TSP Warns of Hoax

The TSP has said there’s no truth to an Internet site and a chain e-mail making the rounds of federal offices that the international stock I fund has been the victim of a fraud, that it is "insolvent" and that investments are being frozen. The hoax mentions the name of an individual who has no connection to the TSP, it said. The I fund is a passive investment fund that tracks a major index of international stocks and is not actively managed. It has suffered the steepest losses of any of the TSP funds during the current market downturn, however, down by half over the 12 months ending in February. Especially active day trading in the I fund—which fluctuates according to currency rates as well as stock prices–was one of the major reasons the TSP last year put restrictions on how often investors can make interfund transfers.