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The three basic Thrift Savings Plan funds that have grown the most during the past year experienced setbacks in February, following a major stock market tumble at the end of the month.

The international investments represented in the 401(k)-style federal employee retirement plan's I Fund experienced a slight drop last month, falling 0.18 percent. But the fund's 21.11 percent 12-month return still remained by far the highest in the TSP.

The S Fund, which invests in small- and mid-sized companies by tracking the Dow Jones Wilshire 4500 Index, dropped 0.26 percent in February. But over the past year, it grew 12.27 percent.

The C Fund, composed of common stocks on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index of the largest domestic companies, dropped the most last month, falling 1.95 percent. But its 12-month gains were 12.05 percent.

The F Fund, which is invested in fixed-income bonds, posted the greatest gains for February, growing 1.53 percent. But its longer-term returns were much more measured; the fund earned 5.6 percent over 12 months.

Still, the F Fund's long-term growth is higher than that of the reliable and popular G Fund, which is made up of short-term Treasury securities specially issued to provide a higher return than inflation without any serious risk from market fluctuations. Last month, the G Fund grew 0.34 percent, for a 12-month gain of 4.98 percent.

The TSP also has life-cycle (L) options, which are a blend of the five basic funds that automatically grows more conservative as investors near retirement.

Of the five L funds, four experienced minor losses for February.

L 2040, intended for employees with a target retirement date around the year 2040, dropped 0.64 percent; L 2030 fell 0.49 percent; L 2020 lost 0.38 percent; and L 2010 went down 0.14 percent. The L Income Fund, designed for employees with planned retirements in the very near future, was the lone winner, with a 0.16 percent gain for the month.

All the L funds posted gains for the year. The L 2040 Fund continued to experience the most long-term growth, coming in at 13.28 percent over 12 months. L 2030 grew 12.25 percent in that time, L 2020 gained 11.34 percent, L 2010 earned 9.34 percent and L Income made 6.99 percent.

COMMENTS

• I lost over $33,000 since Christmas Eve. My breakdown was 30%-C; 35%-S, and 35%-I. On Thursday I moved the 30% from C into the I fund. My new breakdown is 35%-S and 65%-I. I know that's aggressive considering the I fund has been down of late, but the C fund has been killing me. Instead of losing $4000-$5000 on Friday, I lost a little over $200.00. Hoping for a rebound really soon. Bill Posted January 20, 2008 11:38 AM
• Just pretend your in Wal-Mart and there is a big sale going on. Ditto with the stock market, ie TSP funds C, S and I. Buy, buy and buy. Stock prices are cheap and so are fund shares. The smart one should have stayed put during the correction and not sold their shares in a panic , market timing knee jerk reaction. The smart ones are buying more shares as we speak! GovExec.com reader Posted March 8, 2007 10:58 AM
• This market turbulence perhaps wouldn't be nearly as drastic as it has been these past couple of weeks if Alan Greenspan would keep his mouth shut. I could never stand the way he ran his mouth and interfered with the market when he was the Federal Reserve Chairman and now that he's retired, he's even worse. Someone needs to get the message through to Greenspan to shut up, period. GovExec.com reader Posted March 7, 2007 8:52 PM