TSP Funds fare well in December

The Thrift Savings Plan's C, S, G and I funds all increased in December, according to the latest numbers from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

While the F fund, which consists of fixed-income bonds, was the only fund that had negative returns in December, it performed better than all the other funds throughout the year, gaining 8.61 percent in 2001. The F Fund dropped by 0.61 percent in December.

The C fund, which invests in common stocks, gained 0.88 percent last month, but declined by 11.94 percent in 2001.

The S fund, which invests in the stocks of small- and mid-sized companies, increased by 5.31 percent in December, but dropped 7.32 percent in 2001.

The I fund, which is invested in international stocks, gained 0.52 percent in December, but fell 21.86 percent during 2001.

The G fund (government securities) was up in December, increasing slightly by 0.42 percent. The fund grew by 5.39 percent in 2001.

The monthly C, F, G, S and I Fund returns reflect net earnings on the amounts invested during the month.

For an index of the performance of the C, I and S funds that is updated each business day, see the "TSP Ticker" on the front page of GovExec.com.

December's rates of return are listed below. The numbers in parentheses are negative.