Mississippi Selects Creative Planning as 529 Investment Manager

The State Treasury of Mississippi selected Creative Planning LLC as the investment manager for the state’s 529 education savings program. According to Creative Planning’s August 17 announcement, the firm will collaborate with Catalis LLC, a 529 service provider, to “modernize” the plan.

A 529 savings account is tax-advantaged and intended to serve as an investment account for education expenses. As of June 30, total assets under management for 529 college savings plans and prepaid tuition programs nationwide had grown to $654 billion across 18.2 million accounts, up from $568 billion across 17.3 million accounts one year earlier, according to data from ISS Market Intelligence, which, like PLANSPONSOR, is owned by ISS STOXX.

Mississippi’s 529 program served more than 23,000 families as of December 2025.

As part of the collaboration, the firms announced they plan to make enhancements to Mississippi’s 529 program, including:

• A 20% fee reduction for account owners;
• An improved planning tool to help participants choose investments during enrollment;
• Enrollment-year portfolios that automatically adjust over time; and
• Simplified risk-based portfolios.

Peter Mallouk, Creative Planning’s president and CEO, said in a statement, “By combining Catalis’s expertise in administering public programs with Creative Planning’s investment capabilities, we can deliver a modern, more flexible experience that helps Mississippi families save for the future.”

In addition, as part of the transition, Catalis will integrate new payment technology directly into the 529 customer account experience, including digital wallet gifting through both PayPal and Venmo, as well as prepaid Mastercard and Visa cards that help students pay for textbooks and other qualified expenses.

“To drive value to our 529 plan clients, Catalis purposely sought an investment partner that offers both true open investment architecture and strong access to top national investment firms,” Catalis CEO Scott Roza said in a statement. “Open architecture is a bedrock principle for Creative Planning, and they are uniquely positioned to deliver innovation and value to the 529 savings plan market.”

Creative Planning and its affiliates had approximately $750 billion in assets under management or advisement as of June 30.

Catalis provides services to 14 ABLE [Achieving a Better Life Experience] disability savings programs and 529 education savings programs across the U.S.