Mike is in Pittsburgh, speaking to the 2008 DARPA Business Conference. While he figures out how to parallel park next to robots, we offer one of his best (or most recent) columns on the TSP. sk

A year ago, a vocal group of investors, industry lobbyists and influential politicians were demanding that the government add a REIT (real estate investment trust) option to choices offered by the Thrift Savings Plan.

The TSP offers federal, military and retiree investors a large cap fund, mid-small cap fund, an international index fund, a bond fund, a unique-to-feds treasury securities fund and five self-adjusting targeted funds. But for some investors, that isn’t enough. They would like to invest some or all of their money in higher-risk/higher-reward choices. Like gold futures or emu ranching

At the time of the last R-fund push, REITs were hot. They had posted double digit returns year-after-year. But that was then. This is now.

Although REITs are primarily (sometimes exclusively) commercial real estate, the slump in the private homeowner market has had an impact on REITs in general.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board considered, then rejected, setting up a separate R-fund. It said that 8 percent of the investments in the S-fund (small cap) were in commercial real estate and that 1 percent of the C-fund (S&P 500 index) was in real estate.

The TSP managers have in past opposed what they considered to be funds targeted at a specific item or industry. Because of that they gave a thumbs down to the R-fund, to a proposed Gold fund, and (before the dot-com meltdown) a fund invested exclusively in the dot-com industry.

Ironically, now that the real estate market is in the, uh, tank, this would probably be a good time for long-term investors to get into REITs. Pro-REIT lobbyists and politicians are aware of this. They hope to attach piggyback language, authorizing an R-fund for the TSP, to any federal employee language that has a chance of passage this year. Look for out-going Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) to lead the legislative charge.

Investing & Fees

The TSP has the lowest administrative fees in the mutual fund business. They are less than half of what Vanguard (the industry leader in low-fee funds) charges its investors.

Leave The TSP

A number of mutual funds are very, very anxious to get feds to switch from the TSP, to their fund, when they retire. They’ve been spending pots of money advertising their products and warning that TSP accounts could dry up because they are not professionally managed.

Nearly Useless Factoid

According to MentalFloss, “in a fit of uncharacteristic decisiveness, President James Buchanan tried to buy Cuba. However, his plans ground to a halt when Congress refused to give him the dough to purchase the island, believing the president would take the money and skip the country.” Some real estate deals work out… some don’t.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com

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