Here’s our Club Mailbag email [email protected] — so you send your questions directly to Jim Cramer and his team of analysts. We can’t offer personal investing advice. We will only consider more general questions about the investment process or stocks in the portfolio or related industries. This week’s question: I’d like to know where you can suggest parking cash I’m holding between trades. Are there places to park the cash where it can make a little income and be liquid at the same time? Thank you — Louis P. Great question. If you want cash on hand to buy stocks at a moment’s notice while getting some yield along the way, money market funds are your best option. Unlike a certificate of deposit (CD), which requires keeping your money in the account without taking a withdrawal for a certain length of time, a money market fund has no lock-in period. You can access the funds immediately. Unlike a bond, which may see its price fluctuate between the purchase date and when it reaches maturity, money market funds keep their value — while also offering a higher yield than most savings and checking accounts. According to money market tracker Crane Data , the average yield of the 100 largest money market funds is 5.19%. By contrast, the national average rate on savings accounts is 0.6%, according to Bankrate . Money market funds vs. money market accounts Not to be confused with money market accounts (and other types of deposit accounts), money market funds are low-risk investments — and as such, they are not backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Forbes put together a list of top money market funds from some of the biggest brokerages in the nation. To be sure, as CNBC Select points out, there are high-yield savings and money market accounts out there with yields approaching those from money market funds. But money market funds can be more accessible when placing trades since they sit in your brokerage account right alongside your…
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