Products August 31, 2007

Missouri Touts “Terror-Free” Option for 529 Plan

The state of Missouri will begin offering an actively managed “terror-free” investment option for its 529 plan that ensures participants’ and investors’ portfolios exclude companies with ties to countries that support terrorism.
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UMB Investment Advisors, the investment division for UMB Asset Management, will manage the investment portfolio. The UMB product is the first such “terror-free” portfolio that has been open to institutional and individual investors, according to a press release.

Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman created the Missouri Investment Trust (MIT), an initiative to make terror-free investing possible on the state and national level by establishing a terror-free policy for a public fund. The state partnered with Conflict Securities Advisory Group (CSAG) to identify and screen publicly-traded companies that have direct ties to Iran, Syria, Sudan and North Korea, as established by the Missouri Investment Trust.

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The Missouri 529 plan is not restricted to residents of the state, but open to anyone wanting to invest.

“We have seen the movement toward terror-free investing develop substantial momentum over the past few years as people increasingly choose to invest in a security-minded manner that reflects their views on corporate decisions to partner with countries that support terrorism,” said Roger Robinson, president and chief executive officer, CSAG, in the press release.

UMB also has the ability to customize other investment offerings to meet specific “terror-free’ criteria or policies.

For information on CSAG visit www.conflictsecurities.com.

For more information on terror-free investing, visit www.terrrorfreeinvesting.com.

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