TSP funds post mixed results in May

The investment options in the federal employee retirement savings plan posted a mix of small gains and losses in May, following a strong performance in the previous month.

The Thrift Savings Plan's F Fund, which invests in fixed income bonds, saw a gain of 1.31 percent in May, while the stable government securities G Fund had a small monthly growth, at 0.25 percent. The G Fund has increased 1.22 percent so far this year. The F Fund gained 3.06 percent during the same period.

The remaining funds in the plan posted small declines in May. The international stocks in the I Fund saw the largest drop for the month, decreasing 2.90 percent. The S Fund, which invests in small and midsize companies and tracks the Dow Jones Wilshire 4500 Index, declined 1.27 percent, with the C Fund -- invested in common stocks of large companies on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index -- close behind at a 1.13 percent loss.

The S Fund has gained 9.76 percent this year to date. The C Fund is up 7.81 percent in the same period, followed closely by the I Fund, up 6.51 percent so far this year.

All the life-cycle funds, designed to move investors to less risky portfolios as they get closer to retirement, saw small losses following a month of gains. The L 2040 dropped 1.15 percent in May; L 2030 declined 0.97 percent; L 2020 lost 0.74 percent; and L Income, for federal employees who have reached their target retirement date and have started withdrawing money, dropped 0.05 percent. The new L 2050 Fund, which opened on Jan. 31 after the L 2010 closed at the end of last year, declined 1.39 percent.

L 2040 is up 6.77 percent so far this year, with L 2030 close behind at 6.07 percent. L 2020 gained 5.17 percent in that time, and L Income grew 2.69 percent.