WSJ on Era of Higher MM Rates
The Wall Street Journal tells us, "The Era of Higher Savings and Bond Rates Is Still Going. Don't Waste It." They write, "Americans are still losing a lot of money on their money. As the Federal Reserve moved to tame inflation and raised interest rates over the past two years, the returns on bonds and other savings vehicles surged. Many people took advantage of the rising rates, but many others didn't. About $17.5 trillion sits in commercial banks, for example, and the average savings account earns 0.45% in interest a year, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.... This is also a moment for those who did take advantage of better returns in high-yield savings, certificates of deposit, money-market funds and Treasury bonds. As the Fed gets set to change policy once again, they can't afford to be complacent." The piece comments, "The first step is moving emergency cash and cash needed for known expenditures, like tax payments, into higher-yielding online accounts, or money-market funds at a brokerage. In the past year, less than 20% of Americans moved their money into any account that offered a higher interest rate, according to Santander's survey. Older Americans are also more likely to have their money in a high-interest account and preferred using CDs and money-market accounts, the survey found, while millennials were more likely to choose high-yield savings accounts." The Journal adds, "Savvy investors have been moving their money from commercial banks into high-yielding cash instruments, said Peter Crane, president of Crane Data, a company that tracks the money-market industry. Since 2022, bank deposits have dropped from nearly $18 trillion to a little over $17.5 trillion. At the same time, the amount of cash in money-market funds has grown to record highs and currently sits at $6.4 trillion, an increase of more than $1 trillion from 2022. Both individual investors and institutions are drawn to the liquidity and high yields of this type of fund, which typically works by investing in short-term debt securities like Treasury bills. 'When yields hit 5%, it was like a bell ringing' Crane said. 'People are reawakening to the fact that they can live on cash yields with almost zero risk.'"
