Government retirement savers could partially compensate for last month’s losses thanks to an impressive October for the stock market, which included the best month for the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1976.
October’s strong stock market performance was much-needed after a disastrous September in which all Thrift Savings Plan funds lost money except for the infamously conservative G Fund, which invests in government securities. The S&P 500 posted an 8% gain for the month, the NASDAQ rose 3.9%, and the Dow increased by 14%.
This is good news after a late October report from the TSP board revealed that the average account balance for Thrift Savings Plan investors was down roughly $30,000 year-to-date through September. That helped all three of the stock-based funds in the federal government’s 401(k)-like Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) post significant gains in October.
The TSP’s small firm stock S Fund took the lead with a gain of 8.59% in October. Following that, the large firm stock C Fund saw a gain of 8.1%, and the international stock I Fund saw a gain of 5.98%. Despite the improvements in October, these funds still have losses of 23.83%, 17.7%, and 22.9%, respectively; over the past 12 months, they have lost 27%, 14%, and 22.74%, respectively.
The TSP’s bond-based fixed income F Fund fell by 1.26% in October, for a loss of 15.38% for the entire year. The G Fund, the only TSP fund to have made money so far in 2022, increased by 0.34% for the month, bringing its gain for the year to a meager 2.29%.
2055, 2060, and 2065 funds of the TSP’s target-date fund-like lifecycle funds saw the most gains in October, each rising by 7.36%.
