TSP funds down in July

The Thrift Savings Plan's F Fund, which invests in fixed-income bonds, saw a small gain for the month, up 1.59 percent. The stable government securities in the G Fund also posted small monthly growth of 0.22 percent. The F Fund has increased 4.39 percent so far this year, while the G Fund rose 1.66 percent in that time.

The S Fund, which invests in small and midsize companies and tracks the Dow Jones Wilshire 4500 Index, saw the largest drop for the month, decreasing 3.14 percent. The C Fund -- invested in common stocks of large companies on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index -- declined 2.04 percent, with international stocks in the I Fund down 1.60 percent.

The S Fund has gained 3.81 percent this year to date. The C Fund is up 3.85 percent in the same period, followed closely by the I Fund, up 3.59 percent so far this year.

All the life-cycle funds, designed to move investors to less risky portfolios as they get closer to retirement, saw losses for the third month in a row. The L 2040 dropped 1.49 percent in June; L 2030 declined 1.25 percent; L 2020 lost 0.94 percent; and L Income, for federal employees who have reached their target retirement date and have started withdrawing money, dropped 0.14 percent. The new L 2050 Fund, which opened on Jan. 31, declined 1.75 percent.

L 2040 is up 3.81 percent so far this year, with L 2030 close behind at 3.60 percent and L 2020 up 3.31 percent. L Income grew 2.36 percent in that time.