Age-based vs. static portfolios: what to pick in your 529.
Every 529 offers a menu of investment options. Here's how to choose between age-based (auto-adjusting) and static portfolios, and when to override the default.
When you open a 529, the platform will offer you a menu of investment portfolios. For most parents, the right choice is dead simple: an age-based portfolio that automatically gets more conservative as your kid approaches college.
How age-based portfolios work
When your kid is young, the portfolio is mostly stocks — high growth potential, but volatile. As they age, the mix shifts gradually toward bonds and cash. By freshman year, the account is mostly stable assets, so a market crash the summer before college doesn't wipe out the tuition fund.
Unless you have strong views on asset allocation, pick the age-based portfolio matched to your kid's expected college start year and call it done.