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Thrift Plan
Investment Options
You have seven investment options to choose from:
Fixed Income Fund
The Fixed Income Fund primarily seeks to offer a stable-value
investment. Its goals also include reduced volatility of returns
and the achievement of a return comparable to that of a portfolio
of intermediate-term Treasury securities that are held to maturity.
The Fixed Income Fund is primarily invested in investment
contracts with insurance companies. All investments offer a guarantee
of principal and interest by the issuer or a third party that is
acceptable to both the Plan and the contract issuer.
Government Securities Fund
The Government Securities Fund seeks to minimize credit
risk and market risk and to generate a return that over time will
generally be greater than a portfolio of short-term Treasury securities.
The fund invests in government securities with remaining
maturities of three and a half years or less, including U.S. Treasury
bills and notes, as well as securities guaranteed by the U.S. government
or its agencies.
Balanced Fund
The Balanced Fund seeks to participate in both equity
and bond market returns while generating a return that will generally
exceed a composite of 60 percent of the Standard and Poor's 500
stock index returns and 40 percent of the Lehman Brothers Government/Corporate
Bond Index returns.
The fund invests in a combination of equities and
debt securities. At least 30 percent of the funds must be maintained
in equities and at least 30 percent in fixed income securities.
The remaining 40 percent will vary, based on current market conditions.
Equity Fund
The Equity Fund seeks to participate in equity market
returns through investments in one or more actively managed diversified
portfolios of common stocks while generating returns over time that
equal or exceed those of the S&P 500.
The fund is invested in mutual funds and unit trusts,
which typically hold between 50 and 130 stocks, and may also hold
some cash, money market instruments, bonds, foreign stocks, and
other equity securities.
Equity Index Fund
The Equity Index Fund seeks to participate in equity
market returns through investments in one or more actively managed
diversified portfolios of common stocks while generating returns
over time that equal or exceed those of the S&P 500. The fund
is invested in mutual funds and unit trusts, which typically hold
between 50 and 130 stocks, and may also hold some cash, money market
instruments, bonds, foreign stocks, and other equity securities.
International Equity Fund
The International Equity Fund seeks to participate
in the international (excluding the U.S.) equity market, through
investments in a diversified portfolio of common stocks, while generating
returns that exceed those of the international equity market, as
measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia,
and Far East (MSCI EAFE) Stock Index.
The fund is actively managed and holds a diversified
portfolio of foreign securities.
The Balanced, Equity, Equity Index, and International
Equity Funds comprise the Equity Group.
Small Company Equity Fund
The Small Company Equity Fund invests primarily in
common stocks with market capitalizations between $300 million and
$1.5 billion. The fund's goal is to generate returns that exceed
those of the small company equity market, as measured by the Russell
2000 Index.
Risk and Return
These investment funds differ in their income potential
and in the level of risk they carry. As you make your investment
elections, it's important to consider the risk of loss against the
potential for gain. In general, higher risk means a higher potential
return in the long term.
Please keep in mind that you have control over how
you invest your contributions. Before you decide in which funds
you want to invest, you should examine your investment objectives
and the performance of each fund. You may also wish to consult with
a qualified adviser.
For more detailed information on the nature of each
fund and its performance, you can request a prospectus from the
Benefits Express Center. You can also find fund performance information
on all investments on the Office
of Employee Benefits intranet site, in your quarterly Thrift
Plan statement, and in the Quarterly Investment Report.
Remember, past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
Making Your Investment Elections
When you choose your investments, you will make three
separate investment elections.
You'll need to decide how to invest:
- Your Deferred Compensation contributions
- Your Savings contributions
- Your Employer Matching contributions
You may choose the same investments--or different
investments--for these three types of contributions. Your investment
elections may be made in 1 percent increments. If no investment
election is made, these contributions will automatically be invested
in the Government Securities Fund.
You may change your investment elections by using
Benefits Express or Benefits Express Online. Transaction requests
will go into effect with the next payroll period.
Transferring Existing Balances
among Funds
You may transfer your existing balances among funds
in 1 percent increments. For example, if you're nearing retirement
and want to move from a higher risk to a lower risk investment,
you may transfer your entire balance or a portion of the balance
in 1 percent increments. Using Benefits Express Online or speaking
with a Benefits Specialist at the Benefits Express Center, you may
also transfer specific dollar amounts among funds. (Please Note:
Transfers between the Fixed Income Fund and the Government Securities
Fund may be only in percentages.)
Transfers may be made by either a single transfer-of-funds
election across all accounts (Savings, Deferred Compensation, Employer
Matching, Rollover, and IRA) or individual transfers among each
account.
- A single transfer across all accounts may
be requested using Benefits Express, Benefits Express Online,
or by speaking to a Benefits Specialist at the Benefits Express
Center.
- An individual transfer among each account
may only be requested by using Benefits Express Online or by speaking
to a Benefits Specialist at the Benefits Express Center.
The following chart shows how you can make transfers
of your existing account balances:
| TRANSFER
TYPE |
FUNDS INVOLVED |
DEADLINE |
| Daily |
Among Equity Group Funds |
Request must be received by 4 p.m.
Eastern Time (or the close of business of the New York Stock
Exchange, if earlier) to be effective that day. |
| Daily |
Between Equity Group
Funds and the Government Securities Fund |
Request must be received by 4 p.m.
Eastern Time (or the close of business of the New York Stock
Exchange, if earlier) to be effective that day. (Please Note:
If you have also transferred funds from the Fixed Income Fund
to an Equity Group Fund during the past three months, certain
limits apply to the amount you can transfer to the Government
Securities Fund.) |
| Monthly |
Between the Fixed Income
Fund and the Equity Group Funds |
Request must be received by 4 p.m.
Eastern Time (or the close of business of the New York Stock
Exchange, if earlier) three business days before the last business
day of the month. (Please Note: You must wait three months between
transfers of this type.) |
| Semiannual |
Between the Fixed Income Fund and
the Government Securities Fund |
Request must be received by 4 p.m.
Eastern Time (or the close of business of the New York Stock
Exchange, if earlier) on the last day of May or November to
be effective on the last business day of June or December respectively. |
Summary of the 14-Day Rule for Inter-fund Transfers
- 14-Day Rule: A waiting period of 14 calendar days
between transfers now applies to the following Thrift Plan Funds:
Balanced Fund, Equity Fund, Equity Index Fund, Small Company Fund,
International Equity Fund, and the Government Securities Fund.
- When a transfer is made among particular funds,
you may request another transfer into or out of any of the funds
involved on the 15th calendar day following the initial transfer.
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