Legislation is pending to create a new “Corporate Responsibility Stock Index Fund” among the core funds. Image: 3rdtimeluckystudio/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffBills remain under consideration on Capitol Hill—some of them with contradictory aims—to change the investment choices available to TSP account holders even as the TSP has taken recent actions on its own, says a report for Congress.
The Congressional Research Service report notes that “several TSP investment-related policy issues have been legislatively active in recent Congresses” on issues including investments of the international stock I fund, use of “environmental-social-governance” investing philosophies, and the use of diverse asset managers.
On the former issue, it noted that the TSP as long ago as 2017 decided to expand the I fund to include a wider range of companies and a wider range of countries, the latter category including “emerging market” countries, mainland China among them. That “received attention from policymakers” in the form of bills to bar investments in companies of that country, which ultimately led to the TSP’s decision last year to use a new index that excluded stocks on the markets of mainland China and Hong Kong.
While that transition is being carried out this year, the bills to bar investments through the TSP in mainland China remain pending and if enacted could have the impact of barring funds from the TSP’s mutual fund window that have such companies in their portfolios, the report said.
Regarding so-called “ESG” investing, it notes that legislation is pending to create a new “Corporate Responsibility Stock Index Fund” among the core funds, which would be invested in a stock portfolio designed to replicate the performance of a commonly-recognized, passively-managed index comprised of stocks that meet certain criteria related to corporate responsibility.
In contrast, bills also have been offered to bar any investing in such funds through the TSP; since there is no such current fund among the core offerings, that would apply only to funds available through the mutual fund window.
The TSP has said, however, that it lacks the resources to monitor the investments of the roughly 5,000 funds available through that window—and that if mandated to do so, would stop offering that feature instead.
The report also noted that legislation was offered in the prior Congress to promote the use of racially, ethnically, and gender diverse asset managers, including funds available through the TSP’s mutual fund window. However, the TSP has not incorporated that consideration into that window and no such bill is pending in the current Congress, it said.
OPM Advises Agencies on Conducting RIFs During Shutdown
Updated Shutdown Contingency Plans Show Range of Impacts
Use Shutdown as Justification for More RIFs, OMB Tells Agencies
Unions Win a Round in Court Disputes over Anti-Representation Orders
Deferred Resignation Periods End for Many; Overall 12% Drop
Senate Bill Would Override Trump Orders against Unions
TSP Adds Detail to Upcoming Roth Conversion Feature
See also,
Legal: How to Challenge a Federal Reduction in Force (RIF) in 2025
How to Handle Taxes Owed on TSP Roth Conversions? Use a Ladder
The Best Ages for Federal Employees to Retire
Best States to Retire for Federal Retirees: 2025
Retention Standing, ‘Bump and Retreat’ and More: Report Outlines RIF Process
