Hi Whiff,
If you are talking about an IFT it takes effect on COB at the prices at COB, IF and only if, you submit request by noon that day. If you make IFT after 12pm, it will not take effect until the following Federal busines day at COB that following day. The bright side is that on the following day in the morning if you change your mind you can cancel it before noon.
So if you made an IFT today by noon, you are buying into new funds at new allocation for prices at end of day. One minute after 12pm Eastern, you cannot cancel.
Example... If you have 80% in G fund and 20% in equity funds and you move to buy more equities, say buy another 30%, at COB they take the price value of G fund at COB needed to buy 30% of equities at the equity prices in effect at COB. At that point you have no gain or loss on those 30% items you bought at COB. Your G fund would have a tiny gain at that point.
Now the next day, if the market goes up and you sell those same 30% equities and put back to G fund, you will have the gain that happened on that day and they will buy into G with those equity funds for the price of G shares that equal those equity funds you got at COB.
Our huge risk, and detriment to us all is that when you put in your request before noon, you have no idea what you will pay (gain or loss) that occurs 4 hours later when the COB prices are finally known. You lock into sell at noon...no going back no matter what happens during the last nail-biting 4 hours of that day.
Many people have experienced what looked like an up day at noon, wanted to lock in gains moving to safety of G fund only to end with large price drops that happen in the afternoon.
I just experienced that yesterday...was at 200 down in morning but wanted out and chose to IFT out of equities, only to find out at end of day it was down 400+ points. Still glad I got out.
This morning futures were up and I thought dang! Wish i had waited a day, but an hour ago looked like it was dropping again...TSP limitations are hugely unfair to us when traders make buys in milliseconds!!! Those 4 hours are agonizing and your hands are tied all afternoon!!
Best wishes to you and everyone on investments!!!!!!! :smile: