TSP funds on Tuesday

Most TSP funds finished higher on Jan. 27, led by the international side. Only the F Fund slipped.

The I Fund gained 1.43% to $59.5842, the one move over 1% on the board. It is now up 4.24% over five days and 6.34% for the year, the strongest year-to-date number of any single fund. That tracks its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China, and it lines up with the international ETF data below.

The C Fund rose 0.41% to $111.7242. It follows the S&P 500, which also gained 0.41%. The five-day gain is 2.69% and the year-to-date gain is 1.8%.

The S Fund added 0.18% to $105.4629. It follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which holds the mid-size and smaller companies outside the S&P 500. It trailed the C Fund on the day but is up 3.73% for the year, ahead of the C Fund.

The F Fund fell 0.08% to $20.9354. It tracks the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate, and the bond ETF BND dropped the same 0.08%. The G Fund inched up 0.01% to $19.6502, as it usually does. It follows a Treasury rate and doesn't swing with the market.

L Funds

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their results follow how much each holds in stocks, especially the I and C funds.

  • L Income: +0.21%
  • L 2030: +0.42%
  • L 2035: +0.48%
  • L 2040: +0.53%
  • L 2045: +0.56%
  • L 2050: +0.60%
  • L 2055 through L 2075: +0.73% each

The pattern is simple. Longer-dated funds hold more stock, so they caught more of the I Fund's jump. The 2055 to 2075 funds are up 2.96% over five days and 3.6% for the year. L Income is up 0.9% over five days and 1.21% year to date.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The index and ETF figures below are from the prior session's close, so they may not line up exactly with the TSP prices above. The direction was similar.

The S&P 500 rose 0.41% to 6978.6, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.91% to 23817.1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went the other way, falling 0.83% to 49003.41. That split is a reminder that "the market" is not one number.

For broad-market IRA holders, the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) rose 0.36% to $343.27. The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) rose 1.55% to $81.10, the biggest move among these holdings and the counterpart to the I Fund's jump.

On the bond side, BND slipped 0.08% to $74.28. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 0.24% to 4.223. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions, so a small uptick in yield fits a small dip in bond funds.

What it means for your plan

Tuesday was a good day for international stocks and a quiet one for everything else. A 1.43% move in the I Fund is worth noticing, but it's one session. If you hold a mix of funds, a day like this mostly shows that the pieces don't move in lockstep, which is the point of owning them.

If you're in an L Fund or a diversified IRA, nothing here calls for action. A single day rarely matters for a plan built over decades, and the five-day and year-to-date numbers give a better sense of direction than any one close. This recap is general information, not advice tailored to your situation.