C Fund down 14.5 percent in August

The Thrift Saving's Plan's C Fund dropped a whopping 14.5 percent in August, the biggest one-month fall since the creation of the TSP a decade ago.

The steep decline in the C Fund--which invests in common stocks--was due to the shaky performance of the stock market at the end of last month. In just one day, Aug. 31, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 513 points.

The change in the C Fund's performance means that if a federal employee had $1,000 invested in the fund at the beginning of August, the value of that investment would now be only $855.30.

In July, the C Fund was down 1.1 percent.

The F Fund (fixed-income bonds) went up 1.7 percent in August, after a 0.2 percent rise in July. The G Fund (government securities) stayed relatively stable last month, with a return rate of 0.5 percent.

The monthly C, F and G Fund returns reflect net earnings on the changing balances invested during the month.

Over the past year, the C Fund has increased by 7.9 percent, the F Fund by 10.6 percent and the G Fund by 6.2 percent.

The next open season for TSP investments runs from Nov. 15 until Jan. 31, 1999. During that period, federal employees will be able start contributing to their TSP accounts or to change the amount they contribute to their accounts. Participants can also change the way future payroll contributions are invested in the three TSP funds. The previous open season ended July 31.