The short version

Thursday was a down day for most of the Thrift Savings Plan. Stocks fell, bonds slipped a little, and the only real bright spot was the I Fund, which rose 0.23%. The G Fund did what it always does and ticked up 0.01%.

Where the TSP funds landed

The C Fund fell 0.85% to $123.1350. It follows the S&P 500, which was down 0.87% in the index data below, so the two lined up closely. The C Fund is still up 12.2% for the year, though it has dropped 1.98% over five days.

The S Fund took the biggest hit, down 1.17% to $117.5638. That is the one move over 1% in the TSP lineup. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Completion index, which covers mid-sized and smaller companies outside the S&P 500, and those names fell harder than the large-cap benchmark. The five-day loss is 2.63%, the steepest of any fund today, but the S Fund is still up 15.64% year to date.

The I Fund gained 0.23% to $65.6397. It follows the MSCI ACWI ex-US ex-China index. It has slipped 0.98% over five days but leads the lineup this year at 17.15%.

The F Fund dipped 0.31% to $20.8751, in line with the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate bond index it follows. The G Fund rose 0.01% to $20.1448, since it pays a Treasury-based rate and does not swing with markets.

The L Funds

The L Funds blend the individual funds above, so their results line up with how much stock each one holds. L Income, the most conservative, fell 0.15%. L 2030 dropped 0.29%, L 2040 fell 0.39%, and L 2050 lost 0.44%. The long-dated funds, L 2055 through L 2075, all slid 0.51%. More stock means a bigger drop on a day like this, and also a bigger gain when stocks rally.

What moved IRA index funds and ETFs

The index data below is labeled as the prior session close, so small differences from the TSP numbers are expected.

  • S&P 500: 7641.16, down 0.87%
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: 52759.211, down 1.32%
  • Nasdaq Composite: 26067.17, down 1.00%
  • Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): $376.58, down 0.90%
  • Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS): $87.03, up 0.07%
  • Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND): $72.34, down 0.30%
  • 10-Year Treasury yield: 4.696, up 0.92%

The Dow's 1.32% drop was the largest among the major indexes, and the Nasdaq fell right around 1%. VTI's 0.90% decline matches the broad U.S. stock slide, which is what you would expect from a fund that holds the whole market.

Bonds were also soft. The 10-year yield rose, and bond prices move in the opposite direction, which fits BND losing 0.30% and the F Fund losing 0.31%. International stocks were basically flat, with VXUS up 0.07%, in line with the I Fund's modest gain.

What it means for your plan

A 1% drop looks sharp on a screen, but it is a small piece of a multi-decade savings story. The C Fund remains up 12.2% this year and the S Fund up 15.64%, even after this week's losses. One day, or even one week, rarely changes the outcome of a long-term retirement plan.

The more useful takeaway is how your own mix behaved. If your balance dipped more than you expected, that is information about how much stock you hold, not a signal about tomorrow. Your plan was built for days like this one, so it is reasonable to check your allocation against your timeline and otherwise let it work.