ARK Life has repackaged its PIPS and PEPS as a branded education plan for parents saving to pay for second or third-level school expenses.

Called Advantage and Advantage Extra, these savings plans duplicate all the major advantages of the popular PIPS and PEPS - no entry charges, flexible payment methods and the option to go for the straight 26 per cent DIRT version or the most tax efficient 10 per cent DIRT version provided under the terms of Special Investment Policy regulations.

Monthly contributions in this case are as low as Pounds 40 a month for the Advantage Plan (a PIP unit-linked managed find) or Pounds 100 for Advantage Extra.

Ark Life's investment longer term past performance has not been the best - the 21 per cent gross performance of the PIP Managed Fund over the past 18 months is well below the average of about 27 per cent for similar managed funds, though its PEP Managed Fund at 37 per cent gross growth performance since it was started in January 1996 is doing much better. Unfortunately, when the relatively poor PIP performance is combined with the 1.5 per cent annual management cost (most unit funds charge in the region of 0.75 per cent management fees) and the standard 5 per cent bid- offer spread, these products will only be a good bet if Ark Life's fund managers can improve the performance of their funds.

Parents interested in saving money for their children's education should seek independent advice before committing their money to any savings plan.