Monday's TSP close

Almost everything in the TSP lineup finished lower on Monday. The one exception was the G Fund, which does what it always does and crept higher.

The I Fund had the biggest drop at -1.50%, closing at $63.3086. It is also down 2.9% over five days, the weakest stretch on the board. The S Fund slid 0.92% to $115.4533 and is off 2.32% for the week. The C Fund fell 0.79% to $120.9793, a smaller five-day decline of 0.28%.

The F Fund lost 0.32% to $20.8503, and the G Fund gained 0.04% to $20.0466.

Why the funds line up the way they do

The C Fund tracks the S&P 500, which also fell 0.79%. That is about as close a match as you will see.

The S Fund follows the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, meaning mid-sized and smaller companies outside the S&P 500. Its -0.92% was a bit worse than the large-company index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, down just 0.26%, is a different and much narrower group, so it is not a guide for the S Fund.

The I Fund tracks the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China, so it holds international stocks outside the U.S. and China. Its -1.50% is the day's largest TSP loss.

The F Fund follows the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index. The 10-year Treasury yield rose about 0.88% to 4.609%, which works out to roughly four basis points. Bond prices fall when yields rise, and the F Fund's -0.32% fits that.

The G Fund is tied to a Treasury rate and carries no price risk, so it gained 0.04%.

L Funds

L Funds blend the five core funds, so their results depend on how much stock each one holds. The L 2055 through L 2075 funds each fell 1.05%. L 2050 lost 0.88% and L 2040 lost 0.77%. L 2030 slipped 0.58%, and L Income, the most conservative, fell 0.29%. The more stock a fund holds, the more it gave back.

Moves over 1%

Two TSP results crossed that line. The I Fund fell 1.50%, and the long-dated L Funds (2055 through 2075) each dropped 1.05%. On the five-day view, the I Fund (-2.9%) and S Fund (-2.32%) are the ones to note. Year to date, the S Fund (13.56%) and I Fund (12.99%) still lead, and the C Fund is up 10.24%.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The index figures I have are labeled as the prior session close, though they line up closely with the TSP numbers. The S&P 500 fell 0.79% to 7515.34, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.55% to 25873.18. The Nasdaq's steeper fall points to weakness in growth and technology stocks. The Dow lost 0.26% to 52498.641.

The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) slipped 0.78% to $369.78, nearly matching the S&P 500. The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) fell 1.83% to $83.78. It differs from the I Fund in that it includes China and emerging markets, so the two will not match exactly, but both point the same way.

The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) lost 0.37% to $72.50, which fits the rise in the 10-year yield. Stocks and bonds fell together on this day, and that is why a mixed portfolio had little cover.

I don't have the news behind the moves, so I won't guess at a cause.

What it means for your plan

One day rarely matters for a long-term plan, and this one is no exception. A decline of about 1% is well within the normal range of market movement, and every fund except the I Fund and G Fund is still up year to date by a comfortable margin or close to it. If you are years from retirement, you can mostly leave this alone. If you are close to needing the money, the milder results from L Income and the G Fund show why people hold those pieces.

Your own timeline, goals and comfort with risk matter more than a single Monday. Check your allocation against your plan on a schedule you set ahead of time, not after a red day.