Tuesday's TSP close

Stocks had a rough day in the Thrift Savings Plan on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, while the safer funds barely moved. The biggest hit came from international stocks.

Which funds moved

The I Fund fell 2.88% to $63.8369, the largest drop on the board. It tracks the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index, so a decline in international stocks flows straight through. Over five days it is down 2.04%.

The C Fund lost 1.43% to $118.5099. It follows the S&P 500, which fell 1.44%, so the two lined up almost exactly. The five-day loss is 2.49%.

The S Fund slipped 0.83% to $115.0693. It follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which holds mid-sized and smaller companies. It fell, but by less than the large-company C Fund.

The F Fund edged up 0.12% to $20.9829, in line with the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index. The G Fund gained 0.01% to $19.9968, as it usually does, since it pays a Treasury-based rate and does not swing with markets.

Moves over 1%

Three kinds of funds dropped more than 1% on the day. The I Fund (-2.88%) and the C Fund (-1.43%) are the obvious ones. The rest are the L Funds with the most stock exposure:

  • L 2030: -1.02%
  • L 2035: -1.22%
  • L 2040: -1.33%
  • L 2045: -1.42%
  • L 2050: -1.51%
  • L 2055 through L 2075: -1.84%

L Funds blend the five individual funds, so the further the target date, the more stock weight, and the bigger Tuesday's loss. L Income, the most conservative mix, fell just 0.50%. Year to date, the long-dated L Funds are up 10.7%, and L Income is up 4.45%.

For perspective, the I Fund is still up 13.94% this year and the S Fund 13.18%. The C Fund is up 7.99%.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The index figures I have are labeled as the prior session close, but they match the TSP moves closely. The S&P 500 fell 1.44% to 7,365.46. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.21% to 25,587.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped only 0.09% to 51,666.84. That gap suggests the damage was concentrated in the names that weigh heavily on the Nasdaq and S&P rather than spread evenly across the market. The data here does not say what triggered it, so I won't guess.

The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) fell 1.39% to $363.70, close to the C Fund. The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) fell 3.04% to $84.41, matching the I Fund's slide. Many IRAs hold some mix of those two.

Bonds held up. The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) gained 0.11% to $73.22. The 10-year Treasury yield eased 0.35% to 4.493, and a lower yield is consistent with slightly higher bond prices.

What it means for your plan

A 1% to 3% drop in stocks feels sharp, but it is within the range markets produce several times a year. One day rarely changes the outcome of a plan built over decades. The L Funds' pattern shows the usual tradeoff: more stock exposure means bigger swings both ways, and Tuesday showed the down side of that. Your own time horizon and comfort with swings are what matter, not a single session's close. If your plan was sound last week, one red Tuesday does not make it unsound.