L Funds Continue to Grow

The number of TSP investors with money in the relatively new lifecycle funds and the amount of money in those funds continues to grow, including about 8 percent of FERS system investors and 6 percent of CRSR system investors–and more than $11 billion in account balances–as of the end of April. The L funds, which were introduced last August, are designed to help put investing on a form of automatic pilot and maintain a desired risk/reward balance according to the expected withdrawal date. Among FERS investors, the most popular L fund is the 2020 fund, with 42 percent of their total L fund investments, while among CSRS investors the most popular fund is the 2010 fund, with 49 percent of their total L fund investments. The difference reflects the generally higher age—and thus, shorter withdrawal timeframe—of CSRS employees.