New G Fund Rate?

[saturneptune]

Does anyone know why the G Fund has gone from .13 per day down to .10? Thanks

[nnuut]

Short Term Government Securities have dropped.
http://www.tsp.gov/rates/fundsheet-gfund.pdf

[nnuut]

This article explains why it varies pretty well.
http://www.federaldaily.com/financial/TSP.htm:D

[saturneptune]

Thanks for your help.

[James48843]

Expect it to continue to drop for another reason as well.

1. If they cut interest rates today, the short term rate T-bills could drop to near zero, and
2. since TSP decided at a board meeting not too long ago to increase the percentage that they hold in short term notes vs. long term (30 year) notes,

the overall return rate of the "G" should go down even more. I read that in the TSP Board minutes not too long ago- perhaps a couple of months ago.

Interest rate cut, plus more short term vs. long term notes, means that pretty soon the G fund will be returning barely anything at all.

But then again, anything positive is good, compared to the last year of stock fund returns....:-)

[JTH]

Thanks for the heads-up James.

How do you think this will affect future TSP Loans?

[Gumby]

Expect it to continue to drop for another reason as well.

1. If they cut interest rates today, the short term rate T-bills could drop to near zero, and
2. since TSP decided at a board meeting not too long ago to increase the percentage that they hold in short term notes vs. long term (30 year) notes,

the overall return rate of the "G" should go down even more. I read that in the TSP Board minutes not too long ago- perhaps a couple of months ago.

Interest rate cut, plus more short term vs. long term notes, means that pretty soon the G fund will be returning barely anything at all.

But then again, anything positive is good, compared to the last year of stock fund returns....:-)

It wouldn't surprise me if G fund pays out at 1.5 to 2% for the forseeable future. The FED will cut rates so it is cheaper to finanace a multi-Trillion deficit. It kind of reminds me of the sub-prime, 0% interest, and liar loans.....that put the country in this big mess......only the government is the BIG borrower now with a questionable credit rating. :mad:
What is going to happen when all these foreign countries quit buying our debt? Will it take a wheelbarrow full of American dollars to buy a gallon of milk?:worried:

[James48843]

Need to buy a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk?

http://www.old-picture.com/united-states-history-1900s---1930s/pictures/wheelbarrow-mutilated.jpg

[tsptalk]

I think he's applying for the open Illinois senator seat. :D

[Gumby]

I think he's applying for the open Illinois senator seat. :D

LOL, that's a good one. :p

[Hockeyfreak]

Anyone know what the symbol is to track the G fund is in stock program? I have Stock Broker Pro on my phone, and I have all the funds set up to get updates, but can't find a way to enter G fund in there. Also, I can't figure out how to calculate it day to day when I enter my shares and share price. I enter the info on the day I moved my money, and it keeps showing me a 3000%+ profit, with the value as 3,000,000 plus. Unfortunately, there's not that much in there. I was hoping it would show me a close approximation of it's value. I must not be understanding how $ calculations work on these programs. I'm new to stock investing, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!

[PessOptimist]

Anyone know what the symbol is to track the G fund is in stock program?

As far as I know, there is no stock symbol to track.
See http://www.tsp.gov/rates/fundsheet-gfund.pdf

I am sure someone soon will give you more info.

[JTH]

Also, I can't figure out how to calculate it day to day when I enter my shares and share price.

Here's a copy of an old email I sent to someone earlier this year explaining how I do it. The rate and price of the G-fund have changed since then but the formula is still the same:
"I watch the current loan interest rate to determine the current rate that the G fund is paying.

Let's say it is currently 4.875%. That means it's paying .0134% per day
(4.875% / 365).

With the G fund currently 11.77, that means we make .00158 cents a day.
Divide a penny by .00158 and you get 6.33.

That means we should be getting the penny every 6.33 calendar days on
average, until the loan rate changes again."

[logdoc]

Hello,
When you say the current loan rate is "4.875%".To what loan rate are you referring?
Pardon my ignorance. I have watched the G rate slide down in the last while and didn't know what it was tied to.
thanks


"I watch the current loan interest rate to determine the current rate that the G fund is paying.

Let's say it is currently 4.875%. That means it's paying .0134% per day
(4.875% / 365).

With the G fund currently 11.77, that means we make .00158 cents a day.
Divide a penny by .00158 and you get 6.33.

That means we should be getting the penny every 6.33 calendar days on
average, until the loan rate changes again."

[Frixxxx]

He's referring to the loan rate offerred by TSP. If you take a loan out of your account, you still pay an interest rate.

http://tsp.gov/curinfo/data.html

Shows a loan rate of 2.75% as of today. Ouch!

[logdoc]

thanks for the explanation. So if my math is right, that means a penny every 10.41 days.
Wow. I just retired and my estimates were all based on something like 3.75% annual rate of return in the G fund. Hmmm. Time for some rethinking there. Along with some returns in the C, S & I. But mostly G.





He's referring to the loan rate offerred by TSP. If you take a loan out of your account, you still pay an interest rate.

http://tsp.gov/curinfo/data.html

Shows a loan rate of 2.75% as of today. Ouch!

[Corvette]

Is todays's G fund increase an error? It is up .0015 today.

I will take the extra money gladly.:)

[Frixxxx]

Is todays's G fund increase an error? It is up .0015 today.

I will take the extra money gladly.:)
ssshhhhh, man, stop that...LOL

[Prozium]

Is todays's G fund increase an error? It is up .0015 today.

I will take the extra money gladly.:)

G fund yield playing catch up?

http://chart.finance.yahoo.com/c/3m/_/_tnx

[JTH]

Is it just me or has the G-fund rate gone down?

It appears to have paid out just .0015 over the last three days. :suspicious:

[ATCJeff]

Is todays's G fund increase an error? It is up .0015 today.

I will take the extra money gladly.:)


Today is Monday. Your getting three days. Saturday, Sunday, & Monday

[Guest2]

Just a note: It would appear that the Fund Managers have made a change
(possibly temporary) on how they are paying out the (G) Fund. On Friday
the (G) paid out 0.0015 TSP Cents instead of its traditional .0007-.0008
TSP Cents. Today, the (G) Fund paid out 0.0015 TSP Cents as well, in lieu
of its traditional 0.0022-.0023 TSP Cents.

Current Loan Rate remains at 2.125% and I'm sure the figures will result in
the same (G) Fund payout overall. But this is something different then the
norm and I wanted it to be brought to your attention. Maybe this was a
move to change the status quo and avoid timing of the Monday's normally
higher return. Anyway, I thought you'd like to know.

[JTH]

Just a note: It would appear that the Fund Managers have made a change
(possibly temporary) on how they are paying out the (G) Fund. On Friday
the (G) paid out 0.0015 TSP Cents instead of its traditional .0007-.0008
TSP Cents. Today, the (G) Fund paid out 0.0015 TSP Cents as well, in lieu
of its traditional 0.0022-.0023 TSP Cents.

Current Loan Rate remains at 2.125% and I'm sure the figures will result in
the same (G) Fund payout overall. But this is something different then the
norm and I wanted it to be brought to your attention. Maybe this was a
move to change the status quo and avoid timing of the Monday's normally
higher return. Anyway, I thought you'd like to know.

OIC said the blind man, thanks for the clarification. :D

[Guest2]

OIC said the blind man, thanks for the clarification. :D

OIC = Officer In Charge ! ;)

[dpmp]

With this pitiful earning rate, it's probably better just to contribute enough for the 5% matching, the rest stays in my pocket or going to an IRA so that I can short this market.

Any thought?

By the way, do you have a guide on how to correlate the gain/loss from those TSP funds into the actual earnings?

[rtrhed]

I thought we were guaranteed a certain rate of return in the G Fund as government employees. Or is that just an old wives tale?

[SkyPilot]

I thought we were guaranteed a certain rate of return in the G Fund as government employees. Or is that just an old wives tale?

The only guarantee is that is will not earn less than 0%. That is to say, you are protected from losses, but you may not keep up with inflation either.

[Guest2]

I thought we were guaranteed a certain rate of return in the G Fund as government employees. Or is that just an old wives tale?

The rate fluxuates, last I looked, it was at 2.875% and its last move
came from a previous rate of 2.75%. I'm not sure what the moves are
based on, but in the good old days, it was common to see a penny
every 3-4 days. Now, its a longer wait for a full penny gain. :)

[saturneptune]

Today the fed bought up lots of treasuries, lowering the yield. Does this in effect lower the G fund rate from its already historic lows?

[Guest2]

(G) Fund Rate Increases To 2.875% from 2.51% :)

[alevin]

yep, i spent part of the weekend figuring out how much I needed to spend on:

insulation to void the ice dam/wall leakage/potential house electrical fire scenario I dealt with last winter (just read about electrical fires from ice dam wall leakage yesterday while doing home repair research :eek:),

finally create a liveable house tempwise for summer time (totally inadequate on the cooling end of spectrum),

get some improved natural lighting (biggest dissatisfaction with home is it's dark), and

re-roof -if I want to get it all done now before rates go screaming up. Figured out I've got about half of what I need saved in the bank so far-will take another 5-8 months yet to get the savings up to cover everything needs doing, so am thinking it's maybe time to get the TSP loan before G fund rate runs much higher.

I hate thinking about debt burden again, but if I'm going to do it, better go ahead and do it now (and get enough to plow into Roth for next couple years too, while I'm at it too).