Tuesday's TSP scorecard

Most TSP funds finished lower on Tuesday, April 21. Only the G Fund rose, and barely.

The C Fund closed at $113.4140, down 0.63%. That tracks its benchmark, the S&P 500, which fell 0.64%. It is still up 1.4% over five days and 3.34% for the year.

The S Fund lost 0.80% to $108.8549. It follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers mid-size and smaller companies outside the S&P 500. It fell a bit more than the big-company index, but it is still up 2.6% over five days and 7.07% this year.

The F Fund slipped 0.31% to $21.0016. It follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index, and the bond ETF BND fell the same 0.31%. The F Fund is down 0.26% over five days and up 0.68% for the year.

The G Fund gained 0.01% to $19.8418. It pays a Treasury-based rate and does not swing with markets, so it ticked up. Its 5-day gain is 0.08%, and it is up 1.27% this year.

The one big drop

The I Fund is the only TSP fund that moved more than 1%. It fell 1.31% to $61.0076. It tracks the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index, meaning stocks outside the U.S. with China left out. Despite the drop, it leads every fund this year at 8.89%, and it is down only 0.55% over five days. The data I have does not say what drove the decline, so I will not guess.

L Funds: the blend tells the story

The L Funds mix the five core funds, so their moves reflect how much stock each one holds.

  • L Income held up best, down 0.26%, thanks to its heavy G and F Fund weighting.
  • L 2030 fell 0.51%, and L 2035 fell 0.60%.
  • L 2040 through L 2050 slid from 0.66% to 0.75%.
  • L 2055 through L 2075 all dropped 0.88%, the most of the group.

The pattern is clean: the longer the time horizon, the more stock exposure, and the bigger the one-day dip. All L Funds are still positive over five days, ranging from 0.29% (L Income) to 0.86% (L 2055 and later). Year-to-date, they run from 2.56% to 5.75%.

What moved IRA holdings

The index figures below are from the prior session close. They line up closely with the TSP moves.

  • S&P 500: 7064.01, down 0.64%
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: 49149.379, down 0.59%
  • Nasdaq Composite: 24259.961, down 0.59%
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): $347.84, down 0.68%
  • Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS): $81.88, down 1.92%
  • Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND): $73.78, down 0.31%
  • 10-Year Treasury yield: 4.292, up 0.99%

U.S. stocks fell in a tight range of roughly 0.6% to 0.7%. International stocks took the hardest hit, with VXUS down 1.92%. That is steeper than the I Fund's 1.31%, partly because the two hold different mixes of countries. VXUS includes China, and the I Fund's benchmark leaves it out.

Bonds slipped as the 10-year yield rose to 4.292. Yields and bond prices move in opposite directions, which explains why BND and the F Fund both dipped by 0.31%.

What it means for your plan

One down day, even one with a 1.31% drop in a single fund, is small next to the years most of you are saving for. Look at the five-day and year-to-date columns: nearly every fund is still ahead on both. Your allocation and your regular contributions will matter far more than anything that happened on a Tuesday. This recap is general information, not personal advice, so check your own timeline and goals before making any change.