Ohio 529 Tacks On Vanguard Index Funds

March 29, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Ohio Tuition Trust Authority is adding investment options from The Vanguard Group to CollegeAdvantage, its 529 college savings plan.

Vanguard will manage 15 new CollegeAdvantage funds to be offered in addition to those already available by Putnam Investments. The Vanguard options will be available in May 2004.

The Vanguard options will consist of passively managed mutual funds that seek to match the performance of a particular market index. The Putnam options are actively managed funds that seek to outperform major market indices.

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The CollegeAdvantage Vanguard Investment Options will be offered on a direct basis, only through the Tuition Trust. The Putnam Investment Options are offered to Ohio residents on a direct basis through the Tuition Trust and through an extensive network of financial advisors. Non-Ohio residents, who do not name an Ohio resident as a beneficiary, can invest in the Putnam Investment Options only through a financial advisor.

For more information, go to  www.collegeadvantage.com .

UIT Deposits Down in February

March 26, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Asset flows into unit investment trusts (UIT) receded in February.

UITs, investment companies that hold fixed portfolios of selected stocks or bonds, had total deposits of $1.13 billion in February, down from the $1.91 billion in January deposits (See  Equities Blaze the UIT Trail in January ), according to data complied by the Investment Company Institute (ICI).

Leading the descent were equity UITs, which ended February with total deposits of $806 million, down from $1.7 billion in January.  Conversely, the other two categories saw deposits pick up for the month.   Tax-free debt UITs at $147 million, up from last month’s $142 million and taxable debt UITs reporting total deposits of $103 million, higher than the $83 million recorded the previous month.

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February recorded 46 new trusts issuing shares for the month.  Of that total, 22 were equity trusts, 19 were tax-free bond trusts and five were taxable bond trusts.

In terms of maturity, intermediate bond trusts having an average weighted maturity between five and 15 years were the most commonly offered in February, with $145.1 million in shareholder deposits.

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