Monday's TSP Scoreboard

Stocks had a rough Monday, bonds held up, and the G Fund did what it always does.

Two funds fell more than 1%. The S Fund dropped 1.96% to $102.68, the biggest move on the board. The C Fund slid 1.04% to $109.5756. The I Fund lost 0.56% to $61.2041.

On the other side, the F Fund gained 0.21% to $21.1991, and the G Fund added 0.04% to $19.7125.

Why the Funds Moved as They Did

Each fund follows a benchmark, so the pattern is easy to read.

The C Fund tracks the S&P 500, which fell 1.04%. The match is exact. The S Fund follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers the U.S. companies outside the S&P 500, mostly mid-sized and smaller firms. It fell almost twice as much as the C Fund. Its five-day return is now -1.14%, the only negative five-day figure among the funds. The data I have doesn't say what drove the sell-off, only that it hit the broader market harder than the large-cap names.

The I Fund tracks MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China and fell 0.56%. That lines up with the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS), down 0.53%. The I Fund is still the year-to-date leader at 9.24%.

The F Fund follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index and rose 0.21%, matching the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND), also up 0.21%. The 10-year Treasury yield eased 1.40% to 4.029%, and bond prices generally rise when yields fall. The G Fund earns the Treasury rate with no price swings, so it ticked up 0.04%.

L Funds

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their results depend on how much each holds in stocks. The L 2055 through L 2075 funds, which lean heavily on stocks, each fell 0.98%. L 2050 lost 0.79%, L 2040 lost 0.69%, and L 2030 lost 0.54%. L Income, with the most bonds and G Fund exposure, slipped only 0.24%. Year to date, the L Funds range from 1.39% (L Income) to 3.2% (L 2055 and later).

What Moved IRA Index Funds and ETFs

The same stock weakness showed up in the funds that drive most IRAs. The figures below are labeled as the prior session close.

  • S&P 500: -1.04% to 6,837.75
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: -1.66% to 48,804.06
  • Nasdaq Composite: -1.13% to 22,627.27
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): -1.12% to $336.46
  • Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS): -0.53% to $82.93
  • Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND): +0.21% to $74.97

The Dow's 1.66% drop was the largest among the major indexes. VTI, which holds nearly the whole U.S. market, fell 1.12%, in line with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. International stocks fell about half as much as U.S. stocks. A standard stock-and-bond IRA mix probably felt a dip, with the bond portion cushioning it.

What It Means for Your Plan

A drop of 1% to 2% in a day is uncomfortable but not unusual, and one session rarely changes the math of a plan built over decades. The C Fund is still only 0.15% below where it started the year. The S Fund is up 1.0% year to date, and the I Fund is up 9.24%.

Monday is a reminder of why many people hold a mix of funds. Stocks fell and bonds rose, and the L Funds show how a blend smooths the ride. If your allocation matched your timeline and comfort with risk last week, one red day doesn't change that. This is general information, not personal advice, so check your own goals and time horizon before changing anything.