Most states have chosen to have their state's plan assets managed and/or administered by mutual fund companies.  The account owner chooses one or more specific fund portfolios offered by the program manager.  The account owner decides how to allocate assets among the available funds or portfolios based on his/her investment objectives.  The portfolio investment decisions are made by the investment manager.

The range of investment choices is very wide when considering the offerings from all plans.  However, the specific options available within any single plan may be more narrow.  Across all plans, investments include: actively and passively managed funds; individual funds reflecting market capitalization (large, mid, small, and blend); traditional style categories (growth, value, blend); individual funds vs. multiple-fund portfolios; single fund managers vs. multi-fund manager offerings; geographic concentration (international, global, domestic); and in some cases, even some specific sector options may be available (REITS would be an example).  Fixed income offerings can be located to reflect issuer (government and commercial); maturity (long-term, short-term, and money market); and guaranteed offerings where the principal and/or interest crediting rate is guaranteed by the FDIC or an insurance company (examples - CDs, stable value accounts).  

Available portfolios include age-based, static portfolios, and individual funds.