TSP funds at the close

Every TSP fund finished Monday higher, and the stock funds did the heavy lifting.

The S Fund led at +2.06% to $99.1530. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers U.S. companies outside the S&P 500, so smaller and mid-sized names had the strongest day. The I Fund gained 1.58% to $56.3533. Its benchmark is MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China, so that was a broad lift for overseas stocks. The C Fund rose 1.15% to $105.5881, matching the S&P 500's 1.15% gain.

The F Fund added 0.35% to $20.8328, in line with the bond market. The G Fund, which pays a Treasury-based rate and does not swing with markets, edged up 0.03% to $19.7743.

The over-1% moves

Three stock funds cleared the 1% mark: the S Fund, the I Fund and the C Fund. No fund fell more than 1%, and none fell at all.

A day like this still sits inside a choppy week. Over five days, the I Fund is down 2.03%, the C Fund is down 1.75%, and the S Fund is down 0.26%. Year to date, the C Fund is at -3.79% and the S Fund at -2.47%. The I Fund is at +0.58%, the F Fund at -0.13%, and the G Fund at +0.93%. Monday helped, but it did not erase the recent slide.

L Funds

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their results depend on how much stock each one holds.

  • L 2055 through L 2075 gained 1.41%, the most of the group. They hold the most stock.
  • L 2050 rose 1.19%, L 2045 rose 1.12%, and L 2040 rose 1.04%.
  • L 2035 gained 0.96% and L 2030 gained 0.84%.
  • L Income rose 0.43%, the smallest gain, because it leans on the G and F Funds.

Year to date, the long-dated funds sit at -2.03%, while L 2030 is at -0.8% and L Income is at +0.08%.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The index figures I was given are labeled as the prior session close, but they line up with the C Fund's move, so they paint the same picture. The S&P 500 rose 1.15% to 6581.0. The Dow added 1.38% to 46208.469, and the Nasdaq Composite also gained 1.38% to 21946.76.

For ETFs, Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI) gained 1.20% to $324.19. Vanguard Total International Stock (VXUS) rose 2.50% to $76.58, the biggest gain on the board. That is larger than the I Fund's 1.58%. The two funds are built differently, and VXUS includes China while the I Fund's benchmark excludes it. The data here doesn't pin the gap on any single cause.

Bonds helped a little. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 1.30% to 4.334, and falling yields tend to lift bond prices. Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND) gained 0.38% to $73.45, close to the F Fund's 0.35%.

What it means for your plan

One good Monday is just that. The week is still negative for most stock funds, and the year is still negative for the C, S and L Funds. If you hold a target-date or L Fund, your mix is already doing its job, and a daily move of 1% or so is well within normal range for stocks.

Your timeline, your contributions and your risk tolerance matter far more than any one session. This recap is general information, not personal advice. Single days rarely change a long-term plan.