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Thread: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

  1. #13

    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Quote Originally Posted by kaitlinsnana View Post
    Sounds like the ideas we'd bounced around here were voiced. One thing bothered me:

    Brown noted that frequent traders already have banded together online to oppose limits on trading. He pointed to a Web site that council members were directed to that includes a petition signed by more than 2,000 TSP participants opposing the new restrictions.
    "That shows that they act collectively, at least by their own hand," Brown said. "It's a concerted effort from those upset who are sending us this Web site."


    Such a "them against us" feeling.



    ...and this:

    But Tracey Ray, chief investment officer of the TSP, said that under such a plan, a small fee of $8 or $9 wouldn't begin to offset trading costs. Instead, some participants might have to be charged thousands of dollars in fees, depending on the amount and size of their trades.

    What in the world is he talking about? Is he talking about charging a fee directly related to the amount of money we move????

    I don't know, doesn't sound good, but the unions did put some good ideas out there.

    We'll see.

    Gail
    This idea that some TSP participants would need to be charged thousands of dollars in trading fees is absurd, and Tracey Ray knows it. These are scare tactics that Ray and FRTIB are using to frighten ETAC and others who don't understand what the expenses of TSP really are, into agreeing to make this drastic change to our IFT rules. When you consider the sheer size of the asset base in TSP, $26 million in trading expenses is next to nothing, but they never put things in perspective so the average person can understand what we are talking about here. As James has stated previously, we are talking about an increase in trading expenses for each TSP participant from about $3/year currently, to about $4/year if the current rule allowing unlimited IFT's is continued. Is it worth it to you to lose the ability to manage your retirement funds, to save a buck a year??? We need to continue to stress this point with the ETAC folks. It sounds like they did raise some good questions at the meeting today, but it must be intimidating to face this FRTIB, who probably tried their best to overwhelm them with their biased and incomplete statistics on expenses. Don't be discouraged, we at least have prodded the ETAC reps to begin questioning these numbers from FRTIB.....we need to continue writing to them, as it sounds to me like this is far from a dead issue. Has anyone heard if they scheduled another meeting to continue discussions on this topic?

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  3. #14

    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Long said TSP's central concern is that in the I fund, at least, transaction costs are leading to lower returns for long-term holders. "This is not about us being paternalistic; this is about the cost and the impact to everyone else," he said.
    Where is the evidence of this? I've been calculating the I fund for almost 2 years now and excluding FV days, 99% of the time, the I fund price matches the MSCI EAFE percentage changes.

    On that rare occasion that the price didn't match the MSCI EAFE(once or twice a year), it was only off by a penny. Today for example, The I fund should have loss 14 cents, but instead it loss 13 cents. The I fund actually gained a penny today. It had nothing to do with rounding because even if yesterday's price had been 24.075, it still should have loss 14 cents. 24.075*-.57% = -13.722 cents.

    Maybe they distribute the total trading cost among all the funds?

    I would think that any cost associated with the I fund would be paid from the I fund.

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  5. #15

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    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Quote Originally Posted by ATCJeff View Post
    Wrote this in the comments section. Everyone write something.

    "We felt the two trades a month allows flexibility for everyone and the ability for everyone to go into the G Fund if they get scared," Ray said. "A percentage fee is certainly an option, but we felt that would hurt the nonfrequent traders."

    "Nonfrequent traders" would not trade that often or be charged a fee if we go to 2 free trades and a fee for anything beyond that.

    Why is it costing TSP so much to execute trades while the brokerage houses do it so much cheaper? Who is making the extra money on the trades? Barclay?

    Come on this is the second largest plan in the WORLD and we don't have some "power" to get cheaper trades. Time to renegotiate our contract with Barclay, update the TSP system, and remove the FRTIB to include Mr. Long, Ms. Ray, and possibly the so called advocates on the ETAC.

    Were is the ETAC contact list? Were is web access to them? What is their phone number? Who do I call and can they make a difference?

    Why are political appointees on the FRTIB and what did they do to get there? Were is the oversight by Congress and the DOL? Why do the FRTIB sight industry standards that are two trades or less a month but ignore the GAO-05-38 report advising better "Customer Service Practices Adopted by Private Sector Plan Managers"?

    Something stinks to high heaven and it ain't the "3000 frequent traders".
    Socrates: "Democracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequaled alike."

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  7. #16

    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Quote Originally Posted by Show-me View Post
    Wrote this in the comments section. Everyone write something.
    Here are the comments I posted.

    "The proposal is a result of a recent analysis by TSP officials on the impact of trading activity on fund management and transaction expenses. Officials studied the fund with the highest costs, the International fund, and found that in September and October, the average daily trade was $224 million, far above the daily trades of $49 million in 2006 and $27 million in 2005. The TSP found that the majority of the higher trading volume was due to fewer than 3,000 participants who engaged in frequent trading."


    I find it hard to believe that 3,000 participants could have such a hugh cost impact on the tsp considering there are millions of Federal Employees that make up the collective group. Are you suggesting these 3,000 frequent traders hold vast sums of monies compared to the buy and hold participants? Exactly how much does it cost for the re-balancing of the L-funds, which by your own reports, participation has grown rapidly over the past 3 years. It appears that your arguments only include pieces of the puzzle instead of looking at the whole picture. Please provide proof of your "recent analysis" of the added expenses(instead of one line per year comparisons) and explain exactly how fund management and transaction cost are incurred before blaming it on the 3,000 frequent traders. I find it reprehensible and irresponsible that after spending millions of our dollars to upgrade to the current computer system that the board would just throw it away.

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  9. #17

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    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Quote Originally Posted by ATCJeff View Post
    So it looks like the letters are going to go out.
    To get to the light at the end of the tunnel, you have to be willing to face the train.

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  11. #18

    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    This little bit here is where I would like to see a good lawsuit happen...................................

    In the interim, however, council members gave TSP officials the go-ahead to send letters to 3,000 frequent traders, requiring them to stop their activity or face being restricted to requesting interfund transfers via mail until the automated curbs take effect.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------

    To enforce/threaten these 3,000 people under the current way the TSP operates, before anything acutally is changed to a new system is totally a blatant, authoritarian power trip by the TSP.

    Let the Lawsuits fly I say........


  12.  
  13. #19

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    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Richard Brown, President of a Union, National Federation of Federal Employees


    "...Brown noted that frequent traders already have banded together online to oppose limits on trading. He pointed to a Web site that council members were directed to that includes a petition signed by more than 2,000 TSP participants opposing the new restrictions.

    "That shows that they act collectively, at least by their own hand," Brown said. "It's a concerted effort from those upset who are sending us this Web site.".."

    Does anyone else besides me find it rather ironic... that a Union President... is complaining about employees acting "collectively"?????

    To petition for a redress of grievnaces???

    A right under the U.S. Constitution???
    "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

    And it's a UNION PRESIDENT who is questioning collective activity?

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  15. #20

    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Looks like the Union President Richard Brown is rubbing Uglies with the TSP Board. ya think?

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  17. #21

    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Maybe this is Mr. Brown's true colors showing through. What ever union he represents should take this into consideration during the next election.

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  19. #22

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    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Anybody who is a member of the Federation of Federal Employees, please call your Union president and tell him what you think: He is YOUR Union President, and he is saying that none of his members are telling him that they want the freedom to move their own money where they think it's best for them. If you are a Federation of Federal Employees member, call YOUR president:

    Richard Brown:

    Richard Brown, President
    805 15th Street, NW Suite 500
    Washington, DC 20005
    email: RBrown@NFFE.org
    202-216-4420 (main) · 202-898-1861 (fax)

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  21. #23

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    Arrow Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Lets start pushing back. Here is a simple way to fax and it is free. Write something, anything in word then copy and paste it in the comments block. You will get a email confirming your fax. Click the URL and voilà off goes the fax.

    http://faxzero.com/

    ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to Thomas K. Emswiler, General Counsel,
    Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, 1250 H Street, NW.,
    Washington, DC 20005. The Agency's Fax number is (202) 942-1676.

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tracey Ray on (202) 942-1665.

    Contact you Congressional Offices and get the word out. The FRTIB is pulling a fast on trying to get this through over the Holidays while everyone is in vacation mode.

    FIGHT PEOPLE FIGHT!
    Socrates: "Democracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequaled alike."

  22.  
  23. #24

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    Default Re: Employee Thrift Advisory Council

    Boy ETAC is on the ball. I ask a year ago to have a contact list posted on the tsp.gov website so that people would know they are there for them. NOTHING!
    Socrates: "Democracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequaled alike."

  24.  
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