Investing is an art. Investing in such a way as to not lose money is a talent worth cherishing. Not all are blessed with such a talent. However, it is quintessential (at least in recent times) to invest your money so that you participate in your economy’s growth (and contribute something to it).
So how do you invest your money so that you don’t lose anything whatever be the market condition? One way is to invest in mutual funds. Investing in mutual funds provides safety and assures return. And amongst the mutual funds, it is always better to go for money market funds. There has hardly been an investor who has lost money in these funds!
What is a Money-market fund?
A money market fund is a type of mutual fund that is required by law to invest in low-risk securities. These funds have relatively low risks compared to other mutual funds and pay dividends that generally reflect short-term interest rates. However, unlike a “money market deposit account” at a bank, money market funds are not insured federally.
Money market funds are regulated primarily under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the rules adopted under that Act, particularly Rule 2a-7 under the Act.
How do these funds give you money?
The portfolio of these funds generally consists of government securities, commercial papers of highly rated companies, certificates of deposits and other low-risk securities in the money market. These funds generally invest in securities that have high liquidity. These funds aim to keep the Net Asset Value (NAV), which is the value that you get when you sell one unit of the fund, to be constant. However, the yield will move up and down.
What else do you get?
Money market funds are extremely liquid. They can be easily converted to cash. Its just like a deposit in a bank. To make it look just like that, most money-market funds have allowed check-writing facility. You can write a check on your money-market fund and just pay for whatever you want. Hence they are a serious competition to the banks!
Types of money-market funds
There are many different types of money-market funds. One of the most common type is the Treasury-only funds. These funds invest only in the government treasury bills and treasury bonds. This is the safest kind of fund. Another popular type is the Government-only funds. These funds invest in all forms of government securities including debt from government agencies. Apart from these there are many funds like prime funds, first-tier funds etc. Whatever may be the name, all these funds are of high quality and will promise to keep their NAV fixed regardless of what happens to any market in the economy.
One thing you must do before investing in a money-market fund is to carefully read all of the fund’s available information, including its prospectus, or profile if the fund has one, and its most recent shareholder report. This is just to be safe.