The short version

Wednesday was a broad pullback for stocks. Every TSP fund except the G Fund finished lower, and the declines in the stock funds were big enough to clear the 1% mark. Bonds barely moved, and the G Fund did what it always does.

TSP funds: who fell and who held

C Fund closed at $116.8769, down 1.62% on the day and 3.76% over five days. That matches the S&P 500, which it tracks, almost exactly. The index fell 1.62% as well. The C Fund is still up 6.5% for the year.

S Fund slipped 1.60% to $111.1094. It follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers mid-sized and smaller companies, so it is a different group of stocks than the large-cap names behind the C Fund. The two funds fell by nearly the same amount on the day. Over five days, the S Fund held up better, down 2.8% against the C Fund's 3.76%. Its YTD gain is 9.29%.

I Fund had the toughest day, down 1.93% to $61.8247. It tracks the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index of international stocks. The five-day loss is 4.51%, the steepest of any fund. Even so, its 10.34% YTD gain is still the best on the board.

F Fund dipped 0.06% to $20.8905. It follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 0.31% to 4.542, and bond prices tend to ease a touch when yields rise.

G Fund gained 0.01% to $19.9646. It earns a Treasury-based rate, so it doesn't swing with stock or bond prices. Its YTD return is 1.9%.

The L Funds

The L Funds blend the five core funds, so their results sit between the stock funds and the bond and G holdings.

  • L 2055 through L 2075 all fell 1.71% on the day and 3.86% over five days, since they hold the most stock exposure.
  • L 2050: down 1.41%.
  • L 2045: down 1.33%.
  • L 2040: down 1.24%.
  • L 2035: down 1.14%.
  • L 2030: down 0.96%, just under the 1% line.
  • L Income: down 0.47%, the mildest loss, with a 3.64% YTD gain.

Drops over 1%

The C, S and I Funds all fell more than 1%. So did L 2035 and every L Fund from 2040 to 2075. The I Fund's 1.93% decline was the largest.

What moved the IRA index funds and ETFs

The index and ETF figures below are listed as the prior session close, and they line up closely with the C Fund's move.

  • S&P 500: 7266.99, down 1.62%.
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: 49,918.78, down 1.87%.
  • Nasdaq Composite: 25,169.50, down 1.98%, the weakest of the three.
  • VTI (total U.S. stock market): $358.04, down 1.55%.
  • VXUS (total international stock): $82.59, down 1.47%.
  • BND (total U.S. bond market): $72.91, down 0.08%.

The Nasdaq falling the most points to a heavier hit for growth-oriented names. The broad funds, VTI and VXUS, fell a bit less than the headline indexes. The numbers show the declines, but they don't say what caused them, so I won't guess.

What it means for your plan

A 1% to 2% drop in stocks looks sharp on a screen, but days like this show up regularly over the course of a long career. A single session rarely changes the outcome of a plan built over decades. The five-day losses are larger, but the YTD figures remain positive across every fund, from the G Fund's 1.9% to the I Fund's 10.34%.

This recap is general information, not personal advice. Your own timeline, goals and comfort with risk are what matter, and the L Funds and bond holdings exist to cushion days like this one. If your allocation still fits your plan, a down Wednesday is usually not a reason to act.