Electronic Delivery of Documents
Account Owners may choose to receive their account statements and copies of the Program Description (and applicable supplements) electronically rather than in paper format. The Program Description and applicable
supplements will also be available online at
www.BlackRock.com/CollegeAdvantage or by request by calling 1-866-529-8582. Account Owners who elect to receive the Program Description and applicable supplements and Account Statements electronically will receive such documents electronically at the e-mail address specified in the applicable New Account Application. To change the e-mail address at which you receive documents, or to begin receiving hard copies of documents, please contact the Program Manager at 1-866-529-8582.
Accessing Your Account Online
Once an Account is established, BlackRock Advisors offers Account Owners the ability to view their Account
information online, including the ability to review your Account balance, and view and print quarterly statements and certain forms. To view your Account information online, you will first need to register at
www.BlackRock.com/CollegeAdvantage. You will be asked to accept the terms of the applicable online agreement(s) and establish a user ID and password for online services.
Please read the On-Line Services Disclosure Statement and User Agreement, the Terms and Conditions page and the Consent to Electronic Delivery Agreement (if you consent to electronic delivery).
Continuing Disclosure
To comply with Rule 15c2-12(b)(5) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, OTTA has executed a Continuing Disclosure Agreement for the benefit of Account Owners. Under the Continuing Disclosure Agreement, OTTA, or, to the extent permitted by law, the Program Manager, on OTTA’s behalf, will provide certain financial information and operating data (“Annual Information”) relating to the Plan and notices of the occurrence of certain enumerated events set forth in the Continuing Disclosure Agreement. The Annual Information will be filed by or on behalf of OTTA with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. Notices of certain enumerated events will be filed by or on behalf of OTTA with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.
Obtaining Additional Information about the Underlying Funds
Additional information about the investment strategies, risks and historical returns of each Underlying Fund sponsored by BlackRock, and about the portfolio management teams and compensation of portfolio management professionals for each Underlying Fund sponsored by BlackRock, is available in the current prospectus and/or statement of additional information for each such fund from BlackRock. You can download or request a copy of the current prospectus, statement of additional information, or the most recent semiannual or annual report of any Underlying Fund sponsored by BlackRock as follows: www.blackrock.com or
1-866-529-8582. You can download or request a copy of the current prospectus, statement of additional
information, or the most recent semiannual or annual report of each iShares Underlying Fund at
www.ishares.com or by contacting iShares at 1-800-474-2737.
Additional information about the investment strategies, risks and historical returns of each of the Rainier Mid Cap Equity Fund, the Voya Small Company Fund and the Wells Fargo Advantage Core Bond Fund, and about the portfolio management teams and compensation of portfolio management professionals for each such Underlying Fund is available in the current prospectus and/or statement of additional information for such fund. You can download or request a copy of the current prospectus, statement of additional information, or the most recent semiannual or annual report of each such fund, in the case of the Rainier Mid Cap Equity Fund at www.rainierfunds.com or by contacting Rainier at 1-800-248-6314, or in the case of the Wells Fargo Advantage Core Bond Fund at
www.wellsfargo.com/advantagefunds or by contacting Wells Fargo at 1-800-222-8222, or in the case of the Voya Small Company Fund, at www.voyainvestments.com or by contacting Voya at 1-800-992-0180.
Account Statements and Reports
The BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan will send you a confirmation statement when:
▪ You contribute to your Account (unless it is a systematic Contribution through payroll deduction or an Automatic Investment Plan); and
▪ You change Account information, such as your address or Beneficiary.
Confirmations and Account statements are sent to the Account Owner. Contributors other than the Account Owner will not receive confirmations or Account statements unless specifically requested by the Account Owner.
Account Owners will be sent quarterly statements indicating:
▪ Contributions made under each selected Investment Option in your Account during the period
▪ Distributions made from assets invested under each designated Investment Option in your Account during the period
▪ The total value of your Account at the end of the period
Account Owners will be provided the following information each year:
▪ Information concerning the Contribution Limitation
▪ Other information required by law
Account Owners may choose to receive the account statements and reports mentioned above electronically rather than in paper format. The account statements and reports will also be available online at
www.BlackRock.com/CollegeAdvantage or by request by calling the Program Manager at 1-866-529-8582.
In addition, an annual performance report which includes the rate of return on Plan assets invested under each of the available Investment Options including each separate asset allocation within the Age-Based Investment Options will be available online at www.BlackRock.com/
CollegeAdvantage or by request by calling the Program Manager at 1-866-529-8582
Householding
A single copy of a Program Description or other Plan notifications may be sent to Account Owners of the same household. This practice is known as “householding” and is intended to eliminate duplicate mailings and reduce expenses. If you do not want the mailing of the Program Description or other Plan notifications to be combined with those of other members of your household, please contact the Program Manager at 1-866-529-8582.
Audited Financial Statements
The annual financial statements of the Plan, prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, will be audited by Deloitte & Touche, LLP, an independent accounting firm, and will be available online at www.BlackRock.com/
CollegeAdvantage.
Protection from Certain Legal Process
Certain state or other applicable law might protect a person’s right, if any, to an Account from certain legal process, although no guarantee can be made that an Account will be so protected.
For example, Ohio state law provides the right of a person to an Account may not be subject to execution,
garnishment, attachment, the operation of bankruptcy or the insolvency laws, or other process of law. These protections may not be available to you if Ohio state law is not deemed applicable to your circumstances. You may wish to consult your legal counsel to ensure that you obtain any protection that might apply to your circumstances.
Under federal bankruptcy law, contributions to a Qualified Tuition Program made at least 365 days prior to the date of the bankruptcy filing are excluded from the debtor’s bankruptcy estate where the beneficiary at the time the contribution is made is a child (including an adopted or foster child), stepchild, grandchild or stepgrandchild of the account owner, but only to the extent that the funds are not security for a loan (the Plan does not permit Accounts to be used as security or collateral for a loan) and are not excess contributions under Section 4973 (e) of the Code.
However, only $5,850 of these funds placed in the account for the same beneficiary between 720 days and 365 days prior to the filing are protected.
Community Property Laws
If you are a resident of any state that has community property laws and you are concerned about the application of those laws to Contributions, Withdrawals and ownership of Accounts, you should consult a legal adviser.
Community property issues such as limitations on gifts of community property and ownership of community property upon death or dissolution of marriage are beyond the scope of this Program Description.
Prohibition on Pledges, Assignments and Loans
Neither your Account nor any portion thereof may be assigned, transferred or pledged as security for a loan or debt by you or the Beneficiary of your Account. Neither you nor the Beneficiary of your Account may receive a loan of amounts in your Account.
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Appendix A Participation Agreement
Participation Agreement for the BlackRock
CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan Established and Maintained by the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority and Administered by BlackRock Advisors, LLC.
THIS AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is entered into between the Account Owner (defined below) and the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority (“OTTA”), as trustee for the Ohio Variable College Savings Trust Fund (the “Issuer”).
WHEREAS, the State of Ohio (“the State”) has adopted legislation (the “Authorizing Legislation”) authorizing and directing OTTA to create, establish and maintain a variable return college savings program;
WHEREAS, the Authorizing Legislation provides that the variable return college savings program shall be established and maintained so that a person (the
“Account Owner”) may make investments to an account (the “Account”) established on behalf of the Account Owner for the purpose of meeting the qualified higher education expenses of the beneficiary (the “Beneficiary”) of such Account designated by the Account Owner;
WHEREAS, OTTA has retained BlackRock Advisors, LLC (“BlackRock Advisors”) to provide investment
management, administrative and marketing services for certain investment options under the variable return college savings program to be sold through brokers and other financial intermediaries (such investment options, the “BlackRock CollegeAdvantage Plan” or the “Plan”);
WHEREAS, the Plan is intended to be part of a Qualified Tuition Program within the meaning of Section 529 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as it may be amended from time to time (the “Code”);
WHEREAS, the Account Owner desires to make
Contributions to an Account, representing an interest in the Issuer, which has been established by OTTA to hold assets of the Plan, to be invested under one or more of the investment options established by the OTTA under the Plan (the “Investment Options”), which assets are
expected to be used for the qualified higher education expenses of the Beneficiary designated pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms of the Plan and this Agreement;
WHEREAS, the interest in the Issuer represented by the Account will be limited to one or more portfolios of such
Plan established by OTTA, in accordance with the Investment Option(s) selected by the Account Owner;
WHEREAS, the terms and conditions under which Accounts in the Plan are offered are set forth in the Program
Description to which this Agreement is attached (the
“Program Description”);
NOW THEREFORE, the parties to this Agreement agree as follows:
1. Investments. Account Owner shall make Contributions to the Account in cash only. Account Owner shall establish a separate Account for each separate Beneficiary. Account Owner shall make Contributions to any Account
established by Account Owner for the purpose of funding the qualified higher education expenses (as that term is defined in Section 529 of the Code) of the Beneficiary designated by Account Owner at the time of the initial investment and from time to time thereafter. The Issuer shall establish a separate Account for each Beneficiary designated by an Account Owner, and Account Owner agrees that assets held in each Account shall be governed by the provisions of this Agreement and that all assets held in each Account established on behalf of the Account Owner shall be owned by Account Owner and held for the exclusive benefit of Account Owner and the applicable Beneficiary.
(a) Minimum Initial Investment. In order to establish an Account, Account Owner shall make an initial investment of no less than $25 per Investment Option. Lower minimums may apply to payroll deduction.
(b) Additional Investments. Account Owner or another contributor may make additional cash investments from time to time, subject to the Contribution Limitation (as described in the Program Description). All additional investments in an Account shall be made by check or electronic funds transfer from a bank account designated by Account Owner.
(c) Excess Contributions. Contributions may be made to any Account, and the Issuer shall accept contributions, only to the extent that such contributions do not exceed the Contribution Limitation established by the Issuer from time to time. The initial limit is set forth in the Program Description, and may be changed by the Issuer without notice annually or more frequently if
required to comply with the requirements of the Code. In addition, by establishing an Account the Account Owner agrees that each Contribution to an Account by the Account Owner shall constitute a representation by the Account Owner that such Contribution (together with the balance then on deposit in the Account and in other qualified tuition program accounts known by the Account Owner to have been established for the same Beneficiary, including amounts in OTTA’s Direct Plan (as defined in the Program Description) and any other subset of the CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan offered by OTTA), will not cause the aggregate amounts in such accounts to be in excess of the amount reasonably believed by the Account Owner to be necessary to provide for the Beneficiary’s future higher education expenses.
The portion of any Contribution in excess of the Contribution Limitation will be returned to Account Owner.
(d) Information Regarding Rollover Contributions. In connection with a Contribution to an Account, the contributor must indicate whether the
Contribution constitutes a Rollover Contribution from a Coverdell Education Savings Account, a qualified U.S. Savings Bond (as described in Section 135(c)(2)(C) of the Code) or another qualified tuition program. If it is a Rollover Contribution, the contributor must provide acceptable documentation showing the earnings portion of the Contribution. To the extent such documentation is not provided, the Plan will treat the entire amount of the Rollover Contribution as earnings.
2. Designation of Beneficiary. The Account Owner shall designate a single Beneficiary for each Account by
completing and executing an Account application provided by or on behalf of the Plan (the “Application” or the “New Account Application”). The Beneficiary must be an individual person. The Account Owner may from time to time, in a manner acceptable to BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc (“BNY Mellon,” and together with any successor thereto as Plan administrator, the “Program Administrator”), substitute a single Beneficiary in place of the previous Beneficiary. The substitute Beneficiary must be a member of the family of the previous Beneficiary;
provided, however, that this sentence will not apply if the Account Owner is a state or local government organization or a tax exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Code and such organization maintains the Account as part of a scholarship program. Such substitution shall become effective when the Program Administrator has received and processed such form.
For purposes of this Agreement, the term “member of the family” shall have the meaning given such term in the Program Description.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Account Owner of an Account funded with assets of a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or a Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (“UTMA/
UGMA”) account cannot change the Beneficiary of the Account. The Beneficiary of the Account must be the beneficiary of the UTMA/UGMA account.
3. Investment Options. The Plan has established twenty-three (23) Investment Options for the investment of assets in an Account. The Investment Options include three BlackRock CollegeAdvantage Age-Based Investment Options, three BlackRock CollegeAdvantage Target-Risk Investment Options and seventeen BlackRock
CollegeAdvantage Single Strategy Investment Options. The three Age-Based Investment Options are (i) the BlackRock Moderate Age-Based Investment Option, (ii) the BlackRock Conservative Age-Based Investment Option and (iii) the BlackRock Aggressive Age-Based Investment Option. The three (3) Target-Risk Investment Options are (i) the BlackRock Moderate Portfolio Option, (ii) the BlackRock Growth Portfolio Option and (iii) the BlackRock Aggressive Growth Portfolio Option. The seventeen (17) Single Strategy Investment Options are: (i) the BlackRock Equity Dividend Option, (ii) the BlackRock Capital Appreciation Option, (iii) the BlackRock Large Cap Core Option, (iv) the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Option, (v) the Rainier Mid Cap Equity Option, (vi) the Voya Small Company Option, (vii) the iShares Russell 2000 ETF Option, (viii) the BlackRock International Opportunities Option, (ix) the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Option, (x) the BlackRock Global Allocation Option, (xi) the BlackRock Multi-Asset Income Portfolio, (xii) the Wells Fargo Advantage Core Bond Option, (xiii) the BlackRock GNMA Option, (xiv) the BlackRock High Yield Bond Option, (xv) the BlackRock Inflation Protected Bond Option, (xvi) the BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Option, and (xvii) the BlackRock Money Market Option.
Additional Investment Options may be established by the Plan in the future. At the time the Account Owner
completes the Application to establish an Account, the Account Owner will select one or more of the Investment Options and, if the Account Owner selects more than one Investment Option, will designate what percentage of each Contribution made to the Account should be invested under each applicable Investment Option.
The manner in which assets allocated to each Investment Option are invested, and the risks and benefits associated with each Investment Option, are described in the Program Description.
Each Contribution made to an Account will be allocated to the Investment Option, or among the Investment Options, in accordance with the directions provided by the
contributor. Generally, a Contribution to the Account may only be allocated among a maximum of five (5) Investment Options; however, the Program Manager may make exceptions to this limitation in its discretion. The allocation of a subsequent Contribution may be changed at the time of such Contribution. Additionally, an Account Owner may reallocate the assets in an Account to one or more other Investment Option(s) once every calendar year (determined as described in the Program Description) or whenever the Account’s Beneficiary is changed. Account Owners may also participate in a automatic reallocation program.
Each Contribution allocated to an Investment Option will be allocated to the portfolio within the Issuer applicable to such Investment Option.
4. Distributions from Accounts. Account Owner may direct distributions from an Account, or terminate an Account, at any time in accordance with the provisions of this
paragraph.
(a) Notice of Distribution. Account Owner may provide a notice directing a distribution from the Account (a “Distribution Notice”) to the Program Administrator at any time. Such Distribution Notice shall be in a form acceptable to the Program Administrator. For this purpose, the assets in an Account will consist of a number of
“Program Units”, and the amount distributed shall be determined by the value of the Program Units (determined as set forth in the Program Description) subject to such distribution as next computed after the receipt of the Distribution Notice.
(b) Choice of Investment Options for Partial Distributions. If an Account is invested under more than one Investment Option at the time a Distribution Notice is received, and if the requested distribution involves less than all of the assets invested in the Account, the Account Owner may, to the extent permitted by the Code, indicate in the Distribution Notice the percentage of the distribution that should be made from assets in the Account invested under each applicable Investment Option.
(c) Request to Receive Substantiation. If the assets to be distributed are invested in Class C Units (or in Class A Units as part of an investment that may be subject to a deferred sales charge, as
provided in the Program Description), and the Account Owner claims that the distribution is on
provided in the Program Description), and the Account Owner claims that the distribution is on