Highest TSP returns since 2019 start: C Fund hits record high

C fund will soar in 2024

Stock markets started 2024 with strong performance in February, hitting record highs last month. Of course, this performance is good news for Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) investors.

C Fund rose 7.1% for the year. The fund has been TSP’s best performing fund so far this year.

C Fund rose 5.34% in February. S Fund’s performance for the month was even better, with a return of 6.03% and a year-to-date return of 3.48%.

At the close of trading on February 29, 2024, the price of C Fund was $79.64. This is the best ever.

While stocks aren’t as strong as 2019, they’re off to the best start to the year since the Trump administration. In the first two months of 2019, the C Fund rose 11.2%. In 2019, the S Fund rose 16.62% in the first two months.

For those wondering about the total return for the year, by the end of 2019, the C Fund was up 31.45% and the S Fund was up 27.97%.

TSP returns will not be as high in 2024. Remembering 2019, the same stock market results are not what he predicted will happen in 2024. This means the returns so far this year have been very good for his TSP investors.

TSP C Fund Returns January 2019 – January 2024

February 2024 and year-to-date TSP returns

So far in 2024, all TSP funds except the F Fund have posted positive returns, down 1.6%.

TSP Highlights: TSP Assets and FERS Balance Growth

The number of TSP participating accounts in January reached 7,007,504, an all-time high. TSP also reported that call center performance was good in January with an average of 40 seconds. 80% of all calls were answered within 20 seconds. Participant satisfaction was 93.5%.

TSP mailed approximately 6.9 million statements during February and posted them on the TSP website under “MyAccount.”

The average TSP balance for FERS employees in January was $176,090, and the average Roth balance was $37,349. During the same period last year, the average balance for this group of TSP participants was $163,954 and the average Roth balance was $23,038.

As of the end of January 2024, TSP’s total assets were $849 billion and loss assets were $55 billion. At this time last year, total assets were $759 billion, and Roth’s assets were $42 billion.

The stock market is setting new records: Should you sell your TSP assets now or move them to the G Fund?

I started investing in stocks around 1967. I read several books about the stock market and enjoyed the thrill of capitalism and the potential to make money investing in America’s future.

I made a profit of about $100 when I bought and sold my first stock (Mac’s Department Store). Today, that’s a minuscule amount. My college tuition was about $400 a year, so it seemed like a lot of money.

Having invested through the Vietnam War, I have always made (very) small sums of money, expecting to graduate from college and then jet off to a part of the world I couldn’t find on a map in a war I don’t know why. We have tried to maintain funding. Stock money. Through the turmoil of the ’60s, the stock market crash of 1987, multiple wild swings in stock prices, and the ever-changing world conditions that affected the stock market, I continued to invest, and I believe it was by design. Sometimes it was more of a coincidence.

Various books explain how to get rich by buying and selling stocks. It works for some people. For most of us, predicting future events and the direction of the stock market is a fool’s game. Rebalancing your portfolio is a good idea. My (sometimes painful) experience of selling today because the market went up yesterday has been more painful than helpful.

Federal employees have significant benefits. TSP is an easy way to diversify your investments across lifecycle funds, core TSP equity funds, or a portion of both.

Below are the relevant quotes. wall street journal today:

Even if the tech giants driving up their stock prices aren’t riding a bubble, their high valuations likely mean future investment rewards will be low. And the rest of the stock market isn’t particularly cheap either. So the temptation for investors to keep their cash in savings or money market funds is understandable. The latter currently pays a 4.9% return in the US.

But here’s the problem. If you wait for interest rates to start falling to buy riskier assets, you could be giving up a lot of profit…

Numerous…studies have shown that historically most stock market gains have occurred over just a few days, and in some cases immediately after central banks cut interest rates.

In layman’s terms, this means that if you exit when the stock market is rising and sell stocks while speculating that they have reached their all-time high, you will often end up losing money. Most TSP investors invest and continue to invest, but likely rebalance their portfolios regularly.

A small number of TSP investors frequently trade with G Funds. It’s exciting to do that. I understand the emotional rush of buying and selling stocks and hoping to hit the next big stock eruption. The G Fund reduces risk because it always goes up, even in a down market.

My best investment is always to pick good stocks and good funds and hold onto them without looking at the daily returns. More importantly, it has been pointed out that: WSJ As mentioned above, many studies show that this is usually the case.

Federal employees have many benefits, from the G Fund’s unique features to access to low-cost investment plans with government-matched assets for a secure retirement. If you retire early and miss the thrill of buying and selling stocks and searching for the next home run, set aside a small amount of your assets to invest in individual stocks.

of journal’s The advice can be summarized as follows: Don’t replace the benefits of TSP with the emotional highs you expect from gambling on individual stocks or buying and selling funds frequently. Of course, with your expertise, you just might be able to find your next hit and enjoy millions more after you leave the civil service.

One of the thrills of the stock market is being able to make your own investment decisions and live with whatever consequences arise from your actions.

We wish all FedSmith readers a happy and productive 2024. Take your time and enjoy great TSP returns in early 2024.