Barclays Again Chosen to Manage Main TSP Index Funds
Barclays Global Investors, one of the world's largest money managers, has been selected for the fifth time to manage the four primary stock and bond index funds at the Thrift Savings Plan, the 401(k)-type program for more than 3.6 million government employees and retirees, officials announced yesterday.</br></br>The San Francisco company, owned by the British banking giant Barclays PLC, has held the contract for the TSP index funds since Congress opened up the first fund for federal employee retirement savings in 1988. The new contract is for three years and can be extended for up to five years.</br></br>The bidding process to manage a majority of the TSP's $186 billion in assets has been underway for six months. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which oversees the TSP, requested contract proposals for each of the four funds, hoping to encourage competition by allowing firms to bid for the right to manage one, some or all of the funds.</br></br>In a statement, Gary A. Amelio, the board's executive director, said he was "most impressed and gratified by the strong competition for this business by many very qualified vendors."</br></br>Kathy Taylor, managing director at BGI, said: "It was a very competitive and rigorous bidding process. We're privileged to be the manager selected and to be given the opportunity to continue our successful relationship with the TSP."