Strong Funds introduces EducationIRA.com site

Strong Funds has launched a new web site, EducationIRA.com, to provide investors with the tools they need to prepare for a child's higher education, according to a news release from Strong.

The site offers interactive calculators and educational materials to help parents plan for college and start investing for a child's future, the release stated.

"The average cost of a college education for a child born today is estimated at well over $100,000 and that's at a state school. The amount nearly doubles for a private college," said Byron Vielehr, of Strong's Electronic Distribution Department, in the release. "We developed EducationIRA.com to help parents sort through all of their investing options for this very important goal."

The site includes information on its namesake, the Education IRA, as well as other options for investing for education, such as UGMA/UTMA accounts and saving in the parents' names.

A major aspect of the site is the Strong College Investment Analyzer, a three-part calculator that computes how much you need to save for college, helps determine which type of account to use and provides an asset allocation based on the investor's risk tolerance.

The site also has a variety of articles on financing an education including financial aid and the new education-related tax breaks as well as links to web sites with related information.