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ATOT financial gurus: I need some guidance.

F

Fausto

Elite Member
As a federal schmoe, I have a choice of how my retirement contributions are invested (Thrift Savings Plan). So far, I've stuck with the "safe" route (G Fund) which generally hovers around 6% return. Now that I've got some money built up, I'd like to look into investing this a bit more aggressively. Can someone kindly have a look at the various funds listed on this page and suggest distribution of my contributed salary? The returns for these things are all over the place. 😕
 
you are young, right? like 30'ish?
you should be 80-100% in stocks. with at least half in aggresive growth stocks

i would go with 40% in C fund , 40% in S fund and 20% in I fund

if that feels too agrressive , just cut it back to where you can live with it
 
I've got 100% of mine in the I fund right now...

Am going to do a seasonal thing for a few years and drop into the G fund in the summer, back into the stock funds in the fall, forget what the plan is called, but the stats I've seen suggest it's a pretty effective strategy.
 
Originally posted by: FoBoT
you are young, right? like 30'ish?
you should be 80-100% in stocks. with at least half in aggresive growth stocks

i would go with 40% in C fund , 40% in S fund and 20% in I fund

if that feels too agrressive , just cut it back to where you can live with it
Click to expand...
Nothing in the G fund? That's the only one with a guaranteed return.

And yeah, I'm 33.

 
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
I've got 100% of mine in the I fund right now...
Click to expand...
See, that just freaks me out. That fund is in the toilet one year and then at 30% the next. 😕

 
I have 80% in the I fund and 20% in the C fund. Feds unite!

EDIT: I normally don't put so much in the I fund, but the weak dollar encouraged me to do so, at least for a while.
 
only retired people or people very very close to retirement need a guaranteed return

but you have to go with what is right for you. if you are risk averse , then the mix above is probably not good for you, you would be worried about it and looking at the market all the time and end up with an ulcer.

you have to tailor it for what you can handle. but if you don't get into the stocks, you are guaranteeing yourself to be short changed over the long haul. the stock market has done well over any 35 year period you care to scrutinize since 1870
 
One of the old axioms is to take 100 - your age & it gives you a suggested % to be invested in a stock index fund like the C & the S funds, & put 33% into a "safe" fund as a hedge.

Are you bumped up to 14% contribution?
 
Originally posted by: FoBoT
only retired people or people very very close to retirement need a guaranteed return

but you have to go with what is right for you. if you are risk averse , then the mix above is probably not good for you, you would be worried about it and looking at the market all the time and end up with an ulcer.

you have to tailor it for what you can handle. but if you don't get into the stocks, you are guaranteeing yourself to be short changed over the long haul. the stock market has done well over any 35 year period you care to scrutinize since 1870
Click to expand...
You're probably correct, I'm just a complete n00b at all this so it's a bit intimidating. 😱

 
Originally posted by: Fausto
Originally posted by: FoBoT
only retired people or people very very close to retirement need a guaranteed return

but you have to go with what is right for you. if you are risk averse , then the mix above is probably not good for you, you would be worried about it and looking at the market all the time and end up with an ulcer.

you have to tailor it for what you can handle. but if you don't get into the stocks, you are guaranteeing yourself to be short changed over the long haul. the stock market has done well over any 35 year period you care to scrutinize since 1870
Click to expand...
You're probably correct, I'm just a complete n00b at all this so it's a bit intimidating. 😱
Click to expand...

how did you learn so much about cycling?

it is the same thing, you have to spend some time and learn about it, thats all. you're a smart guy, just take some time to learn about it.
http://www.fool.com is a good place to start
 
Originally posted by: FoBoT
Originally posted by: Fausto
Originally posted by: FoBoT
only retired people or people very very close to retirement need a guaranteed return

but you have to go with what is right for you. if you are risk averse , then the mix above is probably not good for you, you would be worried about it and looking at the market all the time and end up with an ulcer.

you have to tailor it for what you can handle. but if you don't get into the stocks, you are guaranteeing yourself to be short changed over the long haul. the stock market has done well over any 35 year period you care to scrutinize since 1870
Click to expand...
You're probably correct, I'm just a complete n00b at all this so it's a bit intimidating. 😱
Click to expand...

how did you learn so much about cycling?

it is the same thing, you have to spend some time and learn about it, thats all. you're a smart guy, just take some time to learn about it.
http://www.fool.com is a good place to start
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll dig through that over lunch. 🙂

 
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
One of the old axioms is to take 100 - your age & it gives you a suggested % to be invested in a stock index fund like the C & the S funds, & put 33% into a "safe" fund as a hedge.

Are you bumped up to 14% contribution?
Click to expand...
Nope. I'll be doing that Apr 15 when the next Open Season starts.

 
80% C
20% I

And BTW you left out years of compounding while you were waiting to accumulate funds. I don't know if I will let you bite me now. 🙁
 
TSP contributions can go up to 15% now. I have most in the C and S fund with about 20% in the I. I may switch more over to the I soon though.
 
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