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October Declines in Thrift Savings Plan Portfolios

In October, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a federal government retirement savings initiative, experienced a downturn after enjoying three months of consecutive growth. Most portfolios recorded losses, with only a couple of exceptions standing out.

The S Fund, which focuses on small- and mid-sized enterprises, emerged as a notable performer, registering a gain of 0.59% last month. This brings the S Fund’s year-to-date increase to an impressive 12.35%. Similarly, the G Fund, which operates under a fixed, legislative growth rate, also saw positive movement with a 0.33% uptick in October, contributing to a 3.65% return for the year.

In contrast, the C Fund, representing common stocks, experienced a decrease of 0.91% last month. Nevertheless, it has still seen substantial growth of 20.93% since the beginning of the year. The international investment I Fund faced a more significant setback, declining 5.17%, which reduced its annual gains to 7.31%.

Additionally, the F Fund, which focuses on fixed income securities, ended October down by 2.48%. Since January, however, it has managed to increase by 1.93% overall.

The lifecycle (L) funds, designed to automatically shift towards conservative investments as participants near retirement, all saw declines last month. The losses were as follows: L Income Fund down 0.50%, L 2025 down 0.61%, L 2030 down 1.36%, L 2035 down 1.54%, L 2040 down 1.70%, L 2045 down 1.83%, L 2050 down 1.95%, L 2055 down 2.21%, L 2060 down 2.21%, L 2065 down 2.21%, and L 2070 down 2.22%.

Despite the monthly losses, the year-to-date performances of these L funds remain robust. The L Income Fund has increased by 6.48%, while other funds have shown the following growth: L 2025 at 7.36%, L 2030 at 10.39%, L 2035 at 11.02%, L 2040 at 11.66%, L 2045 at 12.21%, L 2050 at 12.76%, L 2055 at 14.82%, L 2060 at 14.82%, and L 2065 at 14.81%. The L 2070 fund, having launched only in July, will not report year-to-date performance details until January.

Source
www.govexec.com