All TSP funds except the bond F fund posted gains in September, led by the international stock I fund, up 2.87 percent, with the large company stock C fund up 1.87 percent and the small company stock S fund 1.06 percent.
The government securities G fund rose 0.14 percent while the F fund dropped 0.54 percent.
The gains for the lifecycle L funds were: Income, 0.51; 2020, 0.63; 2030, 1.28; 2040, 1.5; 2050, 1.69.
Early September saw the biggest upward reversal in bond yields since 2016, at one point sending the 10-year treasury note from 1.47% to 1.90%. This reversal included other types of bonds as well, and made the F Fund fall more than 2% since September 4th, which is quite a big drop for a bond fund in just a week and a half. This is because bond prices move inversely to bond yields, so rising bond yields mean falling bond prices. Read more about: interest rate effects on the F Fund
Meanwhile, Brexit uncertainty hangs over the I Fund, although that fund is comparatively cheap to S&P stocks tracked by the C Fund. While the United States deals with the uncertainty of a presidential impeachment inquiry and the ongoing China/U.S. trade war, the United Kingdom arguably has even more political headline risk. The stock market of the United Kingdom is the second largest component of the I Fund after Japan, and accounts for about 16% of the index value.