![](https://cdn.govexec.com/media/img/cd/2013/09/03/090313tsp2GE_1/860x394.jpg?1626896706)
Trzmiel/Shutterstock.com
Retirement Funds Return to the Red in August
All TSP investments except for government securities posted losses last month.
All but one of the retirement funds in the federal Thrift Savings Plan closed August in the red, ending a short-lived rebound in July.
The lone exception was the government securities (G) fund, which gained 0.18 percent last month. The fund -- one of the most stable TSP offerings -- has earned 1.12 percent so far this year.
Fixed income bonds lost the least ground of the other four basic funds in August, ending the month down 0.48 percent. The F Fund has lost 2.62 percent for 2012.
International stocks in the I Fund lost 1.31 percent in August, but were up 7.56 percent for the year to date. The small and midsize companies represented in the S Fund lost 2.76 percent for the month. They were still up 20.3 percent for 2012.
The C Fund, invested in common stocks, posted the biggest losses in August, at 2.89 percent. The fund has earned 16.18 percent for the year so far.
Lifecycle funds -- designed to move investors to less risky portfolios as they near retirement – followed similar patterns. The L Income Fund for TSP participants who have already started withdrawing money ended August down 0.39 percent. L 2020 lost 1.22 percent for the month, L 2030 was down 1.6 percent, L 2040 was 1.87 percent in the red and L 2050 decreased 2.11 percent.
The lifecycle funds all remained in the black for the year to date, however. L Income was up 3.52 percent for 2012; L 2020, 7.79 percent; L 2030, 9.68 percent; L 2040, 11.08 percent; and L 2050, 12.37 percent.
(Image via Trzmiel/Shutterstock.com)