Money market funds seek to limit exposure to losses due to credit, market, and liquidity risks. Money market funds in the United States are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Rule 2a-7 of the act restricts the quality, maturity and diversity of investments by money market funds. Under this act, a money fund mainly buys the highest rated debt, which matures in under 13 months. The portfolio must maintain a weighted average maturity (WAM) of 60 days or less and not invest more than 5% in any one issuer, except for government securities and repurchase agreements.[4]
One example might be when you have saved up a down payment for your first home and are simply waiting to find the perfect house. The stock market might be too risky since you want to buy the house soon and market volatility could eat up some of your investment. Yet the balance is large enough that you don’t want to miss out on earning interest by just having it sit in a conventional saving, or worse, checking account.
What Is Forex Trading
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What to watch for: Because Sallie Mae is a completely online bank, it has no physical branches. If you like having the option of walking into a branch to talk to your teller or banker in person, Sallie Mae might not be the best choice for you. It's also important to note that while you can write checks from Sallie Mae's money market account, you're limited to six transactions or withdrawals per month. And Sallie Mae doesn't offer a checking account, limiting the liquidity of your banking experience. If you're looking for full-service banking, you might be better served at a different banking institution.
You’re generally able to access the money in your account at any time without incurring a penalty. An exception is if you were to close a money market account that has an early close-out penalty. These penalties usually occur during the first 90-180 days of opening the account. Also, a bank is required to reserve the right to require at least seven days’ written notice if you want to withdraw from a money market account. But, as noted by the Federal Reserve, this right is rarely, if ever, exercised.
A lot of people have made fortunes by mining Bitcoins. Back in the days, you could make substantial profits from mining using just your computer, or even a powerful enough laptop. These days, Bitcoin mining can only become profitable if you’re willing to invest in an industrial-grade mining hardware. This, of course, incurs huge electricity bills on top of the price of all the necessary equipment.
As the SEC was gridlocked, the Financial Stability Oversight Council promulgated its own suggested money market reforms and threatens to move forward if the SEC doesn’t button it up with an acceptable solution of their own on a timely basis. The SEC has argued vociferously that this is "their area" and FSOC should back off and let them handle it, a viewpoint shared by four former SEC Chairmen Roderick Hills, David Ruder, Richard Breeden, and Harvey Pitt, and two former commissioners Roel Campos and Paul S. Atkins.[27]
While cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that are managed through advanced encryption techniques, many governments have taken a cautious approach toward them, fearing their lack of central control and the effects they could have on financial security.[81] Regulators in several countries have warned against cryptocurrency and some have taken concrete regulatory measures to dissuade users.[82] Additionally, many banks do not offer services for cryptocurrencies and can refuse to offer services to virtual-currency companies.[83] Gareth Murphy, a senior central banking officer has stated "widespread use [of cryptocurrency] would also make it more difficult for statistical agencies to gather data on economic activity, which are used by governments to steer the economy". He cautioned that virtual currencies pose a new challenge to central banks' control over the important functions of monetary and exchange rate policy.[84] While traditional financial products have strong consumer protections in place, there is no intermediary with the power to limit consumer losses if bitcoins are lost or stolen.[85] One of the features cryptocurrency lacks in comparison to credit cards, for example, is consumer protection against fraud, such as chargebacks. The Money Market enables the commercial banks to use their excess reserves in profitable investment. The main objective of the commercial banks is to earn income from its reserves as well as maintain liquidity to meet the uncertain cash demand of the depositors. In the money market, the excess reserves of the commercial banks are invested in near-money assets (e.g., short-term bills of exchange), which are easily converted into cash. Thus, commercial banks earn profits without sacrificing liquidity.
