The chart below provides a comparison of the available TSP funds. You can learn more information about each fund by clicking on the fund name.
G Fund | F Fund* | C Fund* | S Fund* | I Fund* | L Funds** | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Description of Investments | Government securities (specially issued to the TSP) | Government, corporate, and mortgage-backed bonds | Stocks of large and medium-sized U.S. companies | Stocks of small to medium-sized U.S. companies (not included in the C Fund) | International stocks of 21 developed countries | Invested in the G, F, C, S, and I Funds |
Objective of Fund | Interest income without risk of loss of principal | To match the performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index | To match the performance of the Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) Index | To match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Completion TSM Index | To match the performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index | To provide professionally diversified portfolios based on various time horizons, using the G, F, C, S, and I Funds |
Risk | Inflation risk | Market risk, Credit risk, Prepayment risk, Inflation risk | Market risk, Inflation risk | Market risk, Inflation risk | Market risk, Currency risk, Inflation risk | Exposed to all of the types of risk to which the individual TSP funds are exposed - but total risk is reduced through diversification among the five individual funds |
Volatility | Low | Low to moderate | Moderate | Moderate to high — historically more volatile than C Fund | Moderate to high — historically more volatile than C Fund | Asset allocation shifts as time horizon approaches to reduce volatility |
Types of Earnings*** | Interest | Change in market prices Interest |
Change in market prices Dividends |
Change in market prices Dividends |
Change in market prices Change in relative value of currency Dividends |
Composite of earnings in the underlying funds |
2010 Administrative Expenses**** | 0.025% | 0.025% | 0.025% | 0.024% | 0.025% | 0.025% |
Inception Date | 04/01/87 | 01/29/88 | 01/29/88 | 05/01/01 | 05/01/01 | 08/01/05 |
* The F, C, S, and I Funds also have earnings from securities lending income and from temporary investments in G Fund securities. These amounts represent a very small portion of total earnings.
** Each of the L Funds is invested in the individual TSP funds (G, F, C, S, and I). The proportion of your L Fund balance invested in each of the individual TSP funds depends on the L Fund you choose.
*** Income from interest and dividends is included in the share price calculation. It is not paid directly to participants' accounts.
**** Expenses are offset by the forfeitures of Agency Automatic (1%) contributions of FERS employees who leave Federal Service before they are vested, other forfeitures, and loan fees.