In another sign that the 529 College Savings plan market is not what many plan administrators expected it to be, TIAA-CREF is asking shareholders to allow it to raise fees its funds pay to its investment advisor. The fee request was revealed in a proxy statement filed with the SEC.

The fee hikes would hit TIAA-CREF's actively managed institutional mutual funds that are used primarily in its 529 programs and with some institutional clients. Those funds hold just $6 billion of the $343 billion managed by the New York City-based asset manager and plan administrator.

When the 529 plan market was created, many in the fund industry expected quick growth mirroring that in the 401(k) industry. However, that growth has not materialized and many program administrators are finding themselves squeezed by states that seek revenues from the program at the expense of the administrator.

That appears to be what happened to TIAA-Creve’s' program.

The trustees of the funds write in the filing that Teachers Advisors, the funds' investment advisor, has been losing money under the existing fee structure since the funds were created in 1999.

"With the benefit of hindsight, however, it has become clear that the extremely low fees currently charged by the advisor are insufficient to cover the costs of providing services to the Funds while continuing to provide high-quality services to shareholders. The advisor has informed us that it has consistently incurred losses and cannot continue as an effective investment manager for the Funds under the current fee structure," they wrote.

Fund shareholders will vote on the proposed fee hike at an August 31 meeting. The increases both raise the asset-based fee paid to Teachers Advisors and create an maintenance charge for retail shareholders with account balances below $2,50 The proposal also calls for the merger of the TIAA-CREF Institutional Mutual Funds and TIAA-CREF Mutual Funds.

The funds would also add a 12b-1 charge of 25 basis points to cover distribution costs.

While the fees for the funds would substantially increase if the plan were approved, they would remain below those of many competitors. No fund would charge more than 50 basis points before the 12b-1 fee (see table below).

TIAA-CREFs New Fees
Fund	Current Fee	Max Proposed Fee
Growth Equity Fund	8 bps	45 bps
Growth & Income Fund	8 bps	45 bps
International Equity Fund	9 bps	50 bps
Large Cap Value Fund	8 bps	45 bps
Mid-Cap Growth Fund	8 bps	48 bps
Mid-Cap Value Fund	8 bps	48 bps
Small-Cap Equity Fund	8 bps	48 bps
Social Choice Equity Fund	4 bps	15 bps
Real Estate Securities Fund	9 bps	50 bps
Bond Fund	8 bps	30 bps
Inflation-Linked Bond Fund	9 bps	30 bps
Proxy statement filing with SEC

 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE