TSP November Performance Shows 2nd Month of Gains
Stocks went up significantly on the last day of November after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled a potential slowdown in interest-rate increases. After the announcement, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped into a new bull market.
The S&P 500, the index on which the C Fund in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is based, went up 3.1%. At the end of November, TSP ended with a second consecutive month of gains.
Inflation has dominated stock market returns more than any other factor in 2022. As a result, stocks are still down for the year for all TSP Funds except for the G Fund which has a positive 2022 return of 2.77% for the year.
With the November performance factored in, all of the TSP stock funds are ahead of where they stood at the end of October.
I Fund Has Best Return in November
In November, the I Fund had a gain of 13.72%—the best return by far of any other TSP Fund for the month. As a result, this Fund is now down -12.32% for the year. At the end of October, the I Fund was still down -22.90%.
The C Fund’s November performance was up 5.58%—the 2nd best performance among the TSP core funds in November. The C Fund is now down -13.11% for the year.
The S Fund still has the most dismal performance among the core funds for the year as it is down -20.63%. For November though, the S Fund gained 3.59%.
TSP Performance for November 2022, Year-to-Date, and Last 12 Months
TSP performance through the end of October 2022, the year to date and the past 12 months is listed below. More TSP fund performance data are available at TSPDataCenter.com.
| Fund | October 2022 | Year-to-Date | 12-Month Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| G Fund | 0.35% | 2.65% | 2.77% |
| F Fund | 3.70% | -12.26% | -12.54% |
| C Fund | 5.58% | -13.11% | -9.21% |
| S Fund | 3.59% | -21.09% | -20.63% |
| I Fund | 13.72% | -12.32% | -7.85% |
| L Income | 2.41% | -1.82% | -0.78% |
| L 2025 | 3.62% | -5.16% | -3.36% |
| L 2030 | 5.21% | -7.89% | -5.55% |
| L 2035 | 5.69% | -8.98% | -6.47% |
| L 2040 | 6.15% | -10.00% | -7.31% |
| L 2045 | 6.55% | -10.94% | -8.12% |
| L 2050 | 6.93% | -11.78% | -8.81% |
| L 2055 | 8.03% | -13.73% | -10.21% |
| L 2060 | 8.03% | -13.74% | -10.22% |
| L 2065 | 8.03% | -13.75% | -10.23% |
New Bull Market at End of November?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 20% since September 30th. That was the low point of the year for this stock index. This increase puts the Dow index back into a bull market—an increase of 20% or more from a recent low. The S&P 500, however, remains in a bear market.
At the end of September, the C Fund was down significantly. A FedSmith headline that month read: TSP Performance for September: Worst Nine Months for Stocks Since 2002. At that time, the C Fund was down 23.87% for the year. That was still better than the S Fund at that time (down 29.85%) and the I Fund (down 27.25%).
Comparing TSP Year-to-Date Returns for September and November
It is too soon to say that the TSP Funds are in a bull market. TSP investor returns for the stock funds are still in negative territory so far in 2022 and for the past 12 months.
On a more positive note, returns in the past two months have gone up significantly. Here is a comparison of the TSP core fund returns for the end of September compares to the end of November.
| Fund | % 2022 Returns End of September | % 2022 Returns End of November |
| C Fund | -23.87 | -13.11 |
| S Fund | -29.85 | -21.09 |
| I Fund | -27.25 | -12.32 |
| F Fund | -14.30 | -12.26 |
| G Fund | 1.94 | 2.63 |
As soon as the December 2022 TSP performance figures are available, we will keep readers up-to-date on how their TSP retirement assets did for the entire year.
