When you’re saving for your child’s future education needs, you want to be sure you’re choosing the right investment option. But selecting the right portfolio, with the right investing approach, can be overwhelming. Should you choose an option that includes funds with a strategic, or active, investing approach? Does a passive management approach make more sense? Or is some combination of the two the right choice? What do “active” and “passive” even mean?

A strategic, or active, investment strategy means that a portfolio manager is attempting, through their investment decisions, to outperform a particular benchmark or index. In contrast, a passive investment strategy attempts to match the performance of a specific benchmark or index.

Alaska 529 partners with T. Rowe Price, a global investment firm who provides portfolio management for the plan. The deep experience of the T. Rowe Price portfolio managers has been an integral part of Alaska 529’s success. They combine this experience with a forward-looking mindset and rigorous research to guide investment decisions. 

T. Rowe Price adopts a strategic investing approach in managing our 529 plan portfolios. This strategic investing philosophy, which includes target-date investing, incorporates tactical allocation and active management of many underlying strategies. The target-date investment process has historically created value by allowing portfolio managers to focus on achieving superior long-term results for our account holders even in the face of changing market conditions. Take a look at the historical performance of the Alaska 529 portfolios.^*

Alaska 529 offers you an affordable and flexible way to invest for your future education needs. Want to know more about the benefits of an Alaska 529 plan? Visit the Why Alaska 529 page to learn more. To learn more about your Alaska 529 investment options, click here.