- A US Treasury money market fund can be the safest way to protect your investment capital
- Treasury money market funds normally offer a smaller return but almost no risk
- A Treasury money market fund investment can help you see steady returns on your capital without risking it significantly
Investing in a US Treasury money market no load fund is one of the best ways to protect your money right now. These are pools of mutual funds that are managed by investment houses and financial institutions. A Treasury money market fund will only invest in Treasury securities that are short term, such as Treasury bills, bonds, and notes. The benefits of using a mutual fund for these investments instead of simply buying the Treasury securities outright is that mutual fund shares are traded actively as securities, and this makes them much more liquid. A Treasury money market fund investment is extremely safe, because the securities bought and held by these funds have the backing of the government of the United States. The odds of the country defaulting on these debts is astronomically low, and is almost guaranteed not to happen. Because of this these securities may not have returns as high as riskier investments, but there is only a tiny risk involved so you do not have to worry about losing your investment capital. This can be a big consideration with the volatility of the stock market and many other markets right now. US Treasury securities doe not have wild price swings, so there is no risk of the market volatility becoming erratic no matter what the current economical crisis does.
Using a treasury money market for your current investing needs can allow you to see small but steady returns on your investment. This at a time when most investors are facing large losses instead. There are a couple of types of US Treasury money market funds, and these are load and no load funds. Choosing no load funds is a better choice for your investments, because load funds take out part of your investment capital at either the front or the back end of the deal. This means that some of your capital goes for a broker commission instead of going into your investment value where it should be. No load funds have no load fees on either end, and true no load funds will not charge a 12b-1 marketing fee which is more than one fourth of one percent of the total net assets of the fund. This can be a clue as to whether the US Treasury money market fund you are considering is really a no load fund or if it is a load fund that hides the load fees in the marketing fees and fund expenses.
One true no load treasury money market is the Wells Fargo Advantage 100% Treasury Money Market Fund, although this particular fund is closed to new investors right now. There are a number of these mutual funds which are open though, and they can make a safe place for your investment capital until the other markets stabilize enough to foster your investment confidence. Dreyfus 100% U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund is another no load treasury money market that can make a smart investment during these risky economic times.
Just because a US Treasury money market fund is no load does not mean you should skip the research. Even no load funds will have varying fund operational expense percentages and other fees involved. Good research should always be done, even if the risks involved in an investment are extremely small. Putting your capital in a treasury money market fund can protect you against large losses like those suffered by investors in the stock market during the recent fall. US Treasury money market funds are the safest and smartest choice at this point if you want to protect your investment capital from devastating losses.
April 7th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Younger people starting out in the work force should consider opening up at least one of these funds. By the time they are able to retire and even with a small return, they are still looking at receiving a good deal of money.