NY Times Says Bond Party Ending
The New York Times recently published, "The Great Bond Party of 2019 Is Ending," which also discusses money market rates. They tell us, "After seeing cash rates rise throughout 2017 and 2018 -- the first signs of life since the financial crisis for savers seeking safe and liquid income -- rates slumped in 2019 in sync with the Fed's rate cuts. For example, in December 2018, the online Ally bank offered a certificate of deposit that guaranteed a 3.1 annual yield for five years, which was well above the rate of inflation. A five-year Ally C.D. bought in December paid a 2.15 percent yield. Mr. Tumin says high-yield savings accounts from online banks and credit unions offer the 'most bang for the buck' for savers today. While brick and mortar banks and credit union savings accounts pay less than 0.2 percent on average, there are plenty of online savings accounts with yields ranging from 1.7 percent to above 2 percent." The piece explains, "Despite that risk-free opportunity to bolster cash performance, Christopher Cordaro, chief investment officer of RegentAtlantic financial advisers, says he sees plenty of new clients who are 'earning next to nothing at their brick and mortar'.... Mr. Cordaro also says savers are probably leaving cash on the table in their brokerage accounts. 'Brokerage firms have gone to charging zero commission on trades, but they can afford to that by basically paying nothing on your sweep account,' said Mr. Cordaro, referring to the cash account where proceeds from trades are parked." The Times adds, "According to Crane Money Fund Intelligence, the average brokerage sweep account had a yield of 0.13 percent in December. Money-market mutual funds offered by those same brokerage firms -- but not the default option -- paid more than 1 percent." Cordaro is quoted, "'Free' makes people do silly things.... You would be better off paying $5 to trade and have a better sweep account." Finally, they write, "Fidelity and Vanguard continue to use money-market mutual funds, with higher yields than bank accounts, as the default for their investors."
