Archives for August 2018

Are You Quietly Losing Money via Your Brokerage Cash Sweep Account?

Posted on August 9, 2018 // 14 Comments

A recent WSJ article by Jason Zweig calls attention to one of the hidden ways that brokerage firms make money from you. As interest rates rise, they go out and earn the highest market rates while giving you a lot less on your idle cash. The difference adds up to big profits.

Brokerage accounts used to make you buy a money market fund with a high expense ratio. These days, they use a “bank sweep” account. They advertise the FDIC insurance, but hide the fact that they often own the bank and are skimming millions in interest:

In a bank sweep, your brokerage automatically rakes together and deposits your spare cash in one or more banks. Banks hand the brokerage a hefty fee, and the brokerage hands you some crumbs. For any given investor, a few dollars from dividends or interest income don’t amount to much. Rolled together with idle cash from thousands of other investors, they can add up to millions.

Morgan Stanley. Ameriprise. E-Trade. If you dig through Schwab’s disclosure, you’ll see them state that “In setting interest rates, the affiliated banks may seek to pay as low a rate as possible”. Nice.

Default options often prey on your inattention and laziness. Here are some ways to avoid the low interest rates of the bank sweep accounts.

  • Explore all your sweep options. Some places give you multiple alternatives for your cash sweep. For example, Fidelity has Fidelity Government Money Market Fund (SPAXX), Fidelity Treasury Fund (FZFXX), and FCASH. The two funds have SEC yields over 1.5% right now, while FCASH earns only 0.25% on balances under $100,000.
  • Keep your cash accounts empty automatically. You can set up automatic dividend reinvestment, or perhaps an automatic deposit of dividends into a high yield savings account. That should keep most of your interest and dividends from piling up as cash.
  • Manually reinvest often or transfer to alternative funds. Keep an eye on your cash balance, and invest it as soon as possible into stocks, bonds, or a higher-yielding money market fund alternative. Some accounts offer a text alert if you balance exceeds a certain amount like $1,000.
  • Move your assets to another firm. Vanguard still has a decent sweep option (VMMXX, see below). Fidelity still has two decent money market sweep options as well (SPAXX and FZFXX).

Vanguard isn’t incentivized to play these interest-skimming games. Vanguard’s only sweep account nowadays is the Vanguard Federal Money Market fund due to new regulations (read more here). Vanguard used to have better options as the default account, but at least the Vanguard Federal Money Market fund still earns a decent SEC yield of 1.87% (as of 8/8/18). If you want, you can still move money manually into the Vanguard Prime Money Market fund, Vanguard Municipal Money Market funds, and the Vanguard Treasury Money Market fund which may do better on an after-tax basis.

On the flip side, if you are individual stock investor, this is why higher interest rates are good for brokerage firms like Schwab. If you believe in the future of low-cost index funds, Fidelity and Vanguard are not publicly-traded, but you can become a shareholder in Schwab. Heck, Schwab has even set up their “free” robo-advisor to profit from higher interest rates due to a sizable cash allocation. (I do not hold Schwab stock at the time of this writing, but it is on my watchlist.)

Bottom line. Check the interest rate on your brokerage sweep account – It might be a lot lower than you think. Consider taking action.

Filed Under: Banking, Investing //

How Did Total Bond and Treasury Bond Funds Perform During the Largest Stock Market Drawdowns?

Posted on August 8, 2018 // 9 Comments

If you own bond mutual funds or ETFs, the most popular benchmark is the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond Index (AGG), which basically tracks all U.S. taxable investment-grade bonds, including US Treasury government bonds, investment-grade corporates, mortgage-backed bonds, and other asset-backed securities. The largest bond fund in the world is the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBMFX/VBTLX/BND), which tracks a slight variation of this index – the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Bond Index.

In an Advisor Perspectives article, Eric Hickman compares the “Total US Bond” index (AGG) to a Treasury Bond-only index and finds that the overall returns are very similar for both, but Treasury bonds perform better during a market drop. Thus, he concludes that Treasury Bonds Are the Only Bonds You Need.

I wanted to save this chart that lists the returns of both AGG and Treasury bonds during the 10 largest S&P 500 drawdowns since 1976. He points out that 8 out of 10 times (and during all top 6 drawdowns), Treasury bonds outperformed the AGG index.

My personal takeaway was that both Total US and Treasury-Only did pretty well. Right now, AGG has ~42% in US Treasuries and 22% in US government mortgage-backed bonds. If you were a professional advisor or a really detailed DIY investor, then yes, there is an argument for Treasuries only. (Because they are all equally creditworthy, you could even build your own ladder of Treasury bonds with zero expense ratio.) But if you hold a “Total US Bond” fund inside your 401k or target retirement fund, I would still be satisfied that it has historically served its purpose as the safer “ballast” of your portfolio. Overall, I would definitely focus more on keeping your expense ratios low, as the numbers above don’t account for the deduction of fund expenses.

Filed Under: Investing //

Should I Break My Bank CD Early and Pay The Early Withdrawal Penalty?

Posted on August 6, 2018 // 1 Comment

Interest rates continue to rise, and holders of existing certificates of deposit (CDs) may be wondering if it is a good idea to break their current CDs in order to take advantage of a new higher rate. Most CDs impose an early withdrawal penalty if you take money out before the CD matures. But the new rate is good enough, you might breakeven soon. This question is actually not that simple, as there are a few potential variables involved:

  • Existing CD: interest rate, maturity date, and early withdrawal penalty?
  • New CD: interest rate, maturity date, and early withdrawal penalty? Which term length is best?
  • How special is the new CD offer? Is it likely you’ll get the same rate in few months?
  • Future CD rates? What if the terms actually get better in the future?
  • Judgement date? One option may win after 2 months, but another might win after 1 year. What is the date of breakeven?

You can get an idea of the most recent top rates in my monthly interest rate roundup. All that said, here are two resources that can help you make the decision.

DepositAccounts has a simple CD Calculator that asks for the existing CD rate/length/penalty information but only the rate on the new CD. The calculator makes the simplifying assumption that your judgement date is the maturity date of the existing CD.

There are some potential issues, though. What if your new CD has a high interest rate but lasts another 5 years and has a huge early withdrawal penalty? You may come out ahead for the moment, but you’d be locking yourself in for another long period. There are scenarios where I might not agree with the conclusion given by this calculator.

The Finance Buff has a more detailed CD Calculator that requires more inputs and a bit of guessing. You will need to supply the new CD rate/length/penalty information and also guess the future rates when your existing CD matures. This calculator is more complex but gives you a more nuanced view of what happens both (1) when your existing CD matures and (2) when your new potential CD matures. Now you have essentially two judgment dates instead of one.

If a coder was willing to spend a little time, they could probably create a better calculator with a chart that would show visually how the interest (taking into any withdrawal penalties) would change over time for two (or more) different CD options. Essentially, it could compare results across multiple judgment dates. You could also calculate the breakeven date. (Future project, but if you have already done it, let me know and I’ll link to it here.)

Bottom line. If it were me, I’d use both of the two calculators above and get a rough answer. If it’s a slam dunk, then go for it. If the answers are close, I would probably only break the CD if it was an especially good promotional rate that was higher than the competition, like the expired Sharonview 4% APY CD earlier this year. Otherwise, the markets are suggesting that rates are likely to keep rising. I’d also make sure the new CD is not too long for my needs and that is has a reasonable early withdrawal penalty.

Filed Under: Banking //

Best Interest Rates on Cash – August 2018

Posted on August 5, 2018 // 20 Comments

Here is my monthly roundup of the best safe rates available, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to get an idea of how much additional interest you’d earn if you are moving money between accounts. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 8/4/18.

High-yield savings accounts
While the huge brick-and-mortar banks like to get away with 0.01% APY, there are a number of online savings accounts offering much higher rates. Keep in mind that with savings accounts, the interest rates can change at any time.

  • CIT Bank Money Market offers 1.85% APY with no minimum balance ($100 to open) and no max balance cap. Several others have similar rates (see interactive tool below). Customers Bank offers 2.25% APY guaranteed until 6/30/19, but with a minimum balance of $25k+. On the flip side, Redneck Bank offers 2.00% APY but on a maximum balance of $50k.
  • My “hub” bank account is the Ally Bank Savings + Checking combo due to their history of competitive savings/CD rates, 1-day external bank transfers, and overall user experience. The free overdraft transfers from savings allows to me to keep my checking balance at a minimum. Ally Savings is currently at 1.80% APY. From here, I open “spoke” accounts and CDs to lock in higher rates.

Money market mutual funds + Ultra-short bond ETFs
If you like to keep cash in a brokerage account, you should know that money market and short-term Treasury rates have been rising. The following money market and ultra-short bond funds are not FDIC-insured, but may be a good option if you have idle cash and cheap/free commissions.

  • Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund currently pays an 2.06% SEC yield. The default sweep option is the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund, which has an SEC yield of 1.87%. You can manually move the money over to Prime if you meet the $3,000 minimum investment.
  • Vanguard Ultra-Short-Term Bond Fund currently pays 2.44% SEC Yield ($3,000 min) and 2.54% SEC Yield ($50,000 min). The average duration is ~1 year.
  • The PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Bond ETF (MINT) has a 2.45% SEC yield and the iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR) has a 2.47% SEC yield while holding a portfolio of investment-grade bonds with an average duration of ~6 months.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
I am often asked what to do with a big wad of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

  • United Texas Bank has a 1-year CD at 2.80% APY. CIT Bank 1-year CD is at 2.50% APY ($1,000 minimum). Early withdrawal penalty is 3-months of interest. For more flexibility, the Ally Bank 11-month No Penalty CD is at 2.00% APY ($25k minimum) and the CIT Bank 11-Month No-Penalty CD is at 1.85% APY with a lower $1,000 minimum. The lack of early withdrawal penalty means that your interest rate can never go down for 11 months, but you keep full liquidity. You can open multiple CDs in smaller $1,000 increments to get even more flexibility.
  • Several other banks now have 12-month CDs at 2% APY and above. Watch the early withdrawal penalties. For example, Synchrony Bank has a 2.45% APY 12-month CD, but the early withdrawal penalty is 90 days of interest. Meanwhile, Ally Bank has a 12-month CD at 2.40% APY with $25k+ deposit (2.25% APY for $5k+) and early withdrawal penalty of 60 days interest.

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. There are annual purchase limits. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest.

  • “I Bonds” bought between May 2018 and October 2018 will earn a 2.52% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More info here.
  • In mid-October 2018, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. I will have another post up at that time.

Prepaid Cards with Attached Savings Accounts
A small subset of prepaid debit cards have an “attached” FDIC-insured savings account with exceptionally high interest rates. The negatives are that balances are capped, and there are many fees that you must be careful to avoid (lest they eat up your interest). Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others do. There is a long list of previous offers that have already disappeared with little notice.

  • The only notable card left in this category is Mango Money at 6% APY on up to $5,000, but there are many hoops to jump through. There is a $3 monthly fee and you need to maintain a minimum $800 net direct deposit each month. This means you can’t direct deposit $800 and also take out $800 via online transfer. Checks and ATM withdrawals have additional fees. The only thing left is to spend the money via the Visa debit feature (and miss out on 2% or similar credit card rewards).

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops, and if you make a mistake you won’t earn any interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others do. Rates can also drop to near-zero quickly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling. That’s just how it goes with these types of accounts.

  • Consumers Credit Union offers up to 4.59% APY on up to a $20k balance, although getting 3.09% APY on a $10k balance has a much shorter list of requirements. The 4.59% APY requires you to apply for a credit card through them (other credit cards offer $500+ in sign-up bonuses). Keep your 12 debit purchases small as well, as for every $500 in monthly purchases you may be losing out on 2% cashback (or $10 a month after-tax). Find a local rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
You might have larger balances, either because you are using CDs instead of bonds or you simply want a large cash reserves. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account.

  • Ally Bank has a 5-year CD at 3.00% APY ($25k minimum) with a relatively short 150-day early withdrawal penalty. For example, if you closed this CD after 2 years you’d still get a 2.39% effective APY even after accounting for the penalty. (2.61% at 3 years.)
  • Connexus Credit Union is offering a 1-year Share Certificate at 2.50% APY (90-day early withdrawal penalty), a 3-year Share Certificate (180-day early withdrawal penalty) at 2.75% APY, and a 5-year Share Certificate (365-day early withdrawal penalty) at 3.25% APY. All have a $5,000 minimum deposit. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization Connexus Association for a one-time $5 fee.
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable fixed early withdrawal penalties. As of this writing, Vanguard is showing a 3-year non-callable CD at 3.00% APY and a 5-year non-callable CD at 3.30% APY from a few banks including American Express and Citibank. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs listed by Fidelity.

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk, but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

  • Willing to lock up your money for 10+ years? You can buy long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable fixed early withdrawal penalties. As of this writing, Vanguard is showing a 10-year non-callable CD at 3.45% APY. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs from Fidelity. Matching the overall yield curve, current CD rates do not rise much higher as you extend beyond a 5-year maturity.
  • How about two decades? Series EE Savings Bonds are not indexed to inflation, but they have a guarantee that the value will double in value in 20 years, which equals a guaranteed return of 3.5% a year. However, if you don’t hold for that long, you’ll be stuck with the normal rate which is quite low (currently a sad 0.10% rate). I view this as a huge early withdrawal penalty. You could also view it as long-term bond and thus a hedge against deflation, but only if you can hold on for 20 years.

All rates were checked as of 8/4/18.

Interactive rate table. Above, I work to curate only the banks with top nationwide rates. I don’t include every bank. Below is an interactive widget that lets you filter by account type (savings, CD term) and deposit amount. I don’t control the results, but it can be useful for comparison purposes to see other competitive rates. Disclosure: If you end up opening a new account using this widget, I may receive a commission.



Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers //

Fidelity Investments: Zero Expense Ratio Index Funds, Zero Account Fees

Posted on August 1, 2018 // 23 Comments

Fidelity Investments announced a bunch of “zero”-themed price and fee cuts across nearly all of their products:

  • Zero expense ratio mutual funds (two new Fidelity ZERO Index Funds)
  • Zero account minimums, zero account fees, zero domestic money movement fees
  • Zero investment minimums on Fidelity retail and advisor mutual funds and 529 plans
  • Lower expense ratios on many existing Fidelity index mutual funds

Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund and (FZROX) and Fidelity ZERO International Index Fund (FZILX). These have zero expense ratio. Not nearly zero like 0.03%, but 0.00%. This was made possible partially because Fidelity is “self-indexing” and not paying any licensing fees to a 3rd party provider like the S&P 500.

  • Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund and (FZROX) tracks the total US stock market, and is supposed to be comparable to the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSMX) and the Schwab Total Stock Market Index Fund (SWTSX).
  • Fidelity ZERO International Index Fund (FZILX) tracks the total international stock market including foreign developed and emerging stocks. It’s supposed to compare with the Vanguard FTSE All- World, Ex-U.S. Index Fund (VFWIX) and Schwab International Index Fund (SWISX). I like that FZILX includes emerging markets. VFWIX does too, but SWISX does not include emerging markets.

More info on Fidelity index funds.

Zero minimums, zero account fees, domestic money movement fees. There is now no minimum amount required to open an account, buy a mutual fund, or maintain any account at Fidelity. Some of the account fees are nice to see gone as I have been dinged by them from other brokerages. For example: account transfer out fee, IRA closure fee, domestic bank wire fee.

Zero investment minimums. If you want to put $5 in a mutual fund, now you can. They want to get rid of all barriers to entry.

Notably, their trade commissions are holding steady at $4.95 a trade. They still have $0 commissions on select iShares and Fidelity ETFs.

Access to lowest-price share class. Although it didn’t fit neatly into their “zero” theme, another big move was that now all investors will get the lowest priced share class available. In the past, if you only put in $5,000 you might pay one price, and if you had $1,000,000 then you’d get a lower price. Vanguard still does this with their Investor and Admiral share classes. Now, everyone will get the lowest price regardless. Fidelity says the average asset-weighted annual expense across Fidelity’s stock and bond index funds will decrease by 35%, with expense ratios as low as 0.015%.

Bottom line. Fidelity just announced a big round of price cuts that basically shout “We’re cheap too!!” They added two new index funds with zero expense ratios, and they got rid of nearly all their account fees and minimum investments. This comes after Vanguard’s “all ETFs trade free with us” announcement and Schwab’s streak of “we have cheap ETFs” TV commercials.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Investing //
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