Category: Fund-Related News
Apr
08
Sell Low, Buy Higher?
The monthly interfund transfer stats for January were just posted on Friday, and based on the numbers, TSP participants appear to have regained their confidence in the stock markets and the TSP stock funds big-time. In January this year, TSP participants transferred a record amount out of the G and F Funds, while they transferred a record amount into the C and S Funds since the beginning of 2007 (when the current transfer data begins). The I fund experienced a … more
Leave a commentMar
18
FINRA Investor Alert and the F Fund
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued an “investor alert” last month discussing the risk of bonds in a potential rising interest rate environment, particularly long-term bonds. As TSP investors know, the F Fund is based on the “Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Index,” which is a total U.S. bond market index fund. Thus, FINRA’s investor alert relates directly to F Fund investors. Perhaps the most important paragraph of the alert was the following: “Currently, interest rates are hovering near historic … more
Leave a commentMar
11
The Wisdom of TSP Crowds
When it comes to asset allocation among the TSP funds, it is interesting to take a look at where others are putting their money in aggregate. According to official statistics, the TSP reached $330 billion in total assets at the end of 2012, which was 10% higher than in January when the TSP first surpassed $300 billion in assets. This growth includes additional contributions through the year (participants contributed a net total of around $12 billion in 2012), and the … more
Leave a commentJan
24
Suspension? What Suspension?
As most TSP participants have heard, the Treasury Secretary announced in late December that one of the steps the Treasury Department “may” take as the country hit the debt ceiling was the suspension of interest payments to the TSP’s government securities G Fund: “Treasury may…suspend the daily reinvestment of the Treasury securities held by the Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund),” he stated in his notification to Congress. Payments are to be made whole after the debt ceiling has been … more
Leave a commentDec
19
F Fund Developments
In perhaps the most underwhelming news of the month, it was recently announced that BlackRock would continue to manage the Fixed Income Index Investment Fund – the F Fund. (Management of the fund was recompeted this summer.) BlackRock won a one-year contract with four one-year options for renewal. BlackRock had managed the fund since it acquired Barclay’s Global Investors – the former manager of the fund – in 2009. This likely bodes well for BlackRock in continuing to manage the … more
Leave a commentOct
23
Greece Effectively Dropped from I Fund
Given all the troubles in Europe – and particularly in Greece – one of the more frequent questions that comes into this site is how much of the I Fund is invested in companies located in that country. The TSP’s I Fund seeks “to match the performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index.” According to MSCI’s definition of the EAFE index, the index currently invests in 22 countries, including Greece. While the TSP does … more
Leave a commentAug
28
The Most Popular TSP Funds
Ever wonder where your fellow TSP investors are placing their money? While it is impossible to know in which funds individual TSP investors place their money, it is possible to find the aggregate amounts going into each fund for all investors as a whole. These statistics are also broken down by category, for example by FERS, CSRS, and members of the uniformed services. All of this is provided courtesy of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB). It may not … more
Leave a commentAug
26
Technology’s Surprising Payouts in the C Fund
Those who have been investing a while remember the late 1990s tech bubble, when many newly formed technology companies (and especially internet-based companies) with no profits and barely any revenue were valued at tens of billions of dollars. Even more established and profitable technology companies were driven to absurd valuations. Neither the new companies nor many of the established tech companies were providing any returns to regular investors in the best proof of profitability: cold hard cash dividends. Over a … more
Leave a commentJun
30
How Developed is Korea? Greece?
MSCI last week conducted its annual market classification review of the countries in each of its indices. MSCI, which stands for “Morgan Stanley Capital International,” determines the member countries of the EAFE “Europe, Australasia, Far East” index, on which the TSP’s I Fund is based. Therefore any changes it decides to make to its indices can have a direct impact on TSP participants’ I Fund investment. While MSCI did not change the composition of the EAFE index this year, it … more
Leave a commentJun
26
The ‘Monster’ in the C Fund
Every few weeks, the S&P 500 announces the addition of new companies to the index. These additions are announced as other S&P 500 member companies merge or shrink in size as they spin off operations or otherwise fail (think: Enron). This week, S&P 500 announced the addition of Monster Beverage Corp., the maker of dozens of highly caffeinated drinks such as Protean, Monster Energy, Super Dry, and Hammer. (The ingredients for the latter include “nitrogenated coffee, concentrated skim milk, sugar, … more
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