TSP Funds

Descriptions of the five primary TSP funds — and how our strategies use them.

The Five Primary Funds

G, F, C, S, and I.

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.

Conservative to Moderate
G, F, and C Funds
The three funds that anchor most allocations — risk-free Treasuries, diversified bonds, and S&P 500 large caps.
Lowest Risk

G Fund — Government Securities

Short-term U.S. Treasury bonds. Considered “risk-free” — never has a negative return. The safest TSP option, but lowest long-term return.
Bond Index

F Fund — Fixed Income

Tracks the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. A diversified bond fund for moderate-risk fixed income exposure.
Large Cap

C Fund — Common Stock

Tracks the S&P 500 — the 500 largest U.S. companies.
Treasuries
Bonds
Large Cap
Diversified
Primary CTA Secondary CTA

Equity Diversification

S and I Funds

Small/mid cap U.S. equity and developed international market exposure round out the strategy.

Small & Mid Cap

S Fund — Small Cap Stock

Dow Jones U.S. Completion TSM Index

Every U.S. publicly traded stock outside the S&P 500 — small and mid-cap companies that often outperform large caps over long horizons.
See Our Strategies

International

I Fund — International Stock

MSCI EAFE Index

Europe, Australasia, and Far East developed markets. International exposure that’s uncorrelated with U.S. equity cycles.
See Our Strategies

Why Not Lifecycle Funds?

A quick note on the L 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.

See How We Use These Funds

Our strategies combine the five primary funds based on market timing — not a fixed glide path.

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