There must not be many here familiar with 529 plans. I don't even know
if those are invested in stocks, funds, bunds, or what? My guess is
that a 529 is restricted to low volatility, and that might account for
the mediocre performance. The stock market has not been spectacular.
The 3.50% load sounds pretty high (I assume that's an front load that
has already been paid?). Shop around with some brokers and see what
they can tell you about the plans.

A few years ago, (I think 2002)
Grandpa setup a Fidelity 529 plan for each of the 7 grandkids.
It was supposely graduated to contribute more for the oldest,
and less for the younger..... not large amounts, about $800 a year.
So - for our 15yr old - his plan has about $6k - enuff for books
Not sure how much the other kids have - don't want to start a squable..

The plan has a 3.50% load,
and it doesn't appear to be appreciating that much
compared to our own personal mutual fund holdings.
So - how does this plan look compared to other 529 plans ???

<https://advisor.fidelity.com/cdapp/P....do?sasid=5604
tnx for any insight - BTW, we are in Illinois -