TSP Funds Show Slight Signs of Improvement in February

February was slightly better than January for the funds in the federal employee Thrift Savings Plan, but it still was not a great month for retirement investments.

International investments in the I Fund and common stocks in the C Fund again ended the month in the red. The I Fund was down the most for February, losing 2.82 percent. The C Fund slipped 0.12 percent for the month. Both funds were well in the red for the year-to-date, as well. International stocks fell 8.28 percent for the year, while common stocks lost 5.07 percent.

The small and midsize companies in the S Fund were down almost as much as international stocks for the year-to-date, with losses of 8.26 percent. But the S Fund performed better for the month of February, with gains of 0.5 percent.

The usually-steady government securities (G) and fixed income bond (F) funds also had small gains in February. The G Fund was up 0.15 percent for the month and 0.34 percent for the year to date. The F Fund grew 0.68 percent for the month and 2.18 percent for the year so far.

TSP’s lifecycle offerings – which move investors to more conservative portfolios as they near retirement – were all slightly in the red for February, with the exception of the L Income fund for people who have started making withdrawals. L Income was up 0.01 percent last month. The L 2020 fund was down 0.24 percent; L 2030, 0.41 percent; L 2040, 0.51 percent; and L 2050, 0.63 percent.

The lifecycle funds all lost ground for the year to date as well. L Income fell 0.90 percent; L 2020, 2.79 percent; L 2030, 3.97 percent; L 2040, 4.70 percent; and L 2050, 5.46 percent. 

(Image via kuruneko / Shutterstock.com)