My Account Balance decreased while share prices has increased...what gives?

**ToyT100** · 05-18-2007, 04:21 AM

Tom:

How can my account balance be less today than on May 1, when all share prices has climbed higher the last two weeks, except for a single decrease of one cent in the I fund for a single day before increasing yet higher still.

Can you help explain this phenomena? I mean, if all share prices rises over time, should not the account balance rise also? Does a drop in the account balance given this scenario be cause for alarm...or indicate that someone maybe stealing from the cookie jar?

Bear in mind, I am a total Nu-b at TSP. Yet I get the suspicious feeling that something is not quite right.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

**tsptalk** · 05-18-2007, 06:29 AM

Welcome ToyT -

Unless you were in the F fund, that does sound wrong. What is your current account allocation? (which funds are you in? Not which funds are your contributing to, but which funds is your current balance spread out in? Because the F fund was down during that period.

**ATCJeff** · 05-18-2007, 12:23 PM

Have you made any IFT's since May 1st? If you have not made any changes to your allocation, did not take out a loan or have some other kind of withdrawal you balance should be higher. Unless.......

Caution, F fund is down 3 pennies since May 1st! So if you were 100% F fund you would have lost some money so far this month.

Jeff

**ToyT100** · 05-18-2007, 06:34 PM

Future Contributions: 30 30 30 C S I
Investment Distrubution: 10 7 30 30 23 G F C S I
4 years invested; No IFTs to date

I know zilch about managing funds; its more like buy and hold without any particular strategy except to increase portfolio for retirement.

Any explanation for the decrease would be helpful in understanding how to avoid such loss in the future.

**Jaguar61** · 05-18-2007, 07:23 PM

Toy-T

You have to keep in mine that when the stock price climb higher, because you own those shares. Your balance is going to decrease, because now they cost more. Your balance is really the same the shares just cost more. If that pass the logic test.

**jayhawker** · 05-18-2007, 07:27 PM

Originally Posted by Jaguar61

Toy-T

You have to keep in mine that when the stock price climb higher, because you own those shares. Your balance is going to decrease, because now they cost more. Your balance is really the same the shares just cost more. If that pass the logic test.

What??? No, that doesn't pass any logic test.

Okay, it's only fair that I elaborate:

Unless you change your account distribution, you own the same number of shares daily. When the share price increases, your account balance will increase. Conversely, when the share price decreases you account balance will decrease. Can't be any simpler than that.

**ATCJeff** · 05-18-2007, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by Jaguar61

Toy-T

You have to keep in mine that when the stock price climb higher, because you own those shares. Your balance is going to decrease, because now they cost more. Your balance is really the same the shares just cost more. If that pass the logic test.

Jaguar, your logic failed!

**ATCJeff** · 05-18-2007, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by ToyT100

Future Contributions: 30 30 30 C S I
Investment Distrubution: 10 7 30 30 23 G F C S I
4 years invested; No IFTs to date

I know zilch about managing funds; its more like buy and hold without any particular strategy except to increase portfolio for retirement.

Any explanation for the decrease would be helpful in understanding how to avoid such loss in the future.

If what you say above is true, your balance should have increased. Time to contact TSP.

**Jaguar61** · 05-18-2007, 08:33 PM

ATC,
Yea that's right that what I said or thought I said.

**James48843** · 05-19-2007, 05:40 AM

Originally Posted by ToyT100

Future Contributions: 30 30 30 C S I
Investment Distrubution: 10 7 30 30 23 G F C S I
4 years invested; No IFTs to date

I know zilch about managing funds; its more like buy and hold without any particular strategy except to increase portfolio for retirement.

Any explanation for the decrease would be helpful in understanding how to avoid such loss in the future.

If in fact you have less in your account today, than you had on May 1st, there is a problem. You can check quarterly statements on-line, and also "lookup" past account balances on any given day in the past through the TSP website.

With an allocation of 10/7/30/30/23, your return from May 1st, until May 17th, should have been a positive 1.54%

Fund Allocation (%) /// Fund Returns - (Incr/Dec) /// 20% in Return
G F C S I /// G F C S I ///Each/// total Period

10% 7% 30% 30% 23% ///0.17% -0.53% 2.60% 1.65% 1.25% 1.03%/// 1.54%

If you verify that in fact some money is missing- Contact TSP ASAP and ask them to verify your account balance, and how, or where, the money was removed.

**Scout333** · 05-21-2007, 09:53 PM

Toy, If you don't mind sharing did you ever figure out what the problem was with your TSP account?

**ToyT100** · 05-22-2007, 03:14 AM

Scout:

All is well. I had posted the results here, but subsequently deleted by the moderator. TSP balances are sensitive information that ought not be posted on this site.

Basically, my error. I had mistakenly compared account balance on May 4 (not May 1) to May 10 (down-turn in the market) and got confused. Thought something was wrong, but as it turns out its okay.