In case you haven’t noticed, despite interest rate increases at the Federal Reserve, you still aren’t making much money in savings accounts.
While Uncle Sam is paying around 5% APY for a 3-month T-bill, savings accounts are still paying like…practically nothing.
Recently this has caused many to flee from bank accounts to investments like Treasury Bills or Money Markets.
This has led Bank of America analysts to identify a new bubble.
What could that be? Money Markets.
Gasp!
Crazy how we can go from everyone opening a Robin Hood account to trade Gamestop to everyone getting a hankering for good old fashioned government T-bills in just a few years.
I’m not here to predict the puffing or popping of bubbles.
It should lead to some questions, though.
- First, are you within FDIC limits at your bank?
- Second, have you looked at other ways (like T-bills) to earn interest in a safe manner instead of savings accounts?
- Third, if you already have a lot of cash or cash equivalents (like savings, money markets, T-bills), are you too conservative?
- Fourth, have you spoken with a financial advisor about how your total investment allocation—from cash in your home to money at your local bank to money in your investment accounts—impacts your risk tolerance and growth potential?
Never forget: a good wealth manager is not a used car salesman for stocks. He or she helps you deploy all your wealth in all kinds of different investment vehicles.
If that’s not the case with your financial advisor, find another one.
The point of all this is: the interest rate changes over the past year may lead to opportunities you haven’t considered.
As investor Howard Marks has put it regarding markets and the economy, “we never know where we’re going, but we ought to know where we are.”1
If you don’t know where you are or why you are there when it comes to your money and investing, reach out to us.
--------
Sources:
- “Sea Change”, December 13, 2022. https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/sea-change