Covering your TSP assets: Don’t let the bear eat your retirement nest egg

Unless you are into S&M, watching the stock market hasn’t been much fun of late. China’s “recession” impacts the rest of the world. Cheap oil, which most people loved at first, is now causing unexpected economic problems. Many people have high hopes now that the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal have been signed. But how/if they work is yet to play out. The cast of presidential characters seeking the Republican and Democratic nominations has many people reeling.

Stock funds (C, S and I) are now 10-to-20 percent  lower than 2015 high points. How should TSP investors adjust their allocations?

• C Fund is -10 percent
• S Fund is – 20 percent ( a bear market)
• I Fund is – 19 percent

G Fund was the winner in 2015. It outperformed all other funds, including the L Funds.

So what, if anything, should you be doing with your TSP account? Get out of the market? Switch to the bond fund? Run for the safety of the treasury securities fund? Today at 10 a.m., financial planner Arthur Stein will talk about the options feds and retirees have. With maybe some tips on what to do, both generally and to answer individual questions of investors. He’ll appear on our Your Turn radio show, which is live (10 a.m. to 11 a.m.) streaming at www.federalnewsradio.com or also in the D.C. area on 1500 AM. If you have questions, you can call 202-465-3080 during the show or, better yet, email them to me before showtime: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com.

Some of the points Stein will cover include:

• Does the poor performance of the stock funds last year mean all your investments should be in the G Fund or that long-term G Fund investors are better off?

• How good are stock market forecasts? Something you can rely on? My blogs here and here.

• I (international stock) Fund has been the worst performer of the three stock funds (C, S and I). Should investors ignore I or embrace it?

And, perhaps most important, what is the role of emotion in investing? My blog here.

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

The first stock car race took place on March 8, 1936, at Daytona Beach, Florida. Driver Milt Marion took home the $1,700 prize after the race was stopped on lap 72 of the proposed 78 laps.

Source: Yahoo!

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