ebbnflow's Account Talk

[SkyPilot]

Big Dave, I don't want to hem and haw my way to a good answer. I think I read a post by 350z or somebody else, but I can't seem to find it now. Let's wait for the right person to answer this question shall we.

The I fund is not the same as the EFA, so it will vary from the EAFE on a day to day basis. In addition, the +/- of a fair valuation (as determined by Barclays) will effect the actual daily balance of the I fund as well.

 

[GUCHI]

i went to a mid career retirement seminar yesterday LOL!!!!! i have 6 years and counting, some other folks have less than that. my point is that they talked briefly about tsp. i saw a segway to mention tsptalk and put in a good plug about the folks on the board and how helpful they have been for me. its a shame that the feds don't give us any advice, because they don't want to have the responsibility for any failures. but the way i see it no advice is failure to educate the federal employee. i told them about the guidance and information on the board. so good luck and sorry for stepping on your thread ebbnflow. BTW i hope to see some more north carolinians join the family.

 

[Scout333]

Mike Causey posted some comments from his readers about the controversial fee for our interfund transfers. Yesterday, the ebbchart page got an extra couple of thousand hits (page impressions) and I don't know if this has something to do with it:
.....

http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=22&sid=1241536

Thanks Marc!

Frequent flyers (more than 50 trades per year) should have no objections to pay a small transaction fee per trade. The problem is that there are only a very small number of investors/traders in this category. Probably less than 1% of TSP participants would fall in this category. The other 99% would not even notice the difference in fees charged to their accounts. Also, administrative costs to identify the frequent flyers and allocate fees to their accounts only would greatly exceed any perceived benefit in charging the fees to begin with.
Don't we need to provide rationale for our position against the transfer fees and not just that we don't want to pay. That's one of the best things I've learned here!

 

[tsptalk]

If you have a minute, I have a question for you.

On the charts at the bottom of most pages, it has the chart for EFA, which I believe tracks simular to the I fund. It shows it was down today .41%, but I see you said the I fund actually lost .97%. Why is that different? Sorry for asking dumb questions, but I'm just learning this stuff! I've read some of the stuff on here about FV, and maybe that has something to do with it?

0.32 (0.41%)

Welcome BigDave!

Check out the fair value (FV) and 350z's threads here...
http://www.tsptalk.com/mb/forumdisplay.php?f=22

 

[James48843]

Reference the comment about Feds not wanting to give advice---

TSPTALK doesn't give advice either. That is clear on page one.
http://www.tsptalk.com/about_us2.html

Except this piece of wisdom: to advise ALL TSP holders to learn as much as you can about TSP, about the different funds, about how your portfolio will grow best if you dedicate yourself to learning, and to invest in yourself by learning how to manage your own money.


It's YOUR money. How much you learn about managing it, your own level of risk tolerance, and preparing yourself for the future- is all up to you.

 

[Wasaki]

Hi Ebb - I've been following your system for about 4 months now, taking the first couple to follow, think about and understand it and the last couple I have been following your moves with my own TSP. Thanks for a great system that works! I have been trying to get the word spread in my office (small about 16 people) but no one wants to listen. I'll frequently get articles from co-workers about day trading and market timing then I finally sent an email that shows your results for the year basically saying would you rather make 24% or 5-6% for the year so far? With an office full of accountants we have all had the finance classes and whatnot to be deterred from such trading methods but I say let the numbers speak for themselves. But I am still determined to turn at least one person to Ebbenomics but it comes down to most people are fine leaving their accounts sit. I look forward to future gains thanks to the EbbChart!

 

[James48843]

....Ebenomics..

Dang- How did I miss that one? I'll have to add that one to the list when I get home tonight.

By the way, I AM compiling a master list of all the "Ebbonics" seen here. :toung: I may end up writing a book.....

 

[draggen3]

ebb and everyone , i kinda think we might get some +++ fv today out of I fund after some fed speak . Thinking about c fund ?? any comments??

 

[nnuut]

Hi Ebb - I've been following your system for about 4 months now, taking the first couple to follow, think about and understand it and the last couple I have been following your moves with my own TSP. Thanks for a great system that works! I have been trying to get the word spread in my office (small about 16 people) but no one wants to listen. I'll frequently get articles from co-workers about day trading and market timing then I finally sent an email that shows your results for the year basically saying would you rather make 24% or 5-6% for the year so far? With an office full of accountants we have all had the finance classes and whatnot to be deterred from such trading methods but I say let the numbers speak for themselves. But I am still determined to turn at least one person to Ebbenomics but it comes down to most people are fine leaving their accounts sit. I look forward to future gains thanks to the EbbChart!

Welcome to the Message Board Wasaki. One thing that's hard to argue against is something that actually works. Best of luck.
Norman

 

[Birchtree]

The C fund will be my favorite for several years to come.

 

[kaitlinsnana]

I work in a post office in the Atlanta area, and have told many people about the amazing results I've had in TSP this year following ebbnflow. They listen, but don't hear. Go figure.

Gail

 

[tsptalk]

They listen, but don't hear. Go figure.

I know what you mean. I suspect it is fear of the unknown - or indifference.

 

[Birchtree]

Their overall interest may be dictated by the level of their balances. It does take money to make money and the more money accumulated the more one pays attention. Give them time - which is a valuable asset that is being wasted only they are unaware. That's why we have the fiduciary L funds.

 

[Wasaki]

I know what you mean. I suspect it is fear of the unknown - or indifference.

From my experience, the ones that don't keep track of the market, don't read anything about TSP and may not even know their login and password to their account have the most to say against it. So what I tell the others are, would you rather listen to this person who speaks out against it and doesn't read on the subject, or someone that has knowledge on the subject and has a proven track record, i.e. 24% gain? Oh well, I guess I'll see in 30 years who is in better financial shape and maybe it will take that long to prove my point :laugh:

 

[crhuss]

Ebb, I agree that the would be little pain in paying a small administrative cost for each trade. When you consider the cost of trades outside the TSP in the private sector, we have it pretty good.
However, if you consider the divergent purposes and goals of the private stock market trading evironment and the TSP, we have much more to lose, so we must be more conservative with our investment strategies.
I have money in the private stock market..the amounts that I can lose and it doesn't hurt...kinda like play money. Like most of the private sector, I am in it for the profit to enhance my financial position and buy more stuff. But my TSP investment are for my retirement expenses. Us baby boomers plan to live a long time so we need as safe and profitable program as we can get to ensure we are not a burden on the government on our advanced age. Since the purpose of the TSP is to help us attain that goal, requiring a cost for each trade, as in the private sector, would not be in keeping with the mission of the TSP funds charter. I think the TSP managers should help us improve our financial posture for retirement, not charge us for it. Does that make any sense?

 

[kohaku]

ebb and everyone , i kinda think we might get some +++ fv today out of I fund after some fed speak . Thinking about c fund ?? any comments??

Hi, yes the dollar has fallen quite a lot today, might rebound some tommorrow.

 

[James48843]

One thing I would like to point out, that every TSP'er ought to consider adding to the argument against "user fees".

That is that the actual administrative costs of TSP have never been lower. And they are much lower than any other plan out there.

ten years ago, TSP was costing somewhere over 6 to 8 basis points in administrative costs. Yet that is a fraction of most publically held mutual funds, which typically rack up 50 to 80 basis points in costs.

TSP's sheer size, and the use of index funds, has made TSP extremely cost effective.

And today, after several years of having a variety of funds, the actual administrative costs of TSP are the lowest ever. Now they are less than a single basis point.

Nowhere else are there costs this low. A single basis point. That's the cost in adminstrative costs.

If someone tries to tell us that a measley (less than 1% of TSP holders) percentage who wish to manage their own money should pay some kind of user fee to do so- tell them BUNK! Tell them our costs are so much lower than anywhere else, there is NO REASON to charge us user fees to move OUR money into accounts AS WE SEE BEST FITS OUR SITUATION.

TSP- Lowest costs. EVEN when we move it from time to time.

 

[GUCHI]

all we can do is lead them to water/tsptalk, but u can't make them drink/make money !!! when i mentioned tsptalk at my retirement seminar the instructor said he had heard about it, but he said to be careful of the pay sites. which i responded with there being alot of FREE info. and you can get just about any question answered.
thanks to the board

 

[BeaverState]

One thing I would like to point out, that every TSP'er ought to consider adding to the argument against "user fees". ....



If someone tries to tell us that a measley (less than 1% of TSP holders) percentage who wish to manage their own money should pay some kind of user fee to do so- tell them BUNK! Tell them our costs are so much lower than anywhere else, there is NO REASON to charge us user fees to move OUR money into accounts AS WE SEE BEST FITS OUR SITUATION.

They should have to prove what it actually costs them to make an interfund transfer. It may be there is no cost at all. It's all done electronically. They may be paying a set fee. The point is, we don't know.

 

[crhuss]

Thanks James, I feel deep in my heart that we should not have to pay trade fees to move our money around. Especially when the feds created the 'L' funds that move funds around every day. This will add to my arsenal. Let's just hope the powers to control this idea will see the light before making any bad decisions that will destroy OUR ability to control OUR money.