TSP Fund Growth Wanes in February

Govexec.com reports that the largest gain in February was in the conservative government securities (G) fund, which posted a 0.36% return.   The G fund has posted a gain of 4.46% over the past 12 months.

The S Fund, which invests in the stocks of small- and mid-sized American companies, lost 0.98%, and the international (I) fund lost 0.27%, according to the govexec.com report.    However, for the past 12 months these funds were the biggest earners, with gains of 18.39% and 17.48%, respectively.   In January, the I fund was boosted by participant transfers of $753 million (See  TSP Participants Chase International Returns).

The C Fund, which invests in the stocks of the 500 largest domestic companies increased 0.22% in February, bringing its 12-month growth to 8.4%.   The fixed-income bonds (F) fund, gained 0.28% last month, and 2.78% for the 12 month period.

As a result of the slowed growth of the stand-alone funds, the five lifecycle (L) funds, which are composites of the stand-alone funds, had poor performance in February as well.   The L Income fund, designed for employees expecting to retire in the next few years and most reliant on the G fund, posted the biggest gain at 0.25%. The L 2010 fund showed 0.15% growth, while the L 2020 fund gained 0.07%, the L 2030 fund stayed steady and the L 2040 fund lost 0.07%.   February was the first month since the L funds’ inception last summer that the L 2040 has not been the highest performing fund.