs: Up, Up and Away 

Oct 23, 2007,

By John Churchill

How’s Billy’s 529 plan coming? More gloomy news for parents is good news for financial advisors: Tuition continues to rise at an inflation-topping rate, according to the annual survey by the non-profit organization, College Board. ...

College Tuition: The Young Person’s Mortgage? 

Sep 19, 2007,

By Christina Mucciolo

Earlier this month, Congress passed a bill meant to lower the cost of college tuition while simultaneously providing greater access to college. This bill, which is awaiting President Bush’s signature, would slash interest rates on student debt—and that sounds nice. But in reality, it will do little to curb rampant tuition inflation, which increases, on average, about 6 to 7 percent annually—despite the fact that each year the U.S. Department of Education provides around $67 billion to “reduce” costs, and make college more “accessible.”...

Retirement Plan Participants Want Financial Planning 

Jun 12, 2007,

By Christina Mucciolo

The subject of workplace water-cooler conversations could become increasingly financial in nature. That’s because, when it comes to retirement planning, employees with 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans want more financial planning, and they aren’t getting it through their retirement plans, says Spectrum Group in a report released today called, “Financial Planning at the Workplace.”...

High On Higher Learning 

Feb 1, 2007,

Kevin Burke

College savings 529 plans are expected to flourish over the next five years, with assets more than doubling over the period. ...

New School Strategies 

Aug 1, 2006,

By Kevin McKinley

Advisors can help clients with college-bound children make the most of changes in two popular savings plans...

Getting Real With Numbers 

Jul 1, 2006,

By Kevin McKinley

Simple ways to calculate true savings and investing records for education, retirement, and life insurance...

Will Reform Drive Brokers From 529 Sales? 

Nov 1, 2005,

By Lauren Barack

It wasn't tainted research. It wasn't late trading. It wasn't even good for a lot of headlines. But it was another ugly moment for investment advisors...

Today's Lesson: Consolidation 

Nov 1, 2005,

By Lauren Barack

For the little commissions they generate, 529 plans have required quite a lot of effort on the part of financial advisors. When the business got started...

Protecting a Client's College Savings 

Aug 1, 2005,

By Jen Coates-Conroy

Investments in 529 plans are not as popular as they could be and that's saying something because they are pretty popular right now. They are, in fact,...

Passing Grades for 529s 

Apr 1, 2005,

By Kevin McKinley

When qualified college savings accounts burst on the scene in the late 1990s, the initial growth exceeded most expectations. Assets in state-sponsored...

529 Plans in the Crosshairs 

Jan 1, 2005,

Will Leitch

To virtually no one's surprise, regulators have begun scrutinizing how 529 plans are peddled. In December, the SEC and NASD sent a letter of inquiry to...

Gunning for College 

Nov 1, 2004,

BY ANNE FIELD

College savings plans are getting the hairy eyeball from regulators: It's one of those things that was so easy to predict, it could hardly have surprised...

Running Through the Ribbon 

Sep 1, 2004,

By Kevin McKinley

If saving for college were a race, it'd be a marathon, and even those 26-mile races culminate in a hard push for the finish line. So it is that college...

Battling for College Savings 

Aug 1, 2004,

By Kevin McKinley

The military genius Sun Tzu said, Every battle is won before it is ever fought. I'm not sure how many kids Sun and the missus sent off to State U., but...

The Future of College Savings 

Jul 1, 2004,

By Kevin McKinley

Saving for college is simple if a financial advisor is possessed of a Kreskin-like ability to predict the future of the tax code, financial aid programs...

College Funding Faceoff! 

May 1, 2004,

By Michael F. Greco

If personal finance were an orchestra, there would be little doubt what would occupy the first chair in the College Savings section. The 529 savings plan...

Et Tu, 529 Plans 

May 1, 2004,

BY ANNE FIELD

Just when you thought the news couldn't possibly get worse, it has. Both the NASD and the SEC have revealed they are separately investigating yet another...

529 Plans: A Taxing Subject 

Oct 1, 2003,

By Anne Field

If you're an advocate of states' the 529 college savings plan is the investment choice for you. Started by Congress in 1996 and named after the section...

First National Bank of Mom and Dad 

Dec 1, 2002,

By Kevin McKinley

The longer you are in the business of providing financial advice, the more likely you will get this call: A favorite middle-aged client rings you up and...

When That Bundle of Joy Grows Up to Be a Biker Chick 

Nov 1, 2002,

By Kevin McKinley

Within 15 minutes of my daughter Ellie's birth, I not only opened an UTMA investment account for her; I also planned out where she would attend college...