News release
June 18, 2026
The newly created National Consortium on Education Savings Research will leverage Vanguard’s thought leadership and education savings expertise.
VALLEY FORGE, PA (June 18, 2026)— Vanguard today announced its role as a founding partner in the newly created National Consortium on Education Savings Research (529 Consortium), a multi-institution partnership that brings together key researchers, state treasurers, state sponsors, and industry leaders to develop research that increases the understanding of and participation in education savings plans. Vanguard will support this initiative by providing investment and research expertise, thought leadership, and education savings insights.
“For more than 25 years, Vanguard has offered education savings solutions to investors and 529 plan sponsors, and we recognize how critical these savings can be to shaping a person’s future,” said Smitha Walling, Head of Vanguard’s Education Savings Group. “We’re proud to support the Consortium’s important work of translating research findings into practical insights that can better support education savings outcomes and strengthen 529 plan design and participation.”
The Consortium is organized around three core research goals:
“What surprised us most wasn’t the income gap, it was the perception gap,” said John List, Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago and BFI Director. “Sixty-one percent of parents who could save enough to cover half of college costs don’t think their contributions are meaningful. That’s not a resource problem, it’s an information problem, and it’s exactly what a research consortium built around rigorous, multi-state data can solve.”
Founding partners in the consortium include the University of Chicago Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) and Stanford University Initiative for Financial Decision-Making (IFDM). The Consortium is convened by the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) and receives primary funding and thought partnership from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). Additional consortium partners include Ascensus and the five founding state partners Illinois, Maine, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia.
This work builds on Vanguard’s expertise in behavioral science and experimental economics to help scale evidence-based education savings solutions.
Research and updates will be made available via the Consortium’s website: 529research.org
About the National Consortium on Education Savings Research (529 Consortium)
The 529 Consortium is a multi-institutional research partnership dedicated to advancing understanding of education savings programs, with a particular focus on 529 plans. Through integrated data infrastructure, rigorous research, and broad dissemination of findings, the 529 Consortium works to improve program design, increase participation among underserved families, and strengthen financial outcomes. The consortium is co-hosted by the University of Chicago Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) and Stanford Initiative for Financial Decision-Making (IFDM), convened by the National Association of State Treasurers through The 529 Network, and primarily supported by the National Endowment for Financial Education.
About Vanguard
Founded in 1975, Vanguard is one of the world's leading investment management companies. The firm offers investments, advice, and retirement services to tens of millions of individual investors around the globe—directly, through workplace plans, and through financial intermediaries. Vanguard operates under a unique, investor-owned structure where Vanguard fund shareholders own the funds, which in turn own Vanguard. As such, Vanguard adheres to a simple purpose: To take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success. For more information, visit vanguard.com.
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