TSP funds: everything finished higher

Monday's official TSP close was a green one across the board. No fund fell. The stock funds did the work, and the bond and government funds barely moved.

The C Fund rose 1.23% to $109.7295, the only fund to clear 1% on the day. That matches the S&P 500, which it tracks, also up 1.23%. Over five days the C Fund is up 2.09%, and it's up 18.34% for the year.

The S Fund gained 0.67% to $102.9516. It follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which holds mid-sized and smaller companies outside the S&P 500. It lagged the C Fund on the day, though its five-day gain of 1.51% is respectable.

The I Fund added 0.63% to $54.0657, tracking international stocks outside the U.S. and China. It leads the lineup for the year at 28.94%, well ahead of the C Fund.

The F Fund ticked up 0.09% to $20.9408, and the G Fund added 0.04% to $19.4428. The F Fund follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index. The G Fund simply earns a Treasury-based rate, so it moves in a straight, quiet line.

L Funds: the stock mix sets the pace

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their daily results line up with how much stock each one holds.

  • L Income: +0.29%, the most conservative mix
  • L 2030: +0.57%
  • L 2040: +0.70%
  • L 2050: +0.79%
  • L 2055 through L 2075: +0.94% each, the heaviest stock exposure

Five-day gains follow the same ladder, from 0.48% for L Income to 1.53% for the longest-dated funds. One oddity in the data: L 2075 shows a year-to-date figure of 10.37%, far below the roughly 21% of the other long-dated funds. Check the TSP site for the details on that one before drawing conclusions.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The figures below are labeled as the prior session close in my data, but the S&P 500 number matches the C Fund exactly, so they read as the same move.

The S&P 500 rose 1.23% to 6,875.16. The Dow added 0.71% to 47,544.59, and the Nasdaq Composite led with a 1.86% gain to 23,637.46. Bigger, growth-heavy stocks outran the rest.

That shows up in the ETFs. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) gained 1.11% to $337.43. It holds the whole U.S. market, so it landed a little under the S&P 500, which fits the softer showing from smaller companies in the S Fund. The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) rose 0.76% to $75.52, a bit ahead of the I Fund's 0.63%. The I Fund leaves out China, and VXUS doesn't.

The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) edged up 0.05% to $75.06. The 10-year Treasury yield sat at 3.997%, unchanged on the day. A flat yield explains the quiet in bonds. The data I have doesn't say why stocks rose, so I won't guess.

What it means for your plan

A 1.23% gain in the C Fund is a nice Monday, and it's also just one Monday. A day like this rarely changes the outcome of a plan built over decades, and a down day wouldn't either.

The pattern is a useful reminder of how your mix works. Funds with more stock rise faster on good days and fall harder on bad ones, and the G and F Funds steady the ride. Your own allocation, time horizon and goals matter far more than any single session, so keep contributing on schedule and check in on your plan at regular intervals, not daily.

This recap is general information, not personal advice.