"These product changes help SMART529 stand apart to advisors," said Jeff Coghan, assistant vice president of 529 plans at The Hartford. "As we start to emerge from the financial crisis, advisors and their clients are looking for innovative ways to save for college."

New Way to Invest

The Hartford SMART529 investment options invest primarily in The Hartford Mutual Funds, including some of its most widely used funds among financial advisors. These include The Hartford Capital Appreciation Fund1, The Hartford Dividend and Growth Fund2, The Hartford Total Return Bond Fund3 and The Hartford MidCap Fund4.

In July 2009, SMART529 launched a new college savings investment option that shares the same investment strategy as one of The Hartford's top-ten selling mutual funds -- The Hartford Checks and Balances Fund. The Hartford SMART529 Checks and Balances Portfolio is a new two-thirds-equity, one-third fixed-income option for moderately aggressive investors who want to combine stock market opportunity with the protection of bonds. Checks and Balances invests one-third in each of the following funds: The Hartford Capital Appreciation Fund1, The Hartford Dividend and Growth Fund2 and The Hartford Total Return Bond Fund3.

New Way to do Business

Earlier this year, The Hartford SMART529 launched a 529 share class to serve Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) who have firm selling agreements for The Hartford SMART529. This is in response to the growing number of firms adopting an RIA business model, in which clients are charged fees based upon total assets under management.

At the end of 2008, the RIA channel had a 10.8 percent market share of client assets across the wealth management industry, according to a July 2009 report from Aite Group. This is up 1.1 percent from the end of 2007.

"The new share class makes it easier for registered investment advisors to conduct business with us because it allows them to manage their clients' college savings plans in the same way as their other investments," said Coghan.