re: 529 START Funds

In theory, I like the age-based funds, the idea being set it and forget it. That's appealing because one already has to worry about managing retirement, etc., and having something on auto-pilot is appealing. The one drawback is that the age ranges are very wide, and therefore the allocation change is substantial, and triggered by a birthdate. Let's take a scenario in which a child had their sixth or 11th birthday toward the end of 2008. On their birthday, the model would shift to then next one, and I think the equity allocations diminish in 20% increments. Normally, you might be the type to never sell during a huge decline, but that's what happens. Conversely, you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that your child's triggering birthday happened near the end of 2007, and you managed to sell some near the top.