jlee1224
Full Member
Cash: $ 12.65
Posts: 63
Joined: 26 May 2005
Location: Baltimore
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| TSP basics |
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I like learning about all kinds of money topics. The TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) is something I know a little about, but I have questions.
There are certain plans that the government has that you can invest in. I, C, G, and such.
How many are there?
Are you allowed to manipulate your holdings daily (it seems you can, from other threads)? If you are allowed to manipulate your holdings daily, are there short term trading penalties?
The debatable question for everyone: Do you think it is wise for a non-professional to be changing their holdings daily?
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Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:26 pm |
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drinkoj
Preferred Member
Cash: $ 21.35
Posts: 106
Joined: 27 Jul 2005
Location: SC
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| Re: TSP basics |
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quote:
Originally posted by jlee1224
I like learning about all kinds of money topics. The TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) is something I know a little about, but I have questions.
There are certain plans that the government has that you can invest in. I, C, G, and such.
How many are there?
Are you allowed to manipulate your holdings daily (it seems you can, from other threads)? If you are allowed to manipulate your holdings daily, are there short term trading penalties?
The debatable question for everyone: Do you think it is wise for a non-professional to be changing their holdings daily?
There are 5 basic funds G, F, C, S, and I. Then there are the L Funds which are a blend of the five basic funds that dispurses your money by a percentage and adjusts from agressive to less agressive as you reach closer to your anticipated retirement date.
Yes you can manipulate your holdings one time per day, but realize that you are buying/selling at the results of the close of business, IF you get your trade request in before 12pm EST.
As far as letting a professional or me personally invest the money daily, the ability to move money out is very important, as I remember just a few years ago I lost several thousand because I was locked into a Fund and couldn't move it when I knew that the market was crashing. Hold on, it just did the same thing and I still lost money  , just not as much.
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Thu Oct 20, 2005 11:28 pm |
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Rolo
Yo' Daddy
Cash: $ 309.70
Posts: 1551
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Location: Colorado/Florida
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| Re: TSP basics |
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quote:
Originally posted by jlee1224
The debatable question for everyone: Do you think it is wise for a non-professional to be changing their holdings daily?
"non-professional"
heh
I will not say all professionals are incompetent, however, I have consistently outperformed all professionals I have personally witnessed. i.e. My wife's investments were "professionally" managed for 8 years prior to my meeting her and they were crap (by my standards); I sh*t-canned them, took over, and the same investments have been performing much better. I am a hobbyist, not a professional.
What my point is, is this: "professional" does not automatically mean "competent" and "non-professional", or "layman", does not automatically mean "inept".
What does automatically mean something? Returns...the bottom line...i.e. "Show me the money."
"Expect me when you see me."
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Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:57 pm |
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trisha
Preferred Member
Cash: $ 33.75
Posts: 164
Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Location: NW Ark
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| Re: TSP basics |
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quote:
Originally posted by jlee1224
I like learning about all kinds of money topics. The TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) is something I know a little about, but I have questions.
If you are allowed to manipulate your holdings daily, are there short term trading penalties?
The debatable question for everyone: Do you think it is wise for a non-professional to be changing their holdings daily?
It appears you are not a Fed employee. Should the government decide that SocSec is to be partially based on the TSP, you are right to learn about it. I don't believe it will operate quite the same way for the general public as it does now for the feds. We have to have our decisions in by noon EST, as Drinkoj mentioned. That won't set well w/the rest of the public.
As for professional vs non-professionals, professional what? Anyone interested enough in managing their own monies, will find more than numerous bks to peruse to be able to do a half way decent job of it.
I suspect the only persons who would believe `professionals' are the only people wise enough to handle stocks is a person who deems himself a `professional' , and therefore gets paid to do so. I do understand your question was refering to `on a daily basis,' but the only people I know who do trading on a daily basis are Day Traders who have access to the market every minute from opening to closing.
And I wish the best of the market to you also -
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Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:48 am |
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SkyPilot
Senior Member
Cash: $ 100.11
Posts: 492
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
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| Money Management |
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Money management is a personal responsibility, even if you hire a manager to help you with it. Managers don't ultimately work for your interest, but rather, they work for the fees they can earn by moving your money around, and not always with your greatest interest at heart. We must all handle our own accounts to some degree, even if it is choosing a manager based on their past success record.
As far as how often a person moves money between investments, there is no virtue in leaving money in a single place for any length of time, as stability in itself does not create wealth. It is far more pertinent to know "why" one should to buy or sell, taking into account risk tolerance, strategy, so on and so forth.
When you make your own decisions, at least you are serving your own interest first and above other interests.
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Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:45 pm |
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