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| Close | Change | YTD | |
| G | $12.7470 | +0.0007 | +0.05% |
| F | $12.6172 | +0.0216 | +0.29% |
| C | $10.5209 | +0.0356 | +0.83% |
| S | $12.5059 | +0.1427 | +2.45% |
| I | $14.5176 | +0.1584 | +1.84% |
| Close | Change | YTD | |
| L 2040 | $12.6448 | +0.0773 | +1.24% |
| L 2030 | $12.7606 | +0.0676 | +1.09% |
| L 2020 | $12.9752 | +0.0566 | +0.91% |
| L 2010 | $13.8966 | +0.0292 | +0.46% |
| L Income | $12.8270 | +0.0186 | +0.33% |
Timing the Market with Your TSP Funds? Here's What Happened in Recent Bull and Bear Markets
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Matter of Perspective
Army
Thu Jan 6, 2005 6:28 PM
Post Reply
Everyone must remember one thing about Social Security(SS).... It is the money of the employer and the employee that goes into Social Security and as such belongs to the employees. It is correct that it pays for those who are retired now but also remember our congressional leaders have been removing money from SS for many years without repaying it. SS belongs to each and every person who has put into it and as such each of us should have the say so on how we want it invested. As for me, I want it where the Federal Government can't get to it and it is growing as some rate for my future retirement. Now, not one us can say that is the way it is today so what are we going to do for tomorrow for all of us?? Instead of saying no to ideas come up with a better one. It is easy to stay at the status quo but changing is the challenge in life. Where are your new ideas???
Keep the money in I fund
Air Force
Wed Mar 7, 2007 5:30 AM
Post Reply
Due to the influx of the market is it wise to leave the money in the I fund for a long term investment. Long term is four years or less.
Market dropped 14.2% since the DJ hit over 14,000
EEOC
Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:53 AM
Post Reply
It seems that you would want to buy more when the market is at low levels and sell when the euphoria is happening. But most people have the greed factor and say " well my AOL has split 6x and it should split and go higher" then bad news cam e out on earning and AOL stock price started to fall! The same person says " well AOL when bounce and come back up, so I'm hanging on", AOL countines it's decline and that person sells at the lowest point in stock prices or so. Don't follow the crowd and trade out if you know for sure the market is topping out historically. Buy more or do nothing when markets are low like the current market down 14.2%. TSP C fund is only down 9.6%, not too bad. Good money management in a down market if you ask me. Moreover, the nature of markets are to go up and down in cycles, it's called free markets. Pure economics; supply and demand. Keep in mind during Presidential re-election years (2008) , historically the markets have almost always shown a negative return!
TSP of 2008 Vs. 2000
AMS
Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:26 PM
Post Reply
What the the author failed to explain was the rules for moving from one of the 3 funds to another during this time period. If a person wished to move their money from the C fund (S & P 500) to either the G or F fund, then you had to have your request in by the 15th of the month to have the movement made on the first of the following month. So, an investor was trying to read the "crystal ball" a couple weeks in-advance to see where the best place to be in to accomplish their retirement goals. Completely different than we have today when we can submit a move order by 1100 hrs Central and have the move made at the close of business the same day. So, let's put it in perspective and compare apples to apples. What would have happened if those transfers would have been done the same day? I know that I watched the value of my shares fall day after day and knew that I could do nothing to stop the hemoraging.
Ralph Smith's Wednesday, January 5, 2005 Article
Army
Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:15 AM
Post Reply
Great article and it is the truth, what happens when a person gets near retirement time and they see those TSP funds start falling they do panic and move the money just as I did. It is hard to watch those many many thousands just leave you and you need this money in the short run of a year or to two and not panic. The market over the long term (not really determined) is good but in the short it is a gamble of timing to let it settle out. I would have been better off to have just left my funds in the I fund and llet it ride, I eould be coming back now that low I sold at may never return just as you said. Best to let it ride unless you really need the money in the very short time.
Privatization of retirement
USDA
Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:15 AM
Post Reply
Scaling back social security and creating a TSP-like program isn't prudent.
If most Americans made smart money decisions, we wouldn't be facing a tsunami of home foreclosures and the average household wouldn't have thousands of dollars in credit card debt.
So we phase in the system. Many people work and save, while others fail to invest adequately, borrow against their account, and make other short-sighted decisions.
Then, when they retire, Social Security becomes their primary source of income.
A hue and cry goes up. People can't survive on Social Security! We need to take care of our elders! There will excuse after excuse for how people got where they are. #1: "I couldn't afford it."
And we are fundamentally back where we started.
I recall reading that Fed employees overall are better educated than the general population. That may mean we make better financial decisions. TSP may not be indicative of how all Americans would behave.
Market timing
Agencies are
Tue Jun 3, 2008 8:38 PM
Post Reply
Agreed, most all people have not the stomach or the head for timing. Some few do. Understanding that not all of what one reads from even reliable sources are 100% correct, it also has to follow that if one reads the same info from enough reliable sources, then he is probably getting pretty good feedback.
Armed with such, it is not always a bad thing to risk some of ones pile in market timing. But one should never gamble with anymore than 10%.
In the past 15 or better years I have come out very good with this principle. But one has to stay in touch without becoming inundated with all the newsletters. Stay with the tried and true news agencies, not Fox for gawd's sake. But Morningstar, CBSMarketwatch & Wall Street Journal to name just a very few of the best.