The short version

Most TSP funds finished Wednesday, Nov. 12, higher. The I Fund was the standout, gaining 1.10%. The S Fund was the only one to slip, down 0.08%. The G Fund barely moved.

How the individual funds did

I Fund: $54.3654, +1.10%. This was the one move over 1%. The fund tracks the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index, so a strong day for stocks outside the U.S. shows up here directly. Its 5-day gain is 2.38% and its year-to-date return is 29.65%, the best of any core fund.

C Fund: $109.3911, +0.27%. It follows the S&P 500, so it moves with large U.S. companies. A modest gain fits a quiet day for that index. The fund is up 1.2% over five days and 17.97% for the year.

S Fund: $100.5248, -0.08%. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which holds mid-sized and smaller U.S. companies. It dipped while the C Fund rose, a reminder that the two don't always move together. Even so, it has gained 1.39% over five days and is up 11.2% year to date.

F Fund: $20.8489, +0.24%. This one follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index. Bonds gained a little, which fits the 5-day gain of 0.19% and 7.02% for the year.

G Fund: $19.4787, +0.02%. The G Fund pays a Treasury-based rate and doesn't swing with markets. It just ticks up, as usual. Year to date it's at 3.84%.

The L Funds

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their daily results follow how much each holds in stocks. The L Income Fund, the most conservative mix, rose 0.17%. The L 2030 gained 0.33%, and the gains climb with each later date: L 2040 at 0.39%, L 2050 at 0.44%, and L 2055 through L 2065 at 0.51%. The L 2070 and L 2075 both rose 0.52%. The longer-dated funds hold more I, C and S, and the I Fund's jump lifted them most.

One thing to check: the L 2075 shows a year-to-date return of 10.07%, while L 2055 through L 2070 sit near 21%. That gap is worth confirming on the TSP site before you read anything into it.

What moved the index funds and ETFs

The index and ETF numbers below are from the prior session's close, so they won't match the TSP figures exactly.

  • S&P 500: 6850.92, +0.06%
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: 48254.82, +0.68%
  • Nasdaq Composite: 23406.461, -0.26%
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): $335.86, +0.04%
  • Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS): $75.82, +0.38%
  • Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND): $74.49, -0.04%
  • 10-Year Treasury yield: 4.065, down 1.33%

The Dow did the heavy lifting while the Nasdaq fell, so the gains were uneven. The S&P 500 and VTI were close to flat. VXUS rose 0.38%, which points the same direction as the I Fund's strong day. BND slipped a hair even as the 10-year yield fell, so bond funds didn't fully follow the move in yields that day.

What it means for your plan

One day rarely matters for a long-term plan. A 1.10% gain in the I Fund is welcome, and a 0.08% dip in the S Fund is noise. If you hold a L Fund or a mix of the core funds, your balance moved a little, and that's about all there is to say. These numbers are general information, not advice for your situation. Your own allocation should reflect your time horizon and comfort with risk, not a single Wednesday.