What happened to TSP funds

Friday, March 27, was a down day for stock funds and a quiet one for everything else. The two safest funds barely moved.

The G Fund rose 0.01% to $19.7830. It tracks a Treasury rate, so it doesn't swing with stocks. The F Fund slipped 0.03% to $20.7347. It follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index, and a small drop fits a day when the 10-year Treasury yield ticked up. Higher yields tend to nudge bond prices lower.

The stock funds

The C Fund fell 1.67% to $102.1918, which lines up exactly with the S&P 500's 1.67% decline. That is what you'd expect, since the C Fund is built to mirror that index. Over five days it is down 2.1%, and it is off 6.88% for the year.

The S Fund had the biggest drop of the group, down 1.98% to $96.8842. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers mid-sized and smaller companies outside the S&P 500. Interestingly, its five-day loss is only 0.28%, and it is down 4.71% year to date, a smaller hole than the C Fund's.

The I Fund fell 1.02% to $55.2822. It follows the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index. Its five-day change is -0.35% and its year-to-date figure is -1.33%, the mildest among the stock funds.

Moves over 1%

Several funds dropped more than 1% in a single day:

  • S Fund: -1.98%
  • C Fund: -1.67%
  • I Fund: -1.02%
  • L 2040: -1.06%, L 2045: -1.13%, L 2050: -1.21%
  • L 2055 through L 2075: -1.47% each

L Funds

The L Funds are blends of the individual funds, so their results follow how much stock each one holds. L Income, the most conservative, lost 0.40%. L 2030 fell 0.84%, and the losses grow with each later date, from -0.97% for L 2035 to -1.47% for the 2055 and later funds. Those five long-dated funds show identical percentages for the day, five days and year to date. Year-to-date, they sit at -4.59%, versus -0.65% for L Income.

Index funds and ETFs behind most IRAs

The broad U.S. market took the hit. The S&P 500 fell 1.67% to 6368.85, the Dow dropped 1.73% to 45166.641, and the Nasdaq Composite led the slide, down 2.15% to 20948.359. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) lost 2.02% to $313.09, which makes sense because it holds the whole U.S. market, including the tech-heavy names that weighed on the Nasdaq.

International stocks held up better. The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) fell 0.68% to $74.69. The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) was flat at $73.11, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose 0.54% to 4.44.

The data doesn't say why stocks sold off, so I won't guess. What it shows is a broad decline in U.S. equities, a smaller one abroad, and calm in bonds.

What it means for your plan

A 1% to 2% drop in a day is uncomfortable, but it is a single data point. If your contributions run on a schedule, nothing about Friday changes that plan. Funds with more stock exposure fell more, and funds with less fell less. That is how they are designed to behave.

The year-to-date numbers give better context than one session. The C Fund is down 6.88%, while G is up 0.97%. Your mix of funds, your time horizon and your comfort with swings matter far more than any one Friday. This is general information, not personal advice, so check your own allocation against your own goals.