TSP has poor showing in August

The I Fund, which invests in overseas companies, lost 3.14 percent last month after gaining 10.78 percent in July. That gain had followed months of losses, most notably an 11.2 percent drop in May. The fund remains down 7.8 percent this year.

The S Fund (which invests in small and mid-size companies and tracks the Dow Jones Wilshire 4500 Index) and the C Fund (invested in common stocks of large companies on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index) posted losses of 5.59 percent and 4.51 percent, respectively. Both funds were up about 7 percent in July but saw losses in May and June.

On the year as a whole, the S Fund is up 0.21 percent, while the C Fund is still down, with losses of 4.62 percent.

The F Fund, invested in fixed-income bonds, saw a 1.28 percent increase in August, higher than the 1.07 percent growth posted in July. The government securities (G) fund, the TSP's most stable offering, earned 0.22 percent in August, almost identical to July's 0.23 percent gain.

The life-cycle funds, designed to shift investors from a more aggressive portfolio earlier in their careers to more stable investments as they near retirement, all posted losses. The funds had struggled in May and June but made small gains in July.

On the year, only the L Income Fund, for people who have reached their target retirement date and are withdrawing money from their TSP accounts monthly, and the L 2010 fund are in positive territory, with 1.26 percent and 1.18 percent gains, respectively. The L 2020 fund has lost 1.1 percent, the L 2030 1.8 percent and the L 2040 2.43 percent.

The L 2010 Fund will close Dec. 31 and all investments will be moved to the L Income Fund. Participants wishing to change their investments can do so through the TSP website.