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FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD
ANNOUNCES VENDOR SELECTIONS FOR INVESTMENT FUNDS
AND PARTICIPANT SURVEYS
Washington, D.C. (September 6, 2006) — The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board announced today that Barclays Global Investors, N.A., of San Francisco, California, has been selected to manage the Common Stock Index Investment (C) Fund, the Small Capitalization Stock Index Investment (S) Fund, the International Stock Index Investment (I) Fund, and the Fixed Income Index Investment (F) Fund of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) for Federal employees. The selection results from competitive procurements initiated by the Board in May 2006 through release of Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
Barclays is the largest manager of institutional assets in the world and the largest provider of both index and quantitative investment strategies with over $1.6 trillion in assets under management on behalf of 2,860 institutional clients. The Board intends to make a formal award shortly through a contract with Barclays.
The C Fund, which tracks the S&P 500 index, and the F Fund, which tracks the Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate (LBA) index, have been available to TSP participants since January 1988. The S Fund, which tracks the Dow Jones Wilshire 4500 Completion Index, and the I Fund, which tracks the Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia, and Far East (MSCI EAFE) Index, have been available to TSP participants since May 2001. Barclays is the current manager for these funds.
The TSP is a retirement savings plan for Federal employees and members of the uniformed services. It is similar to the 401(k) plans offered by many private employers. It was created by the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986. As of August 31, 2006, TSP assets totaled approximately $186 billion, and retirement savings accounts have been established for more than 3.6 million participants.
Barclays has managed S&P 500 Index funds for 33 years, has managed the Dow Jones Wilshire 4500 Completion Index since it was introduced in 2004 and, prior to this, managed assets to its predecessor index, the Wilshire 4500 Index, since 1981. Barclays has also managed assets tracking the MSCI EAFE Index since 1981, as well as the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index since its inception in 1986.
In announcing the awards, Gary A. Amelio, the Board’s Executive Director, expressed his gratitude to all of the vendors whose participation made this competition successful. “I was most impressed and gratified by the strong competition for this business by many very qualified vendors. Their efforts were a credit to their firms, and demonstrate that this market place remains very capable of producing products of the highest quality for a very fair price. This assures that our participants, who pay for the costs of TSP administration, will receive exceptional value in return.”
Participant Survey
The Board also announced that Watson Wyatt has been selected to provide services regarding a survey of TSP participants. The survey is expected to be completed by the end of 2006. This procurement was managed by the Government Printing Office. The value of this award is $215,124.
According to Amelio, the survey capability is a tool which he has long wanted to establish so the Plan will have a consistent and orderly method of collecting and analyzing participant input. “Although I believe that we have a good understanding of our participants through our mailbag and feedback from the Employee Thrift Advisory Council, this survey capability provides a more scientific process to identify participant concerns. It also begins establishing a long-term process to record the evolution of participant attitudes. This will be very helpful in identifying trends and preparing to meet future needs.”
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