Friday's TSP scorecard

Stocks ended the week on a soft note in the TSP. The S Fund was the one real standout, dropping 1.30% to $103.9385. That is the only fund with a one-day move over 1%, and it trimmed the S Fund's five-day return to -0.75%. It still sits up 2.23% for the year.

The S Fund tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which is the part of the U.S. market outside the S&P 500: mid-sized and smaller companies. A drop bigger than the large-cap funds suggests the weakness was widest in that group.

The C Fund, which follows the S&P 500, slipped 0.42% to $110.2562. It is up 0.47% year to date.

The I Fund, tracking MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China, barely moved, down 0.06% to $62.3412. It is the year's leader at +11.27% and gained 1.29% over five days. That five-day number is the only one above 1% on the board, and it was earned earlier in the week, not Friday.

On the fixed-income side, the F Fund rose 0.22% to $21.2657, and its benchmark is the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index. The G Fund, which pays a Treasury-based rate with no price swings, added 0.02% to $19.7241.

L Funds follow the mix

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their day was mostly a function of how much sits in stocks. L Income, the most conservative, lost 0.09%. L 2030 fell 0.21%, L 2040 fell 0.28%, and L 2050 fell 0.32%. The long-dated funds from L 2055 through L 2075 each lost 0.41%, nearly matching the C Fund. The more stock a fund holds, the more it felt the S and C Fund declines. Bonds and the G Fund softened the blow for the near-dated ones.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The market figures below are marked as the prior session's close, so they are not a perfect match for the TSP's Friday prices. Read them as the backdrop, not a mirror.

The S&P 500 fell 0.43% to 6878.88, in line with the C Fund's drop. The Dow lost 1.05% to 48977.922, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.92% to 22668.211. Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) slipped 0.51% to $338.77, which fits with large caps falling and the broader market falling a bit more.

Abroad, Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) lost 0.18% to $83.81, a modest decline. It includes China and emerging markets, so it won't line up exactly with the I Fund.

Bonds were the bright spot. Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) gained 0.20% to $75.17. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 1.37% to 3.962. By my math that is roughly a 5 basis point drop. When yields fall, existing bond prices rise, which is the same pattern behind the F Fund's gain.

What it means for your plan

A day like this is a small blip. The S Fund's 1.30% drop looks large in isolation, but it is a single session, and the fund is still positive for the year. The L Fund results show how mixing stocks and bonds spreads out a rough day: the stock-heavy funds fell about 0.4%, while L Income lost less than 0.1%.

If you invest for retirement over years or decades, one day rarely changes the picture. Your allocation, your contributions, and your time horizon matter far more than a Friday print. This recap is general information, not advice for your own situation.