Where the TSP funds closed

Every TSP fund finished higher on Monday, April 13, with stock funds doing the heavy lifting.

The S Fund led at +1.87%, closing at $105.0498. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers U.S. companies outside the S&P 500. It outran the large-company funds by a wide margin, and that is the biggest move of the day.

The C Fund gained 1.02% to $110.5436. It follows the S&P 500, which rose the same 1.02%. That is the point of an index fund: it moves with its benchmark, not ahead of it or behind it.

The I Fund rose 0.66% to $60.7029. It tracks international stocks outside the U.S. and China. The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) gained 0.76%, a similar broad-market move abroad.

The F Fund added 0.19% to $21.0018, and the G Fund edged up 0.04% to $19.8226. The G Fund follows a Treasury rate and barely moves from day to day, which is how it is built.

Moves over 1%

Two funds cleared that line: the S Fund at +1.87% and the C Fund at +1.02%. The L 2055 through L 2075 funds came in at +0.99%, just short.

Over five days, the I Fund is up 5.38%, the C and S funds are each up 4.17%, and the F and G funds are up 0.4% and 0.08%. Year to date, the I Fund leads at 8.34%. The S Fund is at 3.33%, the G Fund at 1.18%, the C Fund at 0.73% and the F Fund at 0.68%. The C Fund has made a strong week but still sits near the bottom of the year-to-date list.

The L Funds

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their gains follow how much stock each holds. L Income, the most conservative, rose 0.31%. L 2030 gained 0.58%, L 2040 0.74% and L 2050 0.84%. L 2055 and every later fund gained 0.99%. Those long-dated funds are mostly in stocks, so they sit closest to the C, S and I results. Year to date, they range from 1.93% for L Income to 3.7% for L 2055 and beyond.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

Based on the prior-session figures provided, stocks rose across the board. The S&P 500 gained 1.02% to 6886.24. The Nasdaq Composite did better at +1.23% to 23183.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a smaller 0.63% to 48218.25. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) gained 1.08% to $338.67. That is no surprise, since broad U.S. stock funds largely mirror the S&P 500.

Bonds had a quieter, positive day. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped 0.46% to 4.297. When yields fall, bond prices tend to rise, and the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) did gain 0.22% to $73.80. That lines up with the F Fund's 0.19%.

The data here does not say why markets rose, so I will not guess. What it shows is a broad gain, with smaller U.S. companies and tech-heavy indexes leading.

What it means for your plan

One good day is nice, but it rarely changes anything over a career or a retirement. A 1.87% gain in the S Fund can reverse in a week, and a 0.04% G Fund move reminds you how little that fund wobbles.

If your allocation matched your goals and timeline on Friday, it matches them now. Check your mix on a schedule you set ahead of time, not after a strong Monday. This recap is general information, not advice for your situation.