The assessment of money market mutual fund rates is most accurate when one has a solid understanding of the underlying money market instrument
. The money market is a term for the collection of borrowers and lenders who work with very short term loans, up to 90 days. The interest rates are more favorable for both lender and borrower when compared to loans obtainable at big banks.
Big banks can actually participate by buying up short term securities and profiting off the interest rate. To do so, they offer the same to their customers who put in capital and take a cut of the interest. Usually the bank's take is large, but still the customer makes more return than having money in a typical savings account.
A second way to get into the money market is to buy money market mutual funds. This can be accomplished by starting an account at a brokerage. The brokerage will use the pooled money to set up shares of money market instruments. Investors make money from both appreciation in the price of the shares as well as dividends from regular payouts.
Where might one open up a money market account ? It turns out that the little branch of a nation-wide bank has the power to offer such accounts. Furthermore, one can set up an account online via internet banks. People who are concerned about the trustworthiness of online banks should rest easy because as long as the bank is certified, assets are insured by the Fed in the event of a serious collapse.
Is a money market fund better than other funds? Consider a less appreciated gem in the financial world: the GNMA mutual fund. In the time of the economic disaster perpetrated at least partly by the property meltdown of 2007, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae exhibited hemmorhaging losses prompting a statement from the Treasury to prevent investor panic. Ginnie Mae discovered that it was in a vastly improved position, displaying almost no sign of being in dire straits. A mutual fund holding 85% or more of assets in GNMA-related securities is considered a Ginnie Mae fund.
How do money market funds compare to bonds? The loaned resources is as a bond which is essentially a promise to repay the borrowed money plus a little extra interest. Private investors, companies and even countries buy bonds offered by the United States government on account of historical reliability and robustness of the American industry.