Data & Research May 13, 2025

In Q1, 529 and ABLE Account Assets Continue Steady Growth

The majority of the assets, $500 billion, are held in 16.3 million 529 savings plan accounts, while prepaid tuition plans held steady at $25 billion across roughly 900,000 accounts.

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The 529 savings market continued to gain momentum in the first quarter of 2025, with total assets exceeding $525 billion across 17.2 million accounts, according to data from ISS Market Intelligence, which, like PLANADVISER, is owned by ISS STOXX.

The Q1 total is up from $497 billion across 16.6 million accounts one year prior.

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The majority of the assets, $500 billion, are held in 16.3 million 529 savings plan accounts, while prepaid tuition plans held steady at $25 billion across roughly 900,000 accounts. 

Meanwhile, ABLE (or 529A) accounts, which offer tax-advantaged savings for individuals with disabilities, grew to 204,133 accounts holding $2.47 billion in assets, up from 194,728 accounts and $2.31 billion at the end of 2024 and 170,955 accounts with $1.92 billion invested one year ago.

Estimated net inflows into 529 savings plans reached $2.2 billion in Q1 2025, slightly outpacing the $2.1 billion in Q1 2024 and continuing an upward trend from $1.6 billion in Q1 2023.

According to the report, this reflects not only parents’ continued focus on funding education despite market volatility, but also growing awareness of the expanded uses for 529 plans.

“The overall outlook for 529s continues to brighten,” the report stated, pointing to the expansion of qualified expenses that now include certain types of rollovers from 529s to Roth individual retirement accounts.

The report also predicted this shift would energize new stakeholder interest and drive growth over the next three to five years, especially as families increasingly integrate 529 strategies into their tax, estate and financial planning playbooks.

The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 allowed certain assets in a 529 qualified tuition program account, maintained for at least 15 years for a designated beneficiary, to be directly rolled over on a tax-free basis to a Roth IRA maintained for the same beneficiary.

Data & Research May 12, 2025

C-Suite Prioritizes a Shift to Proactive Management

According to PR firm Padilla, 67% of executives report their employees are ready to support change initiatives, and leaders are prepared to capitalize on that.

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Business leaders are signaling a shift away from reactive management toward a stronger focus on strategic goals, according to the third annual C-suite Perspectives study from public relations firm Padilla Spear Beasley Inc.

In 2022, C-suite leaders faced uncertainty and called for greater communication transparency; by 2023, fatigue had set in, prompting a renewed focus. In data collected in 2024, despite ongoing challenges, there was a clear drive to move forward.

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“Leaders ended 2024 with cautious optimism that they could move beyond the near-term management mindset of the past several years and get back to executing on long-term vision and direction,” said Matt Kucharski, Padilla’s president, in a statement. “That desire to move things forward is coming up against political/geopolitical uncertainty, a fragile workplace culture, and an era marked by increasing mistrust and polarization. This leaves today’s C-suite leaders looking for a way to power through.”

Drawn from surveys of more than 100 C-suite executives and more than 1,000 employed adults and from interviews with 50 senior leaders, Padilla’s findings highlighted evolving executive priorities in a post-crisis landscape.

The company’s key survey findings:

Change Readiness: Leaders have spent the last few years building change-resilient cultures. Two-thirds (67%) of C-suite executives reported that their employees are ready to embrace and assist with change initiatives within the organization, and the executives are prepared to capitalize on that.

Artificial Intelligence: Of C-suite executives, 83% reported either selectively or aggressively adopting AI, driven by better-quality products and services. Although leaders reported optimism, 24% of employees said they remain uncertain and see it as a moderate or significant threat. Determining whether and how to leverage AI was the leadership challenge with the most significant increase in 2024 from 2023.

Business Relevance: Pushback on initiatives based on environmental, sustainable and governance considerations and diversity, equity and inclusion is causing some leaders to reconsider their strategies, while others are doubling down, adjusting programs (often quietly) and emphasizing business value.

Employee Well-Being: Despite the increasing challenges of building strong employee cultures, 50% of C-suite respondents said they think their employees’ well-being has improved over the past year. Significantly, only 29% of employees agree.

C-Suite Turnover: The “Great Executive Resignation” continues at unprecedented levels. From 2023 to 2024, there was a seven-percentage-point increase in leaders stepping back earlier than in the past—up to roughly 1 out of 5 leaders. Meanwhile, the next level of leaders does not necessarily want to pick up the baton: 61% of employees (ages 52+) expressed wanting their career or responsibilities to remain the same or be simplified.

 

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