The short version

Friday was a down day for most of the TSP. Stock funds slipped, the bond-heavy F Fund gave back a little, and the G Fund did what it always does and crept higher. The International fund took the biggest hit.

TSP funds at the close

G Fund ($19.7525) rose 0.01%. It tracks a Treasury rate rather than a market price, so it barely moves. It is up 0.08% over five days and 0.82% for the year.

F Fund ($20.8661) fell 0.13%. It follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index, and bond prices tend to dip when yields rise. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked up to 4.285%, which fits a small loss. The F Fund is roughly flat for the year at +0.03%.

C Fund ($106.3817) fell 0.59%. It tracks the S&P 500, which dropped 0.61% in the session reported below. The two are close, though the index figure comes from the prior session, so expect small differences. The C Fund is down 1.56% over five days and 3.06% for the year.

S Fund ($98.4072) fell 0.26%. It follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which holds mid-sized and smaller companies outside the S&P 500. It lost less than the C Fund on the day, but it has had the rougher week: down 2.04% over five days and 3.21% year to date, the weakest of the core funds.

I Fund ($56.7641) fell 1.25%, the only one-day drop above 1% in the lineup. It tracks the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index. The five-day loss is 2.09%. Even so, it remains the best performer this year at +1.31%.

The L Funds

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their moves line up with how much stock each one holds.

  • L Income fell 0.21%, reflecting its heavy tilt toward G and F.
  • L 2030 fell 0.44%.
  • L 2035 through L 2050 fell between 0.52% and 0.64%.
  • L 2055 through L 2075 all fell 0.77%, and each is down 1.79% over five days and 1.5% for the year.

Longer-dated funds hold more stock, so they felt more of the decline. L Income is up 0.16% year to date, while the 2055-and-later group is down 1.5%.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The index and ETF figures below are from the prior session close, so they are not a perfect match for the TSP closing numbers above.

  • S&P 500: 6632.19, down 0.61%.
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: 46558.469, down 0.26%. The Dow was the steadiest of the big three.
  • Nasdaq Composite: 22105.359, down 0.93%. Growth-heavy names lagged.
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): $326.13, down 0.55%, in line with the broad U.S. market.
  • Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS): $76.74, down 0.94%. That is the same direction as the TSP I Fund's 1.25% drop, though the two hold different baskets.
  • Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND): $73.55, down 0.10%, matching the small F Fund loss.
  • 10-Year Treasury yield: 4.285%, up 0.28%.

The data here shows what moved, not why, so I will not guess at a cause. The pattern is clear enough: stocks fell, foreign stocks fell more, and bonds slipped as yields edged up.

What it means for your plan

One down Friday is a small event in a retirement plan measured in decades. A 1.25% drop in the I Fund looks sharp on a screen, but the fund is still up for the year. The C and S funds are down about 3% since January, which is a modest pullback, not a collapse.

If you are far from retirement, daily moves like this mostly add noise. If you are close, the G Fund and the L Income fund show how a more conservative mix cushions a day like this one. Your own mix, timeline and comfort with swings are what matter, and this recap is general information, not advice for your situation.

Check your allocation against your plan once in a while, not against the daily close.