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Summary: South Carolina's Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Advisor-sold) features an extensive menu of age-based and static portfolio options utilizing Columbia mutual funds. Although sharing the same program name, the advisor-sold Future Scholar is significantly different from South Carolina's direct-sold Future Scholar, using actively-managed funds rather than index funds. Accounts can be linked to the Upromise rewards service. |
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Program type: Savings |
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Telephone: 1-888-244-5674 |
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Web site: Click here to visit |
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Program manager: Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc. |
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State residency requirements: None |
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Maximum contributions: Accepts contributions until all account balances in South Carolina's 529 plans for the same beneficiary reach $318,000. |
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Minimum contributions: With lump-sum contributions, the minimum initial contribution is $250, and the minimum subsequent contribution is $50. With the automatic investment plan, the minimum contribution level is $50 per month. |
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Age-based investment options: The Automatic Allocation Choice contains 6 portfolios of underlying mutual funds. Contributions are placed into the portfolio corresponding to the beneficiary?s age or number of years to expected enrollment, and later reassigned to more conservative portfolios as the beneficiary approaches college age. |
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Static investment options: Select among 6 multi-fund portfolios (Aggressive Growth, Growth, Balanced Growth, Balanced, Income and Growth, and Income), a money market portfolio, and 18 individual-fund portfolios. |
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Underlying investments: Columbia mutual funds and BofA Cash Reserves. A funding agreement with Transamerica Life in the Conservative Portfolio is being phased out. |
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Enrollment or application fee: None, but contributions may be subject to a sales charge depending on share class. |
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Account maintenance fee: $25 annually for accounts with less than $10,000, waived for South Carolina residents and state employees, and for accounts in the automatic contribution plan. |
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Program management fees: 0.30% management fee (includes 0.10% fee to the state), plus distribution/servicing fees of 0.25% (Class A), 1.00% (Class C), or 0.50% (Class E) |
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Expenses of the underlying investments: Ranges from 0.49% to 0.97% (portfolio weighted average) in the age-based portfolios, from 0.59% to 1.22% in the individual-fund portfolios, and 0.03% in the conservative portfolio. |
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Total asset-based expense ratio: Class A: 0.58% - 1.77%
Class C: 1.33% - 2.52%
Class E: 0.83% - 2.02% |
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Program match on contributions: None. |
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State tax deduction or credit for contributions: Contributions to a South Carolina 529 plan are fully deductible in computing South Carolina taxable income. Contribution deadline: April 15 of the following year. |
