


Investment grade means the companies are very likely to pay you interest and return your principal. These types of fixed-income securities are highly rated by credit rating agencies, which evaluate the financial health of the issuing companies. Investment-grade corporate bonds are fixed income securities sold by companies to fund their operations. They offer a range of terms, from three months to ten years, but withdrawing the principal ahead of the maturity date often means paying early withdrawal penalty fees or forgoing interest paymentsĬDs are best for short-term financial goals when the maturity date matches your time horizon-that is, when you believe you’ll need your cash. While these qualities make CDs a very safe investment, they are not considered to be very liquid assets. Certificates of Deposit (CDs)Ĭertificates of deposit combine decent interest rates with guaranteed return of your principal, and they also benefit from FDIC insurance on balances up to $250,000. To receive all interest due you must own them for at least five years-if you cash out somewhere between one and five years, you’ll forfeit three months worth of interest. You cannot cash out your I bonds until you’ve held them for one year. While I bonds are very safe investments, they aren’t nearly as liquid as the options above. Plus, they’re exempt from state and local income taxes, and the interest earned is added to the value of the bond twice a year, making the principal amount that you earn interest on higher every six months. I bonds won’t ever lose the principal value of your investment, either, and the redemption value of your I bonds won’t decline. This means they’re specifically designed to help protect your cash value from inflation. savings bond that aim to keep pace with rising prices. The best high-yield savings accounts are typically offered by online banks and credit unions. Deposits of up to $250,000 are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which ensures they are ultra-safe investments.Ī high-yield savings account is a type of savings account that typically offers higher interest rates than a traditional savings account. While the options listed above offer unbeatable liquidity, no other safe investment offers the ease of access you get with a high-yield savings account. TIPS pay interest every six months, based on the adjusted principal. If the principal is equal to or lower than your principal investment, you get the original amount back. The interest rate on each security is fixed, but since the principal fluctuates in value, your interest payments also rise and fall.Īt maturity, if the principal is higher than your original investment, you keep the increased amount.

With TIPS, the value of your principal rises or falls over the term of the security, depending on the current rate of CPI inflation. Sold in terms of five, 10 or 30 years, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities ( TIPS) are government bonds that do precisely what their name suggests: Protect your money from the ravages of inflation. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) When market professionals talk about moving parts of their portfolios “into cash,” they typically mean putting it in money market mutual funds.Īs with any mutual fund, money market funds cannot guarantee earnings or savings on principal, but their stringent qualifications help them achieve greater principal preservation than other options. Money market mutual funds feature low costs and very high liquidity, but they also offer lower returns than most other types of mutual funds. They hold short-term debt securities with high credit quality, such as Treasury bills, commercial paper and certificates of deposit (CDs). Money market mutual funds are highly liquid, ultra-safe mutual funds that are a popular choice for short-term cash management needs.
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That means you won’t have any trouble selling Treasury securities if you need to cash out before they reach their full maturity date. The market for Treasury bills, notes and bonds is larger and more liquid than any other. Treasury bonds have maturities of 20 to 30 years. Treasury notes come in maturities of two and 10 years. Treasury bills, commonly known as T-bills, have maturities of four, eight, 13, 26 and 52 weeks. Government bonds offer fixed terms and fixed interest rates. That’s because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury securities are considered to be about the safest investments on earth.
