TSP Portfolios Faltered Again in August

After briefly swinging back into the black in July, nearly every portfolio in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program posted negative returns again in August.

The government securities of the G Fund were the only Thrift Savings Plan investments to gain ground last month, increasing by their statutorily mandated rate of 0.25%.

The international stocks in the I Fund saw the worst performance of the TSP’s core funds, falling 5.79% in August. So far this year, the I Fund has fallen 19.71%. And the common stocks of the C Fund lost 4.08% last month, bringing its 2022 performance down to -16.15%.

The S Fund’s small- and mid-size businesses finished August 2.08% in the red, bringing its losses since January up to 22.14%. And the fixed income (F) fund fell 2.80% last month, bringing its 2022 contraction to 10.45%.

Each of the TSP’s lifecycle (L) funds, which shift toward more conservative investments as participants get closer to retirement, finished August in the red. The L Income Fund, designed for people who have already begun making withdrawals, lost 1.04%; L 2025, 1.83%; L 2030, 2.74%; L 2035, 3.03%; L 2040, 3.30%; L 2045, 3.55%; L 2050, 3.77%; L 2055, 4.36%; L 2060, 4.36%; and L 2065, 4.36%.

So far this year, the L Income Fund has fallen 3.75%; L 2025, 7.52%; L 2030, 11.04%; L 2035, 12.27%; L 2040, 13.44%; L 2045, 14.48%; L 2050, 15.44%; L 2055, 18.00%; L 2060, 18.01%; and L 2065, 18.02%.