TSP Investors Turn More Conservative

Thrift Savings Plan participants continued a trend toward more conservative investment in 2002-the third straight year of poor returns for the TSP’s common stock (C) fund-with 25 percent of those under FERS and 19 percent of those under CSRS investing only in the ultra-safe government securities (G) fund by year’s end. At the beginning of the year, only 17 percent of FERS participants and 14 percent of CSRS participants were investing only in the G fund; several years ago, only about 11 percent in each system were doing so. Even those with at least some money in the TSP’s stock or bond funds have grown more conservative. On average, those investors have 37 percent of their money in the G fund, compared with 33 percent at the start of 2002. Also, on a net basis investors transferred slightly more than $5 billion out of the C fund in 2002, with $3.6 billion going into the G fund and $1 billion into the bond (F) fund.