Products & Services March 26, 2025

JPMorgan Introduces 2025 College Planning Essentials Guide

The asset management firm found that financial aid has not kept pace with the rising cost of college tuition, with families now shouldering 48% of college expenses.

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JPMorgan Asset Management launched the 12th edition of its annual College Planning Essentials, a guide to support financial advisers in their conversations with clients about planning for education expenses.

The asset manager, which manages nearly $11 billion in 529 plan assets for more than 346,000 families nationwide, offers insights and data about why college matters; college costs and expenses; financial aid; and 529 plans.

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College tuition has continued to rise in ways that outpace inflation and other household expenses. The costs have risen an average of 5.6% annually since 1983.

Financial aid has not kept pace with the rising cost of college tuition, the company found, with families now shouldering 48% of college expenses from their income and investments. This is an increase from 38% a decade ago. There is limited coverage for grants and scholarships, which often pay only a small portion of college costs.

“College planning is becoming increasingly complex, with trends showing a rise in tuition costs, evolving financial aid landscapes, and diverse saving strategies,” said Tricia Scarlata, Head of Education Savings for J.P. Morgan Asset Management, in a statement. “Understanding these trends is crucial for advisers to guide clients effectively, foster informed discussions, and build successful plans for college.”

529 Plans and Saving Opportunities

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of families are not using 529 plans to save for college expenses, which may mean they are missing out on the opportunity for tax-advantaged growth and withdrawals for qualified education expenses, the company said. 529 plans also have flexible ways for families to save, like the ability to make five years’ worth of tax-free gifts in a single year and tax-free rollovers to Roth IRAs.

The College Planning Essentials guide offers charts and data to help advisers “debunk myths about education costs and encourage informed financial decisions,” according to JPMorgan.

For example, it provides illustrations to show how small increases in investment returns can significantly impact education funds, to help advisers emphasize the importance of starting early and staying diversified.

In Practice March 26, 2025

Tech Issues at Forefront of Wealth Managers’ Focus, Says Wipfli Report

The report notes that advances in technology also come with hurdles such as high costs, integration with existing systems, and data privacy and security.

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Technology is expected to dominate wealth managers’ agendas over the next 12 months as they focus on ways to use tech to spur growth, while addressing cybersecurity and regulatory concerns, according to a report released by accounting and consulting firm Wipfli.

Wipfli’s annual State of the Wealth Management Industry report surveyed 109 wealth management executives about their outlook for 2025 and found technology was a major recurring theme among the respondents. “Technology was a consistent factor across all the themes in this year’s survey, from growth strategies to future ownership change and succession planning,” the report said.

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According to Wipfli’s findings, wealth managers are increasingly using data to influence significant business moves, with 80% saying they use analytics when making data-driven decisions, while only 3% said their firms didn’t collect enough data to be able to use business analytics. Additionally, 61% of respondents said they’re “very likely” to upgrade their data architecture systems over the next 12 months so they can keep up with technological advances, while 58% said they were “very likely” to invest in data analytics.

To help boost revenue and performance, 61% of wealth managers polled said their priorities were to improve data analytics capabilities as well as customer engagement, while 59% said improving talent management was their priority.

The report notes that advances in technology also come with hurdles such as high costs, integration with existing systems, and data privacy and security, which the managers cited as their main concerns regarding data architecture. And for data analytics, the managers said their top three issues are data quality, data privacy, and security.

“Despite the challenges, technology presents a wealth of opportunity for the industry,” the report said, adding that 58% of survey respondents said increased automation is having a major effect on portfolio management and rebalancing. Some 51% said the use of AI marketing tools to reach prospective clients was “largely impactful,” while 54% said they are increasing their management process efficiency through digital platforms and apps.

However, the report also cautions that as the use of customer data grows, so does the need for increased attention to privacy, as 54% of respondents said cybersecurity and data privacy measures were having a significant impact on their business processes.

The report’s findings also suggest most wealth managers are still evaluating and researching how to integrate AI into their firm’s practices. Some 27% of respondents said they are consulting with AI experts, while 25% said they’re analyzing cost-benefit ratios, and 19% said they are benchmarking against industry standards. Another 17% said they are gathering employee feedback, while only 13% said they are conducting AI pilot projects.

“This makes sense for the current state of AI technology,” says Anna Kooi, CPA, partner and leader of Wipfli’s financial services practice. “Most wealth management firms are still in the early stages — exploration rather than transformation.”

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