TSP thermometer: 2018 bad, 2019 good, 2020?

Stock markets, like people and wine, have good years and not-so-good years. Investors who try to buy low and sell high don’t have very good track records. But people try.

Take 2018, please! That year the C fund, which tracks the S&P 500 was down 44%. But investors who continued to buy shares got a pleasant surprise in 2019 when the C fund was up 31.5%. The story was the same for the S fund (small cap) and I fund (international stock index), which also had bad years in 2018 but bounced back big time — 28% and 22.5% last year, respectively. That means something, but what?

We asked Washington, D.C., area financial planner Arthur Stein for his take. He has several self-made Thrift Savings Plan millionaires among his clients. He’ll be my guest on today’s Your Turn show at 10 a.m. EST. You can listen at www.federalnewsnetwork.com or on 1500 AM in the D.C. metro area. The show will also be archived on our home page so you or a friend can listen later. If you have questions for Art Stein send them to mcausey@federalnewsnetwork.com before showtime. Meanwhile, he has this excellent example of good years and not so good years for TSP investors: