{"id":25351,"date":"2023-04-19T16:17:30","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T16:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/04\/19\/the-power-or-dollar-cost-averaging-for-thrift-savings-plan-investors\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:09:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:09:20","slug":"the-power-or-dollar-cost-averaging-for-thrift-savings-plan-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/thought-leadership\/2023\/04\/19\/the-power-or-dollar-cost-averaging-for-thrift-savings-plan-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"The power or dollar-cost averaging for Thrift Savings Plan investors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The year 2022 was a difficult one for TSP investors. All funds suffered double-digit declines by the end of the year, except for the stable-value G Fund, which invests in specially issued U.S. Government Securities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The C Fund fell almost 19%, and the S Fund fell a whopping 27%! The I Fund fared the \u201cbest,\u201d with a decline of \u201conly\u201d 13.34% for the year. The L Funds also all declined, with the L 2065 Fund down almost 18%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All funds in the TSP suffered declines in 2022, save for the stable-value G Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That means that TSP investors suffered similarly significant declines in their invested funds for the year, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not nearly to the degree that the end-of-year numbers suggest \u2014 and investments in one fund were actually <i>up<\/i> for the year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most TSP investors are actively contributing to their accounts either bi-weekly or monthly from payroll deductions, with government matches added to their investments. These investors are engaging in \u201cdollar-cost averaging,\u201d or investing a little bit over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you \u201cdollar-cost average\u201d into funds over time, you can actually do better than the fund declines would suggest. In fact, volatility &#8211; or the downward and upward changes in fund prices &#8211; can actually be beneficial when dollar-cost averaging, since you buy as funds decline and enjoy good returns when they finally recover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It can take time, but dollar-cost averaging has proven its value over the very long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s take a look at how this works in practice, using the daily prices of the TSP stock funds &#8211; the C, S, and I Funds &#8211; and the L 2065 Fund as examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By way of illustration, let\u2019s say we started with $100 in each of the stock funds at the beginning of 2022. We then added $100 each biweekly pay period, for a total investment of $2,700 for the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we had invested that as a lump-sum at the beginning of 2022, that $2,700 would have declined to $2,187.81 in the C Fund, $2,339.82 in the I Fund, and $1,969.38 in the S Fund as of January 3, 2023. The L Fund would have ended the year at $2,214.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But by dollar-cost averaging little amounts over time &#8211; in this case, $100 every two weeks &#8211; the amounts would be $2,539.55 in the C Fund, $2,458.25 in the S Fund, $2,711.62 in the I Fund, and $2,589.48 in the L 2065 Fund as of January 3, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So after dollar-cost averaging, two of the funds are down less than 10%, and the actual invested value of the I Fund was up slightly for the year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can see the results <a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fspreadsheets%2Fd%2F1xex164407j5PTUykugXy9l_VXvvune03XGibTqfi_9c%2Fedit%3Fusp%3Dsharing&#038;data=05%7C01%7Ccary.oreilly%40mco.com%7C00fe431de3434dbe6a2508db39d4a167%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638167357638591075%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&#038;sdata=3Mf2Hl7enFLUuek%2F0m3xZCXMBhRaaDDu%2FP8745MBZSI%3D&#038;reserved=0\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it should be noted that the funds had continued to recover, rising by between 8% and 14% by early February. Even without investing any additional funds, the year-end figures had grown to $2,749.86 for the C Fund, $2,812.48 for the S Fund, $2,925.42 for the I Fund, and $2,821.00 for the L 2065 Fund as of February 3rd &#8211; already positive despite fund prices still being down compared to January 2022. The funds would have risen even more with continued regular investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We can see similar results for dollar-cost averaging on a monthly basis. Let\u2019s say we invested $250 a month, for a total of $3,000 for the year, at the beginning of each month (or the last business day of the previous month if the first day is on a weekend). Our total values are $2,803 in the C Fund, $2,700 in the S Fund, $3,012 in the I Fund, and $2,863 in the L 2065 Fund. Again, we see that three funds had declined less than 10% on an annual basis, while the I Fund is up slightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These figures are based on <i>real<\/i> returns, not hypothetical ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Granted, not every year &#8211; or even every month &#8211; will be the same. Declines might continue over multiple years. But the stock funds have never declined for more than three years in a row on an annual basis before recovering, with the recovery happening often much faster than analysts and popular media predict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">See the recovery years after bear markets in 2001-2003 and 2008-2009, and after the steep but brief declines in 1987 and 2020 as a few of many examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dollar-cost averaging really only works for funds that exhibit volatility &#8211; that is, funds that go up and down (and up again) over time. With stable-value funds like the G Fund, you won\u2019t have those opportunities to invest when the values decline (when it\u2019s cheaper), since it doesn\u2019t decline in value. And this means that you <i>must stay invested<\/i>and continue to invest in the funds. Moving into and out of the funds completely obliterates this time-tested strategy. Remember, you only <i>lose<\/i> money when you sell your funds!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And dollar-cost averaging is indeed time-tested: Funds can continue to go down for multiple years in a row, but they eventually go back up again, often unexpectedly and quickly. Over the very long-term, since 1900, <i>every <\/i>30-year period investing in the broad US stock market &#8211; ie, an index fund similar to the C Fund &#8211; has always outperformed investing in a G Fund-like bond fund. Thirty-five and 40-year periods did even better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Investing patiently over time, by dollar-cost averaging, investors can enjoy some spectacular returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the lesson is, leverage the power of dollar-cost averaging into the stock funds or L funds for greater returns in the long-run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Lee Radcliffe is a U.S. Army veteran with over 20 years of federal government and data analytics experience who writes about Investing in the Thrift Savings Plan. His most recent book is <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB085R72HX3&#038;data=05%7C01%7Ccary.oreilly%40mco.com%7C8647b5312cb0483f1b1e08db42674a2a%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638176783624588557%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&#038;sdata=%2Bdur9T2wOBt7IzMyKoSIVFp0DguaZ%2BsL8Kn2H1WXDGo%3D&#038;reserved=0\"><i>TSP Investing Strategies: Building Wealth While Working for Uncle Sam, 2nd Edition<\/i><\/a><i> (Thrift Strategies LLC, 2020). Follow Lee online at <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftspstrategies.com%2F&#038;data=05%7C01%7Ccary.oreilly%40mco.com%7C8647b5312cb0483f1b1e08db42674a2a%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638176783624588557%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&#038;sdata=a3GxTtdf40jQKDuwzFojioy1qud1qcJhOwGo795WyMc%3D&#038;reserved=0\"><i>tspstrategies.com<\/i><\/a><i>, and @TSPstrategies on <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTSPstrategies&#038;data=05%7C01%7Ccary.oreilly%40mco.com%7C8647b5312cb0483f1b1e08db42674a2a%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638176783624744806%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&#038;sdata=abnRyEpE2lllF2wpS3CLA6IIpqXQs8lf%2FhL8C3W8B%2Bo%3D&#038;reserved=0\"><i>Facebook<\/i><\/a><i>, <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2Ftspstrategies&#038;data=05%7C01%7Ccary.oreilly%40mco.com%7C8647b5312cb0483f1b1e08db42674a2a%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638176783624744806%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&#038;sdata=h3Y1U759E9B%2Floak%2Biw1XQ5y5tVxbxtKWt9eMpWMjHw%3D&#038;reserved=0\"><i>Twitter<\/i><\/a><i>, and <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Ftspstrategies&#038;data=05%7C01%7Ccary.oreilly%40mco.com%7C8647b5312cb0483f1b1e08db42674a2a%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638176783624744806%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&#038;sdata=cB8KtjdFtGiSn%2FCT7FQkmVN2mLyi9i1kPWlbpoVFMkk%3D&#038;reserved=0\"><i>Instagram<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have an opinion?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article is an Op-Ed and the opinions expressed are those of the author. If you would like to respond, or have an editorial of your own you would like to submit, please <a href=\"https:\/\/mail.google.com\/mail\/?view=cm&#038;fs=1&#038;tf=1&#038;to=cary.oreilly@federaltimes.com\">email C4ISRNET and Federal Times Senior Managing Editor Cary O\u2019Reilly.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most TSP investors are actively contributing to their accounts either bi-weekly or monthly from payroll deductions, with government matches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":74275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":22,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[11,56,31,26,22],"tags":[],"coauthors":[5941],"class_list":["post-25351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fedlife","category-financial-planning","category-home","category-opinions","category-thought-leadership"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"SMFN4DVRAJFXLH4KYNRYPRON6Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/thought-leadership\/2023\/04\/19\/the-power-or-dollar-cost-averaging-for-thrift-savings-plan-investors\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The power or dollar-cost averaging for Thrift Savings Plan investors - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Most TSP investors are actively contributing to their accounts either bi-weekly or monthly from payroll deductions, with government matches.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The power or dollar-cost averaging for Thrift Savings Plan investors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most TSP investors are actively contributing to their accounts either bi-weekly or monthly from payroll deductions, with government matches.\" \/>\n<meta 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