Federal employees with a TSP account

[Anonymous]

Did you select a lifecycle fund? They don't seem to be performing well, but I have a long way before retirement. I'm inclined to select my own combination of funds, but don't know much AT ALL about a good investment strategy.

[Anonymous]

Yes, same here. If you figure out a better way please post.

[Anonymous]

NO. I do not like lifecycle funds. Look at them among several fund families and you'll find all kinds of variations in their methodologies, allocations, etc.

IMO your best bet is not rely on the manager's decision re how to allocate and when to change.

I have no connection with this company other than as a satisfied customer for many years, but I use www.tsppilot.com to inform my investment allocations in the TSP.

You can follow it or not. I generally have and they saved me well into six figures in losses in the meltdown in '07-'09. Their focus is on avoiding huge dips, you will miss some runups too, but for many years they've helped me get a good return and probably have ~$200,000 more than I would have if I didn't follow their guidance.

They lay it all out in great detail and they only advise changes based on data, not "feel" or guesses.

[Anonymous]

pp here ... just checked... my 12-month return through 10/31/12 is 6.45%

For an account allocated 62% in bonds & money market funds, 38% in stocks currently that's pretty good in an low inflation, no interest return environment.

Over the past 2 yrs its up approx 10%/yr annual return.

[Anonymous]

I think lifecycle funds are great. Sure different cos have different formulas, and you can decide if you want to be more conservative or less (by picking an earlier or later fund) but it's worth it just for the rebalancing, not to mention changing the mix of assets gradually as you get older.

People are notoriously bad at doing that kind of stuff themselves. TSPpilot is trying to market time, which has a very high likelihood of not working-- miss the 10 best days in the market over a 15 year period and you probably miss 50% of the market's gains.

Feel free to do what you are comfortable with, but it seems very odd to say "I'm inclined to select my own combination of funds, but don't know much AT ALL about a good investment strategy."

[Anonymous]

Left gov two yrs ago, but could go back some day. Any thoughts on converting it to an IRA. I already have a Roth, but I know my advisor wants to get his hands on it. Other than the ability to contribute to it, any other advantages? Btw my current 401k, and Roth, I question the transfer. Any thoughts?

It's roughly 84k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Left gov two yrs ago, but could go back some day. Any thoughts on converting it to an IRA. I already have a Roth, but I know my advisor wants to get his hands on it. Other than the ability to contribute to it, any other advantages? Btw my current 401k, and Roth, I question the transfer. Any thoughts?

It's roughly 84k.

You can never be sure of returns, but you can be sure of costs. The fees on TSP are extremely low. I would keep my money there. Remember, the main goal of advisers is to get their paws on as much of your money as possible. You would be a fool to let them.

I think bogleheads.com offers much the best advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Left gov two yrs ago, but could go back some day. Any thoughts on converting it to an IRA. I already have a Roth, but I know my advisor wants to get his hands on it. Other than the ability to contribute to it, any other advantages? Btw my current 401k, and Roth, I question the transfer. Any thoughts?

It's roughly 84k.

I would not, particularly if you might return to fed service, mainly because the fees are incredibly low, next to nothing. Use it as a basis of comparison with how your advisor is doing. Your FA can live without your $84K.

[Anonymous]

The main advantage would be if there was a fund you really wanted to invest in, but PPs are right that you are probably better off with the ultralow fees of TSP, not to mention the ability to convert it to a low cost annuity eventually (which may or may not sense, but a TSP annuity will almost certainly make more sense than a private annuity would).

[Anonymous]

I would not take money out of TSP. The low cost cannot be beat.

[Anonymous]

Thanks folks, looks like its staying put for the time being, appreciate the advice.

[Anonymous]

OP, which L Fund are you in? I started with the L2040 fund, as that is my retirement date. I switched in 2010 to doing 35% each to the C and S Funds, 15% to the I Fund, 10% to F Fund, and 5% to the G Fund. When I checked 2 weeks ago, I'd earned 21.14% in the past 12 months.

I made alot of money during the crash. I stayed in and increased my contributions by 50%. Unless you're retiring soon, a market crash is a good opportunity to "catch up".

[Anonymous]

There's research that suggests that lots of investors start out with good intentions, but they don't keep it up. They may start out with a well-researched allocation among different investments. But if stocks rise or plunge, you have to rebalance, by buying or selling stuff to return to the return to the original allocation. Then, recommended allocations change as you age, or as your life circumstances and risk tolerance change. All of this requires paying attention to your investment accounts, and people tend to get distracted by jobs and family life. All of which is to say, if you think you can't keep an eye on your investments, a life cycle fund might be a reasonable choice for you.

[Anonymous]

I've been in the C fund since 1995. A small amount in G. When I get closer to retirement I will switch more conservatively.

What is lifecycle ? I don't think that was around back when I started. dH is the economist and financial planner in the family. He's got us set up great and heavily invested. Thank god.

[Anonymous]

We were told by our financial planner to split it 60% to C, 20% to S and % to I.

I think you can set it to readjust every so often as 1 stock begins to do better/worse.