TSP funds at the close

Stock funds had a strong Wednesday, and the international fund led the way. Bond funds edged up, and the G Fund did what it always does.

The I Fund gained 4.42% to $60.2016. That is the biggest move on the board by a wide margin. The S Fund rose 2.59% to $103.4568, and the C Fund rose 2.51% to $108.8662. The F Fund added 0.24% to $20.9869. The G Fund gained 0.01% to $19.8107.

Why the funds line up with their benchmarks

The C Fund tracks the S&P 500, which rose 2.51%. The match is exact, as it should be.

The S Fund follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers mid-sized and smaller companies. It finished a hair ahead of the C Fund at 2.59%.

The I Fund tracks the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index. Its 4.42% gain fits with the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS), which rose 4.11%. The two aren't identical because the I Fund leaves out China and VXUS does not, but the direction and size are close.

The F Fund follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped 1.20% to 4.291%. Falling yields push bond prices up, which fits the F Fund's small gain.

The G Fund is tied to a Treasury rate rather than to market prices. It barely moves from day to day.

The L Funds

The L Funds blend the individual funds above, so their results depend on how much each holds in stocks.

The longer-dated funds, L 2055 through L 2075, rose 3.16% each. L 2050 gained 2.63%, L 2045 gained 2.47%, and L 2040 gained 2.31%. L 2035 added 2.12%, and L 2030 added 1.79%. L Income, the most conservative blend, rose 0.91%.

The pattern is simple. The more stock exposure, the bigger the gain, and the I Fund's big day lifted every fund that holds it.

Moves over 1%

Several funds moved by more than 1% in a single day, which is a notable spike. The I, S and C Funds all did. So did every L Fund from 2030 through 2075. Only the F Fund, the G Fund and L Income stayed under that mark. Nothing fell.

Over five days the I Fund is up 6.52%, the S Fund 4.31% and the C Fund 3.92%. Year to date, the C Fund is still the only fund in the red at -0.8%. The I Fund leads at +7.45%.

What moved the IRA index funds and ETFs

The broad U.S. indexes moved in step with the C Fund. The S&P 500 rose 2.51% to 6,782.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.85% to 47,909.92. The Nasdaq Composite rose 2.80% to 22,634.99. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) added 2.54% to $333.70.

The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) rose 4.11% to $81.23, again the strongest of the group. The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) gained 0.19% to $73.72, a small rise that matches the lower Treasury yield.

One housekeeping note: the index and ETF figures in my data are labeled as the prior session close. Their moves line up closely with the TSP funds, so they read as the same rally.

What it means for your plan

A 2% to 4% jump in stocks is eye-catching, but one day rarely matters for a long-term plan. The same funds can give back a day like this just as quickly. The C Fund is still slightly negative for the year, a reminder that the daily numbers swing more than the yearly ones.

If you hold a mix of funds, you saw the mix at work today. The stock-heavy options rose the most, and the bond and G Fund holdings barely budged. That is how they are designed to behave.

This recap is general information, not personal advice. Your own timeline and goals are what count, and a single Wednesday should not change them.