There is officially a new trade group covering the retail asset management industry. The College Savings Foundation (CSF) has officially opened its doors. The CSF is based in Washington and has the mission of building public awareness of 529 plans along with providing public policy support for 529 plans.

Merrill Lynch's Charles Toth chairs the Board of Directors while Strong Financial's Sarah Henriksen is the founding treasurer and Bill Raynor of AIM Investments is secretary.

All of the founding members of the trade group are prominent players in the fund industry. However, two notable names in the 529 plan market -- Vanguard and TIAA-CREF -- are missing from the list.

The eight charter members of the CSF include:

AIM Investments

Fidelity Investments

Franklin Templeton

Manulife Financial

Merrill Lynch

Morgan Stanley

Strong Financial

T Rowe Price  

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