When making an investment designed to change over time, the term “glide path” is used to describe the trajectory of those changes. With the age-based portfolio in a 529 plan, the glide path declines, meaning that the investment moves from a more aggressive approach to a more conservative one as the target date – typically the point where the beneficiary heads off to college - approaches. Other funds feature a static glide path, meaning that the asset allocation remains the same over time, and some have a rising glide path, indicating a gradually more aggressive investment strategy.