Pittsford, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 11/20/2013 --College-savings plans managed by T. Rowe Price for the state of Alaska placed among the top ten direct-sold 529 plans for investment performance through September 30, 2013 over all measuring periods -- one, three, five, and ten years -- according to Savingforcollege.com's newly-released 529 Plan Composite Performance Rankings. This included the top spot in both the three-year and ten-year categories.

West Virginia's SMART529 Select 529 plan, which invests in DFA funds, placed first for one-year investment performance, while Nevada's USAA 529 College Savings Plan, which invests in USAA funds, was best for five-year performance.

Alaska offers two 529 savings plans, the University of Alaska College Savings Plan and the T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan. The only substantive difference between them is that the University of Alaska College Savings Plan includes the "ACT" option, a balanced portfolio guaranteed to keep pace with tuition increases at the University of Alaska (UA) for plan beneficiaries who end up at UA. The plans can be purchased by Alaska residents and non-residents alike.

In producing its quarterly rankings, Savingforcollege.com compares the reported investment performance of a subset of portfolios from 529 savings plans in every state. Portfolios are selected based on their mix of stocks, bonds, and money-market funds, aiming for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven different asset-allocation categories.

"The remarkable aspect of Alaska's 529 plans is that they do not rely entirely on index funds like many other direct-sold 529 plans," remarked Joe Hurley, founder of Savingforcollege.com. "It demonstrates that active investment management, even with its higher costs, can effectively compete with passive index funds."

Hurley cautions, however, that past performance does not guarantee future returns, and that a plan currently ranking high will not necessarily outperform its peers in the future. "A number of different investment managers and investment styles are represented in our top-ten lists," he said.

The full reports showing rankings for all direct-sold 529 plans can be viewed at http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/2013-plan-performance-rankings-q3. Savingforcollege.com also produces, for its premium subscribers, separate rankings for advisor-sold 529 plans and for RIA-channel 529 plans, along with the investment data and scoring used in all ranking reports. Rankings are updated each quarter.

One-year Composite Performance Rankings (53 plans ranked)
1. West Virginia: SMART529 Select (DFA funds)
2. New Jersey: NJBEST 529 College Savings Program (mostly Franklin Templeton funds)
3. California: The ScholarShare College Savings Plan (multiple fund families)
4. District of Columbia: DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) (Calvert funds)
5. Utah: Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust (mostly Vanguard funds)
6. West Virginia: SMART529 WV Direct (mostly Hartford Funds)
7. Maryland: College Savings Plans of Maryland – College Investment Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
8. Maine: NextGenCollege Investing Plan - Client Direct Series (multiple fund families)
9. Alaska: University of Alaska College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
10. Kansas: Schwab 529 College Savings Plan (multiple fund families)

Three-year Composite Performance Rankings (45 plans ranked)
1. Alaska: University of Alaska College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
2. Alaska: T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
3. New York: New York’s 529 College Savings Program – Direct Plan (Vanguard funds)
4. District of Columbia: DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) (Calvert funds)
5. Utah: Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust (mostly Vanguard funds)
6. Maine: NextGenCollege Investing Plan - Client Direct Series (multiple fund families)
7. South Dakota: CollegeAccess529 (Direct-sold) (multiple fund families)
8. Florida: Florida 529 Savings Plan (multiple money managers)
9. South Carolina: Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) (multiple fund families)
10. Maryland: College Savings Plans of Maryland – College Investment Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)

Five-year Composite Performance Rankings (43 plans ranked)
1. Nevada: USAA 529 College Savings Plan (USAA funds)
2. Alaska: University of Alaska College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
3. Utah: Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust (mostly Vanguard funds)
4. Alaska: T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
5. Maryland: College Savings Plans of Maryland – College Investment Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
6. New York: New York’s 529 College Savings Program – Direct Plan (Vanguard funds)
7. Kansas: Schwab 529 College Savings Plan (multiple fund families)
8. Florida: Florida 529 Savings Plan (multiple money managers)
9. South Dakota: CollegeAccess529 (Direct-sold) (multiple fund families)
10. Michigan: Michigan Education Savings Program (TIAA-CREF funds)

Ten-year Composite Performance Rankings (20 plans ranked)
1. Alaska: T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
2. Utah: Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust (mostly Vanguard funds)
3. Alaska: University of Alaska College Savings Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
4. Maryland: College Savings Plans of Maryland – College Investment Plan (T. Rowe Price funds)
5. Kansas: Schwab 529 College Savings Plan (multiple fund families)
6. Virginia: Virginia529 inVEST (multiple managers and fund families)
7. Louisiana: START Saving Program (mostly Vanguard funds)
8. Nevada: USAA 529 College Savings Plan (USAA funds)
9. West Virginia: SMART529 WV Direct (mostly Hartford Funds)
10. South Carolina: Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) (multiple fund families)