Federal Employee's CSRS & FERS Federal Civil Service Retirement
& Financial Planning Resources
Individual Fund Choices
G, F, C, S & I Funds
Individual Funds
The G Fund is invested in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. It gives you
the opportunity to earn rates of interest similar to those of long-term
Government securities with no risk of loss of principal. Payment of principal
and interest is guaranteed by the U.S. Government. Interest on the G Fund is
calculated as the weighted average yield of all U.S. Treasury securities with
more than 4 years to maturity; the interest rate changes monthly.
Features
- The G Fund offers the opportunity to earn rates of interest similar to
those of long-term Government securities but without any risk of loss of
principal and very little volatility of earnings.
- The objective of the G Fund is to maintain a higher return than
inflation without exposing the fund to risk of default or changes in market
prices.
- The G Fund is invested in short-term U.S. Treasury securities specially
issued to the TSP. Payment of principal and interest is guaranteed by the
U.S. Government. Thus, there is no “credit
risk.”
- The interest rate resets monthly and is based on the weighted average
yield of all outstanding Treasury notes and bonds with 4 or more years to
maturity.
- Earnings consist entirely of interest income on the securities.•
Interest on G Fund securities has, over time, outpaced inflation and 90-day
T-bills.
Resources: G Fund
investment performance
The F Fund is invested in a bond index fund that tracks the Barclays Capital
U.S. Aggregate Index.* This is a broad index representing the U.S. Government,
mortgage-backed, corporate, and foreign government sectors of the U.S. bond
market. This fund offers you the opportunity to earn rates of return that exceed
money market fund rates over the long term (particularly during periods of
declining interest rates).
Features
- The F Fund offers the opportunity to earn rates of return that exceed
those of money market funds over the long term (particularly during periods
of declining interest rates), with relatively low risk.
- The objective of the F Fund is to match the performance of the Barclays
Capital U.S. Aggregate Index, a broad index representing the U.S. bond
market.
- The risk of nonpayment of interest or principal (credit risk) is
relatively low because the fund includes only investment-grade securities
and is broadly diversified. However, the F Fund has market risk (the risk
that the value of the underlying securities will decline) and prepayment
risk (the risk that the security will be repaid before it matures).
- Earnings consist of interest income on the securities and gains (or
losses) in the value of securities.
Resources: F Fund
investment performance
The C Fund is invested in a stock index fund that tracks the Standard &
Poor's 500 (S&P 500) Index. This is a broad market index made up of the stocks
of 500 large to medium-sized U.S. companies. It offers you the potential to earn
high investment returns over the long term.
Features
- The C Fund offers the opportunity to earn a potentially high investment
return over the long term from a broadly diversified portfolio of stocks of
large and medium-sized U.S. companies.
- The objective of the C Fund is to match the performance of the Standard
and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) Index, a broad market index made up of stocks of
500 large to medium-sized U.S. companies.
- There is a risk of loss if the S&P 500 Index declines in response to
changes in overall economic conditions (market risk).
- Earnings consist of gains (or losses) in the prices of stocks, and
dividend income.
Resources: C Fund
investment performance
The S Fund is invested in a stock index fund that tracks the Dow Jones U.S.
Completion Total Stock Market (TSM) Index. This is a broad market index of small
and medium-sized U.S. companies that are not included in the S&P 500 index. It
offers you the opportunity to earn potentially higher investment returns over
the long term than you would in the C Fund, but with greater volatility.
Features
- The S Fund offers the opportunity to earn a potentially high investment
return over the long term by investing in the stocks of small and medium-
sized U.S. companies.
- The objective of the S Fund is to match the performance of the Dow Jones
U.S. Completion Total Stock Market Index, a broad market index made up of
stocks of U.S. companies not included in the S&P 500 Index.
- There is a risk of loss if the Dow Jones U.S. Completion TSM Index
declines in response to changes in overall economic conditions (market
risk).
- Earnings consist of gains (or losses) in the prices of stocks, and
dividend income.
Resources: S Fund
investment performance
The I Fund is invested in a stock index fund that tracks the Morgan Stanley
Capital International EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index. This is a
broad international market index, made up of primarily large companies in 21
developed countries. It gives you the opportunity to invest in international
stock markets with the potential to earn high investment returns over the long
term.
Features
- The I Fund offers the opportunity to earn a potentially high investment
return over the long term by investing in the stocks of companies in
developed countries outside the United States.
- The objective of the I Fund is to match the performance of the Morgan
Stanley Capital International EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index.
- There is a risk of loss if the EAFE Index declines in response to
changes in overall economic conditions (market risk) or in response to
increases in the value of the U.S. dollar (currency risk).
- Earnings consist of gains (or losses) in the prices of stocks, currency
changes relative to the U.S. dollar, and dividend income.
Resources: I Fund
investment performance
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