The Five Primary Funds
TSPKey’s strategies use the five primary TSP funds: G, F, C, S, and I. We don’t use the Lifecycle Funds — they’re simply diversified versions of the primary funds.
The C, S, and I Funds are based on different stock indices. The C Fund tracks the S&P 500. The S Fund tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Completion TSM Index. The I Fund follows the MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index.
The F Fund tracks the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The G Fund invests only in short-term U.S. Treasury bonds. It’s considered “risk-free” because it never has a negative return. This safety comes with a price, however — historically, the G Fund has the lowest return of the five TSP funds.
TSP fund prices are updated after the market’s close each day. You can’t view their changing prices during the day. However, you can see the changing intraday prices of other funds and indices that mirror them.
Why Not Lifecycle Funds?
The Lifecycle Funds (L Income, L 2025, L 2030, etc.) are pre-mixed allocations of the five primary funds. They automatically shift toward bonds as you approach the target year.
For passive investors who want zero involvement, Lifecycle Funds are a reasonable choice. But they can’t adapt to changing market conditions — they follow a glide path regardless of whether stocks are at a market peak or in the middle of a correction.
Our strategies use the five primary funds directly, so allocations can shift based on what the market is actually doing — not just what year it happens to be.