New Tracker Software

[Guest2]

Ocean/Tom: It seems that except for two or
three almost everybody is sticking to the TSP IFT rule.

I would suggest that those not following the rule to be removed from the tracker because it serves no purpose to follow something that can't be applied in real life. Thank you again.

Woe now, most respected members! I fully agree that if you find anyone
increasing their stake in the CSIF by more then 1% after obtaining the
2 unrestricted IFT's, a flag must be raised.

As previously written, The limits (2) to go anywhere DO NOT include the
ability to go back to the (G) as long as you have money in the CSIF.
Further, When moving money back to the (G), your current allocations in
any fund can be rounded up to the next whole percentage. ie... 13.23%
can be rounded up to 14.0%. Thats why I previously stated that
"anything over 1%" (after unrestricted) should raise a flag.

To say that only (2) or (3) members are NOT sticking to the rules is not
accurate, unfounded and unfair. As of COB 5/23/08 ten (10) members
have more then two IFT's. AND they have all "stuck to the rules".
If the software that controls the tracker can be changed to reflect the
above, it might be a good idea to do so (less hands on requirement).
If not, then human observation (moderators or such) will need to keep
a watchful eye on erroneous IFT's. Now if the "Tracker Rules" have
changed, it's the first I've heard about it.

IMHO, this is nothing more then the Thrift Boards failure to clearly state
the rules and how they apply to the 3.9 million TSP participants. Although
many TSPtalk members have written about this topic, the message has
obviously not gotten through. Otherwise, we would not be reading such
suggestions like; "remove members from the tracker".

As I see it, there are only three solutions. Tweak the software,,, Increase
oversight by knowledgable moderators,,, or,,, Change the tracker rules to
reflect the limitations of the software and the inability to monitor the IFT's
manually.

This was written with the utmost respect towards my fellow TSPtalk
members and should not be taken as a attempt to embarrass or degrade
anyone. The hard work put into this site is evident on a daily basis and
those (you know who you are) should be as proud, as I am appreciative
of the behind the scenes struggle to make this a success.

If this rant should help in anyway, my mission is accomplished.

 

[tsptalk]

To say that only (2) or (3) members are sticking to the rules is not accurate, unfounded and unfair.

I think he was saying only 2 or 3 were not sticking to the rules.

 

[Guest2]

Thats what I meant to write, however, they ARE sticking to the rules.
Which rules are being broken? Does the tracker now have a 2 IFT limit?

or

Are the TSP limits confusing our membership ?

 

[tsptalk]

Cool, then we won't have a problem. I know the ebbchart ETF system still trades daily but we don't plan to show that much longer - just the Ebbchart TSP system trades, which does stay within the limits.

It sounds like everyone else is mirroring their TSP account, which is good.

 

[tspgo_com]

To say that only (2) or (3) members are NOT sticking to the rules is not
accurate, unfounded and unfair. As of COB 5/23/08 ten (10) members
have more then two IFT's. AND they have all "stuck to the rules".

Where did you get the idea that I said that "only (2) or (3) members are NOT sticking to the rules". This is the opposite to what I said.

I am not sure what your long explanation is all about. It is obvious that you misunderstood completely what I meant when I said " It seems that except for two or three almost everybody is sticking to the TSP IFT rule." It is true that a comma (,) is missing. But it still says that everybody was sticking to the rule except for two or three. My suggestion was for only two or three to be removed from the tracker.


I disagree with you when you say "IMHO, this is nothing more then the Thrift Boards failure to clearly state the rules and how they apply to the 3.9 million TSP participants. Although many TSPtalk members have written about this topic, the message has obviously not gotten through. Otherwise, we would not be reading such suggestions like; "remove members from the tracker".

In my statement there was no misinterpretation of the "Ruling". Perhaps some members don't want to admit it but the Board is clear when it says that in a month you can make two moves to wherever you want and that all subsequent moves must be to the G-Fund. The reason why we reading about removing members from the tracker has nothing to do with the Board but to your misunderstanding of my statement when I said "It seems that except for two or three almost everybody is sticking to the TSP IFT rule."

I appreciate your contribution to this MB but It seems you jumped the gun a little bit to soon.

Good luck!

 

[tspgo_com]

Thats what I meant to write, however, they ARE sticking to the rules.
Which rules are being broken? Does the tracker now have a 2 IFT limit?

or

Are the TSP limits confusing our membership ?

I tried to answer your PM but it said that you do not accept PM's.

 

[EW_ret]

I disagree with your statement that all IFTs have abided by the new IFT restriction rule. I know of one member who made a third IFT move into the S and I funds from the F fund. The G fund percentage remained unchanged. We currently have no autotracker rule on this IFT restriction. Should we add this rule?

Thats what I meant to write, however, they ARE sticking to the rules.
Which rules are being broken? Does the tracker now have a 2 IFT limit?

or

Are the TSP limits confusing our membership ?

 

[Guest2]

Boy oh boy, did I mess this up or what !

I'm gonna address any mistakes I made
in my next entry. I will also answer some
questions that have been posed to me.

My PM option is marked with a check.
Anyone can PM me should they desire.

 

[Guest2]

TOM:
TSPGO:
OCEAN:
EW_ret:

I may have jumped the gun, and for that, I sincerely appologize to my
fellow tsptalk members. When I read the thread and thought that there
was talk about removing members from the Tracker for having more then
two IFT's. I got scared and rushed to the tracker to see how many IFT's
I had so far and if anyone was abusing or misrepresenting their actual
real life transactions. I found that I had 6 for the month of May and failed
to see anyone with abnormal IFT's. The members with 3 or more IFT's all
appeared to be appropriately going back to the (G) Fund. In my mind, this
placed me in the catagory of being possibly removed from the tracker and
that some of our membership were under the impression that we're locked
in to having only 2 IFT's. I knew this to be wrong and started to type out
my previous rant. Since then, I've come to find out that the concerns
over a erroneous (never could do in real life) IFT's on the tracker was
originally missed by me and gave good reason to seek alternatives in
handling the problem. I feel like a horses ass and again, wish to extend
my appoligize for misunderstanding the situation at hand.

 

[McDuck]

First, I think the Auto Tracker is great. It's very useful and user friendly.

This morning, I was looking at the "Members ranking and current allocation" page and noticed that 9 out of the top 10 accounts listed were started to be tracked after the first of the year. This gives an inaccurate view of who is doing well this year. The market nose-dived on the first day of the year and took a couple of months to start coming back up.

I think that page should be split into two tables. One for people being tracked since day-1-of-2008 and one for people who start afterwards.

Also is there a rule where people have to post so often to verify that they have not quit posting their moves and their tracker is actually tracking an inactive account?

Thanks

 

[Guest2]

IMHO, a rule to require the posting of a IFT within a certain amount of
time would not work. However, under the tracker, the section "Member
IFT Records" clearly shows the "De-Listing" of those who fail to login for
a certain amount of time and thus, are taken off the Tracker.

I've looked at the "Member Standing and Allocation" before and remember
noticing that only 2 members began (January 1) which is before I started
(January 2). The seperation may be pleasant to the eye, but would not
serve any great purpose. The Weekly Tally only includes those who have
been in the tracker since 1/1/08. For those like me, we have to wait for
2009 to be included. I don't plan on missing it for the world.

Its a tough job keeping up with this technology and a lot of behind the
scenes efforts take place almost daily. Maybe keeping it simple would be
better then making additions at the cost of time and accuracy. Again, I
just wanted to chime in and share my opinion as a simple member.

 

[EW_ret]

The Weekly and Monthly Tally separate members into those groups based upon the date they joined the Automated Tracker. These tallies are the official returns that TSPTalk uses for prizes and recognition. There is no need to further complicate the Automated Tracker by breaking into separate tables. Here is the link to the Returns Tracker and Tally (click) page.

First, I think the Auto Tracker is great. It's very useful and user friendly.

This morning, I was looking at the "Members ranking and current allocation" page and noticed that 9 out of the top 10 accounts listed were started to be tracked after the first of the year. This gives an inaccurate view of who is doing well this year. The market nose-dived on the first day of the year and took a couple of months to start coming back up.

I think that page should be split into two tables. One for people being tracked since day-1-of-2008 and one for people who start afterwards.

Also is there a rule where people have to post so often to verify that they have not quit posting their moves and their tracker is actually tracking an inactive account?

Thanks

 

[ocean]

Fivetears data is in error and I will take a look in the next few days (currently I'm on the road).

Ocean

 

[optionman]

Something appears to be wrong with autotracker. Since the beginning of 2008 autotracker has been 1.34% below my tracker due to starting on the 17th of Jan which is understandable. The difference now is over 2%. As of today my YTD is 7.67% so autotracker should have me at 6.33%.

om

 

[EW_ret]

Something appears to be wrong with autotracker. Since the beginning of 2008 autotracker has been 1.34% below my tracker due to starting on the 17th of Jan which is understandable. The difference now is over 2%. As of today my YTD is 7.67% so autotracker should have me at 6.33%.

om

I read your account talk and noticed your post 308 Friday mentioned this return discrepancy. I reported it by PM to Ocean, but we need any details if you have them. I will now investigate and attempt to narrow down the dates when the return discrepancy occurred in your autotracker account. I then will report to Ocean, so he can correct it. Do you believe it happened in June or July? Any particular week when you first noticed it?

 

[optionman]

I read your account talk and noticed your post 308 Friday mentioned this return discrepancy. I reported it by PM to Ocean, but we need any details if you have them. I will now investigate and attempt to narrow down the dates when the return discrepancy occurred in your autotracker account. I then will report to Ocean, so he can correct it. Do you believe it happened in June or July? Any particular week when you first noticed it?

EW--Thanks, I do have all trades, dates and prices in an excell spreadsheet format and can provide them upon request. I noticed the descrepancy about a month ago so it probably would have happened sometime bewteen May and July. I pulled up the dates in the tracker and done a quick scan to see if there was any difference in dates. Didn't see a descrepancy there. I pulled up the TSP prices on the dates I made IFTs and noticed one descrepancy that actually added to my account by a very small amount. I had a number inverted. I get the feeling it has something to do with my recent 60/40 IFT to the S and I fund. That's where I would look first. Please let me know if you need additional information. Thanks.

om

 

[EW_ret]

EW--Thanks, I do have all trades, dates and prices in an excell spreadsheet format and can provide them upon request. I noticed the descrepancy about a month ago so it probably would have happened sometime bewteen May and July. I pulled up the dates in the tracker and done a quick scan to see if there was any difference in dates. Didn't see a descrepancy there. I pulled up the TSP prices on the dates I made IFTs and noticed one descrepancy that actually added to my account by a very small amount. I had a number inverted. I get the feeling it has something to do with my recent 60/40 IFT to the S and I fund. That's where I would look first. Please let me know if you need additional information. Thanks.

om

I have examined the returns reported in the autotracker from May 5th to July 25th and the calculations performed by autotracker are correct when compared with IFT entries in a spreadsheet. The total return for this period was -0.63% (5 May-25 July). On May 5th your YTD return reported in autotracker was 6.20% and on July 25th your YTD return reported in the autotracker was +5.53%. If their are return error(s) they occurred prior to May 1st. The May, June, and July calculations in autotracker are correct according to my calculations.

The attached PDF shows the IFT in autotracker and the spreadsheet return calculations. If you believe there remains a return issue with your account, I will have to investigate the March and April return calculations.

 

[optionman]

I have examined the returns reported in the autotracker from May 5th to July 25th and the calculations performed by autotracker are correct when compared with IFT entries in a spreadsheet. The total return for this period was -0.63% (5 May-25 July). On May 5th your YTD return reported in autotracker was 6.20% and on July 25th your YTD return reported in the autotracker was +5.53%. If their are return error(s) they occurred prior to May 1st. The May, June, and July calculations in autotracker are correct according to my calculations.

The attached PDF shows the IFT in autotracker and the spreadsheet return calculations. If you believe there remains a return issue with your account, I will have to investigate the March and April return calculations.

EW--Thanks, I would appreciate if you investigate further. As of today I'm showing a YTD return of +7.71%. From 17 January (when autotracker started tracking my IFTs) I show a return of +6.11%. I've checked all of my IFT dates and the NAVs on those dates and everything is correct in my tracker. Thanks.

om

 

[tsptalk]

ocean -

kar krazy noticed a discrepancy on the C fund's memeber page (http://www.tsptalk.com/tracker/tsp_user_returns_daily.php?user=C_fund). It should be down 40.79% (COB 11/24) not the 39.92% that is displayed.

Do you think I can just update the current dollar amount in the C-fund's balance to correct it, or would it be better to check day by day to find the discrepancy?

Thanks.

 

[ocean]

Tom,

Please go with the returns stated in The Members ranking page. The individual member page is not accurate.

Update the dollar amount for one day will not help to correct the individual page since the calculation is based on the entire year plus 2007. As 2008 will end soon, I will fix and reset the member individual page starting in 2009.

Thanks and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Ocean