Rocky start to 2014 as TSP returns trend negative

Returns for nearly all of the funds in the Thrift Savings Plan trended downward in January following a rocky month on Wall Street. The largest declines came in ...

Returns for nearly all of the funds in the Thrift Savings Plan trended downward in January following a rocky month on Wall Street.

The largest declines came in the stock funds. The large-cap C Fund fell by 3.45 percent, the small-cap S Fund inched down 1.91 percent and the I Fund, made up of international stocks, plunged by more than 4 percent, according to new data from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

It was the biggest monthly drop for both the C and the I Funds since May 2012.

That’s in sharp contrast to how things stood just a month ago, when most of the TSP funds were trending positive for the month and on track to finish the year with their biggest gains in years.

“2013 was a very favorable year in the market,” said Renee Wilder, the TSP board’s director of enterprise planning at the board’s monthly meeting last week. “2014 is not starting out quite so well.”

In fact, last month was the worst January for the Dow Jones industrial average since 2009, according to the Associated Press.

The government-securities G Fund and the bond-indexed F Fund both, however, bucked the negative trend. The G Fund was up 0.21 percent and the F Fund was up 1.58 percent. That’s the first time since October the F Fund has posted in positive territory.

All of the Lifecycle Funds also fell last month. The smallest decline came in the L Income Fund, which dropped 0.42 percent. The largest drop came in the L 2050 Fund, which fell by 2.71 percent.

Thrift Savings Plan January 2014 returns

Fund January Year-to-Date Last 12 Months
G Fund 0.21% 0.21% 1.98%
F Fund 1.58% 1.58% 0.44%
C Fund -3.45% -3.45% 21.58%
S Fund -1.91% -1.91% 26.88%
I Fund -4.03% -4.03% 12.21%
L Income -0.42% -0.42% 5.36%
L 2020 -1.57% -1.57% 11.06%
L 2030 -2.04% -2.04% 13.66%
L 2040 -2.35% -2.35% 15.59%
L 2050 -2.71% -2.71% 17.34%

RELATED STORIES:

US stocks end tough January with another decline

TSP loans, hardship withdrawals hit 10-year high last year

TSP ends 2013 with nearly across-the-board gains

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Getty Images/iStockphoto/SIphotographyretirement

    How to make sure you outlive your investments after you retire

    Read more
    (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)TSA, pay

    TSA employees will keep their pay raises under 2024 spending deal

    Read more