Wall Street Journal Online's "Investments to Soothe a Worried Mind" advocates
short-term investment options such as money funds and CDs in a Sunday article. Reporter
Jane Kim writes, "
Some popular categories of bond mutual funds, including intermediate-
term bond funds, are showing negative returns over the past month....
That has prompted some investors to flee to shorter-term investments that fluctuate less in price. The article, which mentions
TIAA-CREF Money Fund and
Vanguard Prime Money Fund as top-
yielders, also says, "
Among the most stable and liquid of these [of short-term investments] are money-market funds, mutual funds which hold instruments like short-
term Treasury securities and commercial paper.
Total assets in money-market funds are at a record $2.54 trillion, up 19.6% over the past year, and
the average yield for the 100 largest money funds is 4.98%, according to
Crane Data, which tracks money funds".