(a) The Board shall administer and invest the assets of the Program. The Board shall serve as the trustee of the assets of the Program.     
      (b) The Board may delegate to duly appointed financial institutions or plan manager(s) authority to act on behalf of the Board in the investment and reinvestment of all or part of the assets of the Program and may also delegate to those financial institutions or plan manager(s) the authority to act on behalf of the Board in the holding, purchasing, selling, assigning, transferring, or disposing of any or all of the securities and investments in which the funds in the ABLE account have been invested, as well as the proceeds from the investment of those funds.     
      (c) The Board may select one or more financial institutions to serve as custodian of all or part of the Program's assets.     
      (d) In the Board's discretion, the Board may contract with one or more financial institutions to serve as plan manager and to invest the money in ABLE accounts.     
      (e) In exercising or delegating investment powers and authority, the Board shall exercise ordinary business care and prudence under the facts and circumstances prevailing at the time of actions or decisions related to investment of assets of the Texas ABLE Program. A member of the Board is not liable for any action taken or omitted with respect to the exercise of, or delegation of, those powers and authority if the member discharged the duties of the member's position in good faith and with the degree of diligence, care, and skill that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with those matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.     
      (f) As applicable, the Board shall adopt an investment policy statement for the Program, set the asset allocation of the Program, select the underlying investments of the Program, and the Board shall promptly deposit and invest contributions, excluding any excess contributions, and any earnings as directed by the participant. No earnings or interest will accrue to an ABLE account before the funds have been invested.     
      (g) For investment purposes, the Board may pool funds, or authorize the pooling of funds, from ABLE accounts with other funds administered by the Board. If funds from the ABLE accounts are pooled with other funds administered by the Board, the Board shall track, monitor, report, and record separately, all investment activity related to the ABLE accounts, including any earnings, fees, or charges or expenses associated with each ABLE account.     
      (h) A participant may direct the investment of any contributions or any earnings on contributions only to the extent allowed by Internal Revenue Code, §529A.     
      (i) No investment, financial, or benefits advice is offered to participants, eligible individuals, eligible members of the family, parents, designated beneficiaries, or their guardians or fiduciaries acting on their behalf, from the State of Texas, the comptroller, the Board, the Texas ABLE Program, the Texas ABLE Advisory Committee, or from their employees, vendors, or agents, nor do they assume any responsibility for the performance of any investment option. The decision to enroll in the Program, the selection of investment options, and the suitability of such options is entirely the responsibility of the participant.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §7.194 adopted to be effective September 12, 2016, 41 TexReg 7111; amended to be effective April 9, 2018, 43 TexReg 2165