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ACHIEVE MONTANA IS GETTING EVEN BETTER

Achieve Montana is making exciting improvements! Starting April 24, We are reducing fees, updating the age-based options to expand the glidepath and focus on your beneficiary’s year of enrollment, adding two new individual portfolios and updating the underlying investments in which each portfolio invests.

These changes are automatic, so you don’t need to do anything. You’ll soon receive a Supplement to your existing Program Description that provides more detail, but here’s some highlights of what you can expect. You can also check out some detail, including a full fee chart on our FAQs page here

Reduced Fees

We’re helping you keep even more of what you save by reducing the expense ratios for all Portfolios. We are reducing asset based fees from a range of 0.47% - 0.83% to a range of 0.395% - 0.587%. That’s a decrease of as much as 29%! You can find a detailed fee chart here.

Improved investment options

We’re redesigning our age-based options to include seven total steps and redesigned portfolios throughout the glidepath. This change will allow a smoother transition from aggressive to more conservative investments as your beneficiary nears college age.

This tapered reduction, with its corresponding smaller portfolio reallocations, may help protect you from declines in the stock market while still allowing your account to benefit when the market goes up. In other words, the changes could provide account owners with the opportunity to increase their returns without significantly increasing their risk.

You can refer to the charts on this page for more details on the current and new glide paths for the new Year of Enrollment Option, as well as the portfolios that make up that option. Your assets will be moved to the new Year of Enrollment Portfolios based on the date of birth of the Beneficiary as follows:
 

Beneficiary Date of Birth

New Year of Enrollment Portfolios

September 11, 2018-September 10, 2021

2038 Enrollment Portfolio

September 11, 2015-September 10, 2018

2035 Enrollment Portfolio

September 11, 2012-September 10, 2015

2032 Enrollment Portfolio

September 11, 2009-September 10, 2012

2029 Enrollment Portfolio

September 11, 2006-September 10, 2009

2026 Enrollment Portfolio

September 11, 2003-September 10, 2006

2023 Enrollment Portfolio

September 10, 2003 and before

College Portfolio


Changes to the Individual Portfolios

In order to continue to offer you best-in-class investment options, we’re updating the underlying investments in the Income Portfolio, Conservative Portfolio, Moderate Portfolio, Growth Portfolio, and Aggressive Portfolio. In addition, we’re changing how we refer to these portfolios. They will now be referred to as Asset Allocation Portfolios to more closely match the mix of investments in each portfolio.

The following table summarizes these changes. The funds listed on the left in the table below will be removed as underlying investments, the funds listed in the middle will be added as new underlying investments, and the funds listed on the right will remain as underlying investments.
 

ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIOS

Removed underlying investments

Added underlying investments

Remaining underlying investments

DFA U.S. Large Company Portfolio

Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund

Vanguard REIT Index Fund

DFA Short-Term Government Portfolio

DFA Inflation-Protected Securities Portfolio

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund

Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund Institutional

iShares Total U.S. Stock Market Index Fund

Schwab U.S. REIT ETF

Vanguard Total Bond Market II Index Fund

iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF

Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund

New York Life Guaranteed Investment Account

Vanguard Developed Markets Index Fund

Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund

Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund

DFA Two-Year Global Fixed Income Portfolio

 


New Investment Options

We want to offer you more opportunities to customize your college savings. That’s why we’re introducing two new Individual Portfolios – the Equity Index Portfolio and the Bond Index Portfolio. Both are fixed investments – meaning that the underlying investments do not change over time the way a Year of Enrollment Portfolio’s assets gradually become more conservative as your beneficiary reaches school age.

The Equity Index Portfolio and the Bond Portfolio will offer the hands on investor more flexibility to choose the mix of investments that meets your higher education savings goals.

 

Individual Portfolios

Underlying Fund

Asset Class

Equity Index Portfolio

iShares Total U.S. Stock Market Index Fund

Domestic Equity

Bond Index Portfolio

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index ETF

Core Bond

Capital Preservation Portfolio

New York Life Guaranteed Investment Account

Capital Preservation


What to expect after the transition

After the close of business on April 24, 2020, your account balances will transition automatically to the new investment options on the dates outlined below. Your contribution allocations will also be updated and future contributions will be invested according to the new allocations.

You can change the allocation instructions for new contributions at any time with no annual restrictions. If you have an automatic contribution scheduled on April 24th, 25th, or 26th, your account will be credited with an April 27th, trade date.

Transition Dates

04.23.20

Transaction and other account change requests are processed as usual until 2 p.m. Mountain time. Requests received after 2 p.m. Mountain time on Thursday, April 23, 2020 and until 2 p.m. Mountain time on Friday, April 24, 2020, will be processed on Monday, April 27, 2020 using portfolio net asset values as of Monday, April 27, 2020. Account assets are transferred from existing portfolios to new portfolios.

04.24.20 - 04.27.20

Automatic investments scheduled for Friday, April 24, 2020, and transactions or other account-change requests received by mail after 2 p.m. Mountain time on Thursday, April 23, 2020, and until 2 p.m. Mountain time on Friday, April 24, 2020, are processed under the new allocations using portfolio net asset values as of Monday, April 27, 2020.

Important: You won’t be able to initiate or request any transactions online or by phone, including withdrawals or investment option changes, between 2 p.m. Mountain time on Thursday, April 23, 2020 and 6 a.m. Mountain time on Monday, April 27, 2020. You also won’t be able to initiate or request any other account changes online or by phone during this period.

We’re here for you

As always, if you have any questions about these improvements or anything else about Achieve Montana, you can speak to one of our client service representatives at 877.486.9271 Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mountain time. Additional information can also be found on our FAQs page here

For more information about Achieve Montana, call 877.486.9271 or download an Enrollment Kit. The Enrollment Kit includes a Program Description that discusses investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information; read and consider it carefully before investing.

If you are not a Montana taxpayer, before investing in Achieve Montana, you should consider the benefits of your home state's qualified tuition program. It may provide taxpayers with state tax and other benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds and protection from creditors, that are only available through your home state's qualified tuition program. You should also consult your financial, tax, or other advisor to learn how state-based benefits (or limitations) would apply to your specific circumstances. Tax and other penalties may apply to non-qualified withdrawals. Keep in mind that state-based benefits should be one of many appropriately weighted factors to be considered when making an investment decision. In addition, you should periodically assess, and if appropriate, adjust your Section 529 Plan investment choices with your time horizon, risk tolerance and investment objectives in mind.

Achieve Montana is sponsored by the State of Montana and administered by the Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education, as sole trustee of the Montana Family Education Savings Trust (Trust). Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLC serves as program manager and provides recordkeeping and administrative support services for Achieve Montana. The Vanguard Group, Inc. and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP each serve as the investment managers for the underlying investments comprising Achieve Montana's portfolios. New York Life Insurance Company serves as manager of Achieve Montana's Capital Preservation Portfolio. Although some of the portfolios invest in mutual funds, they are not mutual funds. When you invest in Achieve Montana, you are purchasing portfolio units issued by the Trust. Except to the extent of the New York Life Insurance Company guarantee that is available for the Capital Preservation Portfolio, investment returns are not guaranteed, and you could lose money by investing in Achieve Montana.

Account owners assume all investment risks as well as responsibility for any federal and state tax consequences.

Upromise is an optional service offered by Upromise, Inc., is separate from Achieve Montana, and is not affiliated with the State of Montana. Terms and conditions apply to the Upromise service. Participating companies, contribution levels, and terms and conditions are subject to change at any time without notice. Transfers from Upromise to an Achieve Montana account are subject to a $25 minimum. Go to upromise.com to learn more about Upromise.

Upromise and the Upromise logo are registered service marks of Upromise, Inc. Ugift is a registered service mark of Ascensus Broker Dealer Services, LLC, an affiliate of Ascensus College Savings Recordkeeping Services, LLC. Vanguard is a registered mark of The Vanguard Group, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Used with permission.