Thrift Savings Plan ends 2004 on a strong note

Thrift Savings Plan funds continued to add value in December and ended 2004 with positive gains, according to figures released this week by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. Investors in the TSP, a 401(k)-style retirement plan for federal employees, can invest in five funds. The Thrift plan has about 3.3 million participants and more than $140 billion in assets. During the past two months, three funds - C, S and I - made strong gains of 7.4 percent, 11.1 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively. The I Fund, which invests in international stocks, gained nearly 4.5 percent in value during December, ending the year up 20 percent, which was the best performance of any fund. The S Fund, which invests in the stock of small and mid-size companies, climbed about 4 percent in December, ending the year up 18 percent. The C Fund, which consists of common stocks, climbed 3.4 percent in December, ending the year up almost 11 percent. The F Fund gained almost 1 percent in December, after losing 0.9 percent in November. The Fund closed 2004 up 4.3 percent. The G Fund, which is invested in government securities, grew by 0.4 percent during December, and ended 2004 up more than 4 percent. For an index of the performance of the S, C and I funds that is updated each business day, see the TSP Ticker on the front page of GovExec.com.