TSP Index Change Still Faces Opposition of Senators
Senators Jeanne Shaheen D-NH and Marco Rubio R-FL are still doing their best to try and stop the FRTIB (Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board) from switching their current international investment index to another that invests in up and coming markets along with existing markets in Asia, which includes China. However, the Board has agreed to go through with the decision.
Both Senators have delivered a letter to Senators Gary Peters D-MI, a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Ron Johnson R-WI, the chairman of said committee, which asked them to hastily contemplate Marco Rubio’s bill that would prohibit the investment of money from the Thrift Savings Plan into Chinese stocks.
Here is the letter:
Addressed to Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Peters
From: Marco Rubio (R-FL) & Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
“We respectfully request that the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs expediently consider and report S.2791, the Taxpayers and Savers Protection (TSP) Act, to ensure that the retirement savings of American federal employees and members of the armed services are not invested in China-based companies, including those involved in the Chinese government’s military activities, human rights abuses, and industrial policy.
On November 28, 2017, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) voted to change the index tracked by the sole international fund (I Fund) within the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) to the MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Investable Market Index (ACWI ex-US IMI). If implemented, this decision will expose the I Fund’s approximately $50 billion in federal retirement assets to the severe national security, human rights, and investor protection risks related to China’s capital markets. In a meeting on November 13, 2019, the Board indicated its intention to move forward with this ill-advised move.
While the FRTIB may not see itself as a policy-making institution, Congress most certainly is. Taking up the TSP Act will allow lawmakers to protect federal employees from investing their hard-earned retirement savings in AVIC’s AviChina Industry & Technology, Hikvision, ZTE and other Chinese companies that are engaged in activities counter to American interests.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to assisting in any way to ensure that this important concern is addressed.”
A little more background details on the situation: the Board in charge of the TSP voted to switch the I Fund’s index from mirroring the Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia, and Far East Index (MSCI EAFI) to mirroring the Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country World ex-U.S. Investable Market Index (MSCI ACWI ex-US IMI).
The Senators want to stop this switch as they say it will leave federal workers open to potentially invest in less than reputable Chinese securities because the index offers shares within the Chinese stock market. They are also concerned about underwriting Chinese companies that assist with Chinese government activities that are not in the U.S.’s best interest.
