Posted By: Allison Franklin
PERSONAL FINANCE DAILY
Monday's Personal Finance stories
By MarketWatch
If you want safety for your money, don't expect to get much in return for your deposits other than a secure vault. The average 30-day yield on retail money-market funds that invest in Treasurys -- the safest of the safe -- are hovering around 0.05%. You can call that next to nothing.
You may be satisfied with that given that you won't be losing any money as has been the case in the stock market and even in some supposedly secure "cash-like" instruments over the past 18 months or so.
There is no getting around the fact, though, that if you want higher yields you have to accept more risk or be willing to lock up you money for long periods of time. That may be OK for younger investors who won't need their cash anytime soon, but neither option is particularly enticing for retirees who need income today or those close to retirement who are looking to pad the nest egg before quitting work.
No matter what path you want to put your portfolio on, it pays to heed a few simple yield rules. Even if you're following a trail of crumbs, you want to know it leads somewhere.
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