529, ABLE Account Assets up 11.8% Year Over Year in Q2

The 529 college savings plan market grew modestly in the second quarter of 2025, with total assets hitting $568 billion across 17.3 million accounts, according to data from ISS Market Intelligence, which, like PLANSPONSOR, is owned by ISS STOXX.

The Q2 total continued an upward trend for the market, which sat at $525 billion across 17.2 million accounts after Q1 and at $508 billion in assets across 16.8 million accounts one year ago.

According to ISS MI’s Q2 data,16.4 million accounts had invested $543 billion in 529 savings plans alone, while prepaid tuition plans held steady at $25 billion across roughly 900,000 accounts.

ABLE (or 529A) accounts, named for ‘Achieving a Better Life Experience,’ offer tax-advantaged savings to benefit individuals with disabilities. Take-up of these accounts also increased, growing to 213,855 accounts with nearly $2.7 billion in assets, up from 204,133 accounts holding approximately $2.5 billion last quarter and last year’s 180,748 accounts, which had slightly more than $2 billion invested.

Estimated 529 savings plan net inflows were $4 billion in Q2, up from $3.6 billion one year ago, according to the report, which “aligns with continued demand for education, career training and 529s as more parents are successfully using 529s for their intended purpose of qualified educational expenses to and through the market and economic volatility in 2024 and 2025 in the United States.”

The report predicted continued upward momentum, especially as families increasingly integrate 529 strategies into their tax, estate and financial planning playbooks.

The five largest 529 Savings Plan program managers by total assets through Q2 are: 

• Ascensus: $147.6 billion;
• American Funds: $104.1 billion;
• TIAA: $64.9 billion;
• Fidelity: $51.7 billion; and
• the State of Utah: $27.3 billion

In addition, the five largest 529 savings plans by Q2 assets include:

• CollegeAmerica 529 Savings, by American Funds: $104.1 billion;
• New York 529 Direct, by Vanguard: $47.6 billion;
• Vanguard 529, by Vanguard: $40.7 billion;
• My529, by Utah: $27.3 billion; and
• UNIQUE College Investing Plan, by Fidelity: $25.3 billion.