TSP Makes Mostly Modest Gains in November

Nearly every fund in the Thrift Savings Plan made gains in November, marking the third consecutive month of positive trends.

Fixed income bonds were the only TSP offerings to dip last month, falling 0.35 percent. The F Fund is also the only investment in the red over the last 12 months, dropping 1.26 percent. The C Fund, invested in common stocks, continued its strong performance, jumping 3.05 percent and again growing more than any other TSP fund. The C Fund has risen 30.34 percent in the last 12 months.

The S Fund, which is invested in small and midsize companies and tracks the Dow Jones Wilshire 4500 Index, was up 2.49 percent in November. The fund has been TSP’s strongest offering in the last year, gaining more than 38 percent.

The I Fund, which consists of international stocks, continued to fall from its 7 percent increase in September, but still managed a 0.75 percent gain. The G Fund, invested in government securities, stayed steady with a 0.18 percent increase. The I Fund is up 25.16 percent over the past 12 months, while the G Fund rose just 1.81 percent over the same period.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which manages the TSP, has decided to move forward with a plan to shift away from placing new employees in the G Fund by default, and instead automatically enroll future hires into the more lucrative lifecycle funds. The switch will ultimately require congressional action, however.  

The L Funds -- designed to move investors to less risky portfolios as the near retirement -- yielded across-the-board positive returns, though once again gained less relative to the previous month. The L Income Fund for TSP participants who have already started withdrawing money ended November up 0.58 percent. L 2020 increased 1.24 percent for the month, L 2030 gained 1.54 percent, L 2040 was 1.74 percent in the black and L 2050 saw a 1.93 percent boost.

The lifecycle funds all have remained in the black for the last 12 months. L Income was up 6.86 percent; L 2020, 15.96 percent; L 2030, 20.06 percent; L 2040, 23.13 percent; and L 2050, 26.14 percent. 

(Image via Maksim Kabakou/Shutterstock.com)