TSP Funds Exhibit a Major Drop in 2018

The first week of October was already pretty unfortunate, but the second week turned out to be even worse for Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The running stocks in 2018 ended with the lowest performances since 2008. In 2008, the C fund ended down approximately 37% while in 2018, it finished down 4.4%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped to 5.6% in 2018 while the S&P 500 fell to 6.2%. The stock market went through a hard time in the last few months of 2018. Investors were worried about the global economy’s performance and the unraveling central bank’s easy money policies which have been in existence for the last few years.

Comparison Between TSP and Overall Averages

In 2018, the C fund in TSP dropped to 4.41%. December was a low month for the stock funds with the C funds decreasing by 9.03% and the S fund declining by 10.70%. The I fund was not better either as it dropped by 4.82%.

All the TSP stock funds declined in 2018 except for the bond funds. The G funds gave the best results with an increase of 2.91%. The L income increased by up to 0.71% while the F fund which lagged most funds for the year ended up with a vast improvement by an increase of 0.15 for 2018.

TSP Data

The number of funds in the TSP at the end of the November 2018 was more than $561. At the end of 2017, the TSP balance was over $542.

Average TSP balances

By the end of November 2018, the latest data available showed that the average TSP balance for FERS workers was $139,560 and the average balances for Roth were $12,832. By the end of 2017, the average TSP balance for the FERS workers was $138,190, and Roth balances were $11,692.

All the TSP funds decreased in 2018, but that was not something unusual after nine years running of positive returns in the C fund. Hopefully TSP investors succeed in their endeavors to increase their TSP balances and returns this year.