All of the funds in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) have provided investors with a positive return so far in 2019. All but one fund (that one fund is the I Fund) also have a positive return for the past 12 months.
Fund With Best Return in Past 12-Months
The fund with the best return over the past 12 months is the F Fund with a return of 8.14%. That is unusual, particularly in a period of low inflation, but stock and bond investments do not always rise or fall as expected.
In 2018, the F Fund returned 0.15%. But, back in 1995, the F Fund had a return of 18.31%—the highest annual return this fund has ever had.
Track Record for the G Fund
The fund with the lowest return over the past twelve months is the G Fund with a return of 2.75%. The G Fund is the most popular fund among TSP investors and often thought of as the safest fund in the TSP line-up.
For example, in 2018, the G Fund had a return of 2.91% while the underlying stock funds all had a negative return. The price to be paid though is that while it never has had a negative return, it is not unusual for the G Fund to lag behind the most volatile stock funds. Over a 10 year period from 2009 – 2018, the G Fund had the lowest compound return (2.30%) while the stock fund returns ranged from 6.48% (the I Fund) to 13.67% (the S Fund).
All TSP Fund Returns for Month, YTD and 12-Months
Here are the returns for all of the TSP funds the the past month, year-to-date and the past 12 months:
| G Fund | F Fund | C Fund | S Fund | I Fund | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | 0.18% | 0.21% | 1.44% | 1.64% | -2.09% |
| YTD | 1.46% | 6.34% | 20.23% | 21.43% | 12.03% |
| 12 Month | 2.75% | 8.14% | 7.97% | 2.11% | -2.97% |
| L Income | L 2020 | L 2030 | L 2040 | L 2050 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | 0.19% | 0.21% | 0.21% | 0.22% | 0.22% |
| YTD | 4.91% | 6.30% | 11.27% | 13.20% | 14.86% |
| 12 Month | 3.46% | 3.36% | 3.77% | 3.79% | 3.74% |
TSP Investor Fund Allocation
Here is how TSP investors have divided their investment money as of June 30, 2019. The G Fund, as usual, is the most popular with 32.1% of investments and the F Fund has the lowest allocation with 3.8%.
| G Fund | 32.1% |
| F Fund | 3.8% |
| C Fund | 28.7% |
| S Fund | 10.1% |
| I Fund | 4.3% |
| Lifecycle Funds | 21% |
Interfund Transfers in June
In June, stocks had their best June return since 1938. The C Fund had a return of 7.04% and the S Fund was up 6.08%.
Perhaps this return was a red flag for TSP investors. In June, investors transferred $489 million into the G Fund and $439 million into the F fund. Also in July, they transferred $325 million from the C Fund, $644 million from the S Fund and $39 million from the I Fund so they may have missed out on the better stock fund returns in June.
