TSP funds at the March 2 close

Monday was a split session. Small and mid-size U.S. companies and the C Fund held up, while international stocks and bonds took the hits.

The S Fund rose 0.81% to $104.7822, the best showing of the day. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers U.S. companies outside the S&P 500, so it can move apart from the C Fund. It is up 2.05% over five days and 3.06% for the year.

The C Fund barely moved, up 0.05% to $110.3088. That fits its S&P 500 benchmark, which is dominated by large companies and was nearly flat. The C Fund is up 0.67% over five days and 0.51% year to date.

The G Fund added 0.02% to $19.7287. It earns a Treasury-based rate and does not swing with the market, so tiny gains are normal.

The F Fund slipped 0.43% to $21.1742. It follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index, and bond prices usually fall when yields rise. More on that below.

The one big drop: the I Fund

The I Fund fell 1.55% to $61.3728, the only TSP fund to move more than 1% on the day. It tracks international stocks outside the U.S. and China. Even with the drop, it is up 9.54% this year, far ahead of every other core fund, and up 0.28% over five days.

L Funds all finished lower

Every L Fund ended in the red, which makes sense because each one blends the funds above.

  • L Income: -0.12%
  • L 2030: -0.25%
  • L 2035: -0.30%
  • L 2040: -0.32%
  • L 2045: -0.35%
  • L 2050: -0.37%
  • L 2055 through L 2075: -0.41%

The pattern is orderly. Longer-dated funds hold more stock, including more I Fund exposure, so they felt more of the international decline. L Income, with the most G Fund and bond weight, lost the least. The S Fund gain softened the damage but did not erase it. Year to date, the L Funds range from 1.64% (L Income) to about 3.93% (L 2075).

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The index and ETF numbers below are from the prior session's close, so they are not a perfect match for the TSP figures above. They still show the same themes.

U.S. stocks were mixed but calm. The S&P 500 gained 0.04% to 6881.62. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.36% to 22748.859. The Dow slipped 0.15% to 48904.781. Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) rose 0.10% to $339.12.

International stocks were weak. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) fell 1.68% to $82.40, a drop of more than 1% that lines up with the I Fund's decline.

Bonds also struggled. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 2.17% to 4.048%. That is a jump of roughly 9 basis points, based on the figures given. Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) fell 0.70% to $74.64, the same direction as the F Fund. The data does not say what drove the yield move, so I will not guess.

What it means for your plan

One day rarely matters for a retirement plan measured in decades. Monday's moves were small for most funds, and even the I Fund's 1.55% drop sits beside a 9.54% gain so far this year.

If you hold a target-date L Fund or a broad index fund, a day like this is the kind of ordinary noise those products are built to absorb. The mix of winners and losers also shows why spreading money across different parts of the market is common practice. Check in on your own schedule, not the market's.

This recap is general information, not personal advice.