FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD 

77 K Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD MEMBERS 

September 26, 2023 

Michael F. Gerber, Chair of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, 

convened a meeting of the Board members on September 26, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., 

Eastern Daylight Time. The meeting was held at 70 Rowes Wharf in Boston, 

Massachusetts and was open to the public via teleconference. In attendance were Dana 

K. Bilyeu of Oregon, member (by telephone); Leona M. Bridges of California, member; 

Stacie Olivares of California, member; Ravindra Deo, Executive Director; Dharmesh 

Vashee, General Counsel and Secretary; Suzanne Tosini, Chief Operating Officer and 

Deputy Executive Director; Kimberly A. Weaver, Director, Office of External Affairs; 

Gisile Goethe, Director, Office of Resource Management; James Courtney, Director, 

Office of Participant Experience; Sean McCaffrey, Chief Investment Officer; Vijay Desai, 

Chief Technology Officer; Thomas Brandt, Chief Risk Officer; and Trevor Williams, 

Chief Financial Officer. 

Welcome. 

 

Chair Gerber called to order the monthly meeting of the Federal 

Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB or Agency) at 9:10 a.m. 

 

1. Approval of the Minutes of the August 22, 2023, Board Meeting Minutes. 

Chair Gerber entertained a motion for approval of the minutes of the 

August 22, 2023, Board meeting. The following motion was made, seconded, and 

adopted without objection: 

 

MOTION: That the minutes of the Board meeting held on August 22, 2023, 

be approved. 

2. Monthly Reports. 

Mr. Deo gave opening remarks, including a brief summary of the agenda 

for the meeting. 

a. Participant Activity Report 

Mr. Courtney reviewed the monthly Participant Activity Report. See “Thrift 

Savings Fund Statistics August 2023” (attached). He reported that in August, more than 

4,500 participants rolled nearly one-quarter of a billion dollars into the TSP, which he 

believes is the highest number of roll-ins to the Plan in one month. In the first eight 
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months of the year, participants have rolled approximately 1.3 billion dollars into the 

TSP. 

Mr. Courtney reported that regarding SECURE Act 2.0, the IRS has given 

the TSP and the rest of the defined contribution industry an additional two years to 

implement provision 603, which requires Roth catch-up contributions for some highincome participants. He reminded the Board that the FRTIB asked for additional time so 

that payroll providers could be ready to supply the Agency with the necessary salary 

data needed to comply with the law. He also reported that the Agency is working with its 

recordkeeper to prepare for a possible government shutdown on October 1st. If the 

shutdown happens, the TSP will continue its normal daily operations, and participants, 

including those with an outstanding TSP loan, do not need to take any action. The TSP 

will automatically keep their loans in good standing during the lapse in appropriations. 

Chair Gerber stated that it's important for TSP participants and 

beneficiaries to recognize that the TSP is going to continue to operate. In response to a 

question from Chair Gerber, Mr. Courtney confirmed that the Agency has a robust 

communication plan ready in the event there is a shutdown and shared that participants 

could obtain all needed information at TSP.gov/shutdown. He reiterated that the TSP 

would continue business as usual. 

b. Investment Review 

Mr. McCaffrey presented the monthly investment performance report. See 

“August 2023 Investment Program Review” (attached). For the month of August, 

BlackRock’s performance for the F, C, and S Funds was in line with the Funds’ 

respective indices. Its performance for the I Fund fell behind the International Index by 

seven basis points, primarily due to fair value pricing. State Street’s August 

performance for the F, C, S, and I Funds was in line with the respective indices. 

Mr. McCaffrey reported that in August's markets, despite recent signs of 

inflation cooling, the Federal Reserve continued to emphasize that inflation remains 

unacceptably high. As investors considered future monetary policy actions, market 

sentiment for stocks was largely bearish. The C, S, and I Funds posted losses as a 

result. Interest rates rose during the month, contributing to a loss for the F Fund. All L 

Funds finished lower. 

 Regarding BlackRock’s year-to-date performance, Mr. McCaffrey provided 

that for the F Fund, it was ahead of the Fixed Income Index by 20 basis points due 

primarily to a difference in the timing of year-end pricing for the index versus the 

manager’s pricing. Performance for the C Fund matched the Large Cap Index. S Fund 

performance exceeded the Small Mid Cap Index’s return by 15 basis points, primarily 

due to securities lending. I Fund performance lagged the International Index by 10 basis 

points, primarily due to fair value pricing. 
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Addressing State Street’s year-to-date performance, Mr. McCaffrey 

reported that performance for the F Fund exceeded the Fixed Income Index’s return by 

20 basis points, primarily due to the year-end pricing difference. Performance for the C 

Fund matched the Large Cap Index. The S Fund performance exceeded the Small Mid 

Cap Index’s return by seven basis points, primarily due to securities lending. I Fund 

performance was ahead of the International Index by 35 basis points, primarily due to 

tax advantage. 

For the month through September 25, 2023, the C Fund has lost 3.70 

percent, the S Fund has lost 5.30 percent, and the I Fund was down 2.71 percent. The 

F Fund was down 2.27 percent, and the G Fund earned 0.29 percent. 

c. Legislative Report 

Ms. Weaver reported on the possibility of a government shutdown. Both 

the House of Representatives and Senate are working on their respective plans for how 

to address and prevent a lapse in appropriations. Ms. Weaver reiterated that the 

Agency is ready with a communications plan if there is a lapse in appropriations. 

3. Quarterly Vendor Risk Management Report. 

Mr. Brandt provided the vendor risk assessment for the second quarter of 

2023. See “Quarterly Vendor Risk Assessment – 2nd Quarter Calendar Year (CY) 

2023” (attached). The Agency looked at factors including financial health, 

operational/reputational credit, cybersecurity, and other risks that could affect the 

vendors and their ability to provide services to FRTIB. 

Mr. Brandt noted that one of the resources used as part of the Agency’s 

assessment are cybersecurity ratings from Bitsight. Bitsight periodically reviews the risk 

environment and adjusts the weighting in their algorithm, and they made an adjustment 

last quarter. For example, the patching cadence of some organizations has been given 

higher weighting. The change in the algorithm has affected the scores of four of the 

Agency’s five key vendors although there is no significant change to their cybersecurity 

posture. Based on the Agency’s review, there are no concerns about the ability of 

FRTIB’s key vendors to fulfill their contractual obligations to FRTIB. 

4. Enterprise Risk Management Update. 

 

Mr. Brandt provided the Enterprise Risk Management update. See 

“Enterprise Risk Management Update” (attached). He reported that, of the 12 risks 

identified for tracking, five have scored at medium-high, five at medium, and two at 

medium-low. Per the Agency’s policy, any risks that score at medium-high or higher 

require the development of a risk treatment plan. For 2023, those are cybersecurity, 

procurement, contract management, supply chain risk management, and reputational 

risk of TSP operations to customer experience. 
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Accomplishments related to the cybersecurity risk treatment plan include 

achieving a Level Five in three of the nine Federal Information Security Modernization 

Act audit domains and a Level Four in the remainder, finalizing content procedures for a 

new Cybersecurity Risk Register, transitioning to a new continuous penetration testing 

model, and implementing ongoing requirements of the 2021 Cybersecurity Executive 

Order. Although the risk score for cybersecurity is expected to remain at medium-high 

next year, it has dropped several points within the medium-high range. 

Regarding the risk treatment plan for procurement, Mr. Brandt explained 

that this risk concerns the extent to which the agency is adjusting its approach to 

effectively handle performance-based contracts. Through training for the Agency’s 

Contracting Officers’ Representatives and additional actions to enhance procurement 

actions, the Agency is on track to reduce this risk score from medium-high to a medium 

by year-end. 

Mr. Brandt explained that the contract management risk is related to the 

sufficiency of the Agency’s quality assurance and surveillance personnel to provide the 

necessary levels of oversight of its contracts. Because the Agency has taken actions 

regarding certification, training, and mentorship to ensure that personnel performing 

these duties have sufficient expertise, the Agency expects this risk score will be 

reduced from medium-high to medium. 

To address supply chain risk, Mr. Brandt reported that the Agency is in the 

process of bringing onboard a new third-party risk analyst. The Agency has also 

developed training and communications on roles and responsibilities for managing 

supply chain risk, updated its taxonomy, and enhanced its monitoring capabilities. As a 

result, the Agency expects to reduce this risk score from medium-high to medium. 

Accomplishments related to the reputational risk of TSP operations risk 

treatment plan include conducting oversight of the Agency’s Service Level 

Requirements and Key Performance Indicators, leveraging key accomplishments in the 

Agency’s procurement and contract management risk treatment plans to improve 

oversight, and using web comments and participant feedback to identify improvements 

to the participant experience. As a result, the Agency has already seen improvements 

in its participant satisfaction month-over-month, exceeding its target levels for the first 

time in the month of August. Mr. Brandt also noted the Agency’s robust cycle of 

external and internal audits that help identify areas for improvement. The Agency 

expects that all of these actions will reduce this risk score from medium-high to medium. 

Finally, Mr. Brandt provided a brief look at some of the activities the 

Enterprise Risk Management team has underway, which include implementing its 

integrated risk management tool, refreshing its Risk Appetite Statement, and 

implementing supply chain and vendor risk management process improvements. 

5. Adjourn. 
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 Whereupon there being no further business, the following motion was 

made, seconded, and adopted without objection and Chair Gerber closed the meeting 

at 9:27 a.m. to enter into executive session. 

At 11:10 a.m., upon completion of the executive session, the members 

reconvened the open portion of the meeting. 

Whereupon, there being no further business, the following motion was 

made, seconded, and adopted without objection and Chair Gerber adjourned the 

meeting at 11:11 a.m. 

MOTION: That this meeting be adjourned. 

 

 Dharmesh Vashee 

 General Counsel and Secretary 

Attachments 

1. Thrift Savings Fund Statistics August 2023 

2. August 2023 Investment Program Review 

3. Quarterly Vendor Risk Assessment – 2nd Quarter Calendar Year (CY) 2023 

4. Enterprise Risk Management Update