Need some advice here. I moved everything into the G Fund before most of the recent turmoil occured and safely rode out the storm to this point. I believe we're near bottom and the low current prices in the other funds look very attractive. My retirement horizon is 2030 so I have plenty of time. I'm keeping my present TSP nestegg in the G Fund for now but have changed my contribution allocation to 25% C, 25% S, 25% I and 25% L2030 for future purchases.

Any advice/comments on this strategy taking into account I have a little over 20 years to my planned retirement date?

Thanks in advance....

IMO you are folowing a sound strategy for now. Keep your balance in G until it is obvious the trends have turned upward again. The contribution amounts are small and you can gamble that we are at or very near the bottom now. I would say that being in a combination of C,S,I and in an L fund at the same time is kind of redundant. If you want more exposure to the stock funds than L2030 provides, you could just put 100 % of your contributions into L2040. Good luck!

It's a sound conservative move that protects your present equity. If your looking for growth you may want to consider dollar cost averaging about 50% of your G-fund into the C/S/I indexes. With a 2030 retirement horizon you'll see a few more bear markets before retirement but I think we have pretty much seen the bottom in this bear market. NOTE: The Wilshire Index (S Fund) has historically posted the best two year returns immediately after a bear market recovery. You may want to consider 30-35% S Fund.

I feel you are definately on a sound track with your allocation and your contributions. I agree with Jay that contributing into an L fund seems redundant. Either all or nothing there.
Jeff has good advise ref. dollar cost averaging 50% of your G equity into the stock funds. Now, would be a great time to start that. I'm on the verge of the same myself. Try to Inter Fund Transfer in 5% or 10% increments on very down days, into one or all of the stock funds. Obviously, making these decisions prior to 1200 on the move day is difficult but not impossible. As you go, you can read the market and make adjustments. Jeff also makes a good point about the S-Fund. I did exactly that in 2003 a week after the start of the Gulf War. It worked! My thought is that you max your contribution now! Whatever you lack of the maximum 15500.00 this year, pile it in the stock funds for the next 4 or 5 pay periods, if you are not already. Then keep it up through the first half of 09'. You will be buying shares at the bottom and history shows that will pay off in the long run. Good luck with all that!

Thanks for all the great tips/advice and confirmation I'm on the right track. I like the idea of executing a 5% or 10% IFT from my G Fund balance on down days but being on the West Coast hitting that 1200pm Eastern Deadline won't give me a lot of time to decide. Looks like I'll be up early watching CNBC and seeing what the Futures are doing...
I did some more research into the L2040 and its present distribution is 8% G, 10%F, 41%C, 17%S and 24%I. I was just using it as another form of diversification but I understand the redundancy comments. Do you see any issue with a retirement horizon of 2030 but using the L2040 versus the L2030?
Thanks again!

I was going to mention that option but I didn't want to get too wordy! No problem you doing the 2040. Obviously, the great thing about that choice is that you leave it and forget it. You could IFT 5-10% straight into the 2040 starting now instead of into the stock funds individually. It sounds too that you haven't been contributing into the C, S, and I for long, so a move away from that at this point would not effect any share buying you have done up to know. If you had been contributing at MAXIMUM $$$ levels into these three funds for months now, I would then recommend you stay with that plan and dollar cost average, 5-10%, your equity in G, into those three funds, weighting the S Fund as Jeff suggested. Myself, I enjoy the play, so I would shy away from the L Funds and poor my contributions (MAX), into the stock funds and I am favoring the S and I. I, because it has been so beaten down of late and I don't feel it responds so negetively to this global slowdown.
Either way, you are in the drivers seat right now. You can hideout in the G until the market has definatively turned positive and loose most of the gains, or you can simply "buy low and sell high." I think history has shown, buying low and selling high is a huge winner in the long and short run.
With all that said, keep an eye out for a near future down turn which could retest the low or create a new one. I really feel this will happen. So at this point I would lean towards a 5% IFT at a time and see what happens. I think we all have time to track this bottoming process. Down days - IFT 5% in. Up days - sit back and count your $$$. Simple huh!!! Right... Good Luck!

From a new observer: thanks everyone in this thread, for both asking this question, and your answers. I have been deployed much of the last 10 years (about 12 to go until retirement), and never have time to think about my TSP while all my co-workers have been gaming the market. I arrived back to the states in early November and found most of my savings in the G, and all my contributions going to same. I have just now allocated my contributions 30% C, 30% S, 10% I, 15% L2030, and 15% L2040. I did not even know there were L funds until today. I also started creeping my G fund savings into C and S, 4% each for now (leaving 92% in G). I will keep an eye on the markets and maybe make a similar move in the next couple of weeks, market conditions permitting. Hopefully this will work out in my favor. Perhaps I should have started this strategy in September, we'll see how it works (if not, that is on me alone). Thanks again to all, for past and future advice.