WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2020) The US Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) will not transition any assets into a certain international fund tied to emerging markets because of uncertainty generated by the pandemic, Chairman Michael Kennedy said in a statement on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, US Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia in a letter to the FRTIB said, at the direction of President Donald Trump, the board will immediately halt steps towards switching investments to the international stock market index that includes China.
"It's [coronavirus] created a lot of uncertainty, and we're not sure that now would be the time to be making a transition to the international fund with investments in emerging markets," Kennedy said after a special board meeting as quoted by the Federal news Network portal.
The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) had planned to begin moving the I fund to a new, emerging markets index as early as June 1.
The new index, known as the Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country World Ex-US Investable Market Index (MSCI ACWI ex-USA IMI), would have given TSP participants access to 22 developed and 26 emerging markets. It consists of large, mid and small-cap stocks from more than 6,000 companies, including Chinese securities.
Now, those plans are on hold, after the FRTIB members on Wednesday voted unanimously to pause the I fund transition, the portal reported.
