Online Savings Accounts can Add Safety to Your Portfolio
The high returns achieved by stocks in the long-term have been well documented in research reports and finance books, but the roller coaster ride frequently experienced in the short-term can make any investor's stomach queasy.
Have you looked at the market lately? If not, I hope you had a light breakfast today because you'll soon feel like you're riding the Cyclone coaster on Coney Island and the operators are out-of-town.
Right now violence in the Middle East has caused oil prices to surge and stock prices to plummet. Even if you've got loads of time before retirement, seeing the numbers on your brokerage statement go negative can be nerve-racking. It's especially worrisome if you need to convert some of your holdings to cash within the next few months.
So what options do you have for your cash?
In the past, sticking money into cash accounts was as profitable as stashing dollars under the mattress. But that has changed with one of the best products to come out of the Internet Revolution -- online savings accounts.
While some regular savings accounts offered at brick-and-mortar banks pay a low .50% annual percentage yield, yields on online savings and money market accounts are blowing past the 5.00% annual percentage yield line. And if you don't mind not having access to your money for a few months, many online certificates of deposit are reaching the 6.00% annual percentage yield mark.
These yields may not be as impressive as the long term returns on stocks, but when markets are spiraling downward, a guaranteed 5.00% to 6.00% is pretty good. And unlike your stocks, most savings accounts are FDIC insured.
What's important to understand is that those high rates on online accounts aren't affected in the short-term due to political events happening in the world. Although online savings accounts are no substitute for your long term retirement fund, if you need to protect money from market fluctuations while earning great yields, online savings accounts can do the job. If you want some diversification for your portfolio, take a look at online savings accounts. |