Tuesday's TSP close

Stock funds had a strong day on April 14. Bond funds edged up, and the G Fund did what it always does.

The C Fund gained 1.18% to $111.8484. The I Fund rose 1.06% to $61.3477. The S Fund added 1.00% to $106.0976, right at the 1% line. The F Fund rose 0.26% to $21.0563, and the G Fund ticked up 0.01% to $19.8250. No TSP fund fell.

Why the funds line up with their benchmarks

Each fund follows an index, so the moves are mostly arithmetic.

The C Fund tracks the S&P 500, which also rose 1.18%. The match is as close as it gets. The S Fund follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers mid and small companies outside the S&P 500. Its 1.00% gain was a bit smaller than the large-company move. The I Fund follows the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China, and its 1.06% gain was a solid day for overseas stocks.

The F Fund tracks the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index. Its 0.26% gain is in line with bond ETF BND, up 0.24%. The G Fund follows a Treasury rate and barely moves, so 0.01% is normal.

The over-1% moves

Four groups cleared 1% or sat right at it: the C Fund (+1.18%), the I Fund (+1.06%), the S Fund (+1.00%), and the L 2055 through L 2075 funds (+1.11%). The longer-dated L Funds hold the most stock, so they rose with the stock funds.

The five-day numbers show this was part of a bigger run. The I Fund is up 6.41% over five days, the C Fund 5.32%, and the S Fund 5.21%. Year to date, the I Fund leads at 9.49%, followed by the S Fund at 4.36% and the C Fund at 1.92%. The G Fund, at 1.19% for the year, is still ahead of the F Fund at 0.94%.

L Funds

L Funds blend the five core funds, and the shorter the time horizon, the more bonds and G Fund they hold. That explains the ladder:

  • L Income: +0.33%
  • L 2030: +0.64%
  • L 2040: +0.82%
  • L 2050: +0.93%
  • L 2055 through L 2075: +1.11%

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The index and ETF figures below are listed as the prior session close, but they point the same way as the TSP funds.

The S&P 500 finished at 6,967.38, up 1.18%. The Nasdaq Composite led at 23,639.08, up 1.96%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.66% to 48,535.99, the smallest of the three.

For ETFs, VTI (total U.S. stock market) rose 1.18% to $342.65, matching the S&P 500. VXUS (total international stock) gained 1.12% to $82.81. BND (total U.S. bond market) was up 0.24% to $73.98.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.95% to 4.256. Bond prices move opposite to yields, so a lower yield fits BND and the F Fund edging higher. The data here shows what moved, not why, so I will not guess at the cause.

What it means for your plan

A 1% day feels big, but it is a small piece of a long-term plan. Stocks gain on some days and give it back on others, and the five-day numbers show how quickly the mood can shift. A mix of stock, bond and G Fund holdings exists to absorb days like this one, in both directions.

Check that your allocation still matches your timeline and your comfort with ups and downs. Beyond that, one Tuesday rarely changes the outcome.