Degenerate Business School

Money Market Springtime

February 27, 2023 Degenerate Business School Season 1 Episode 160
Money Market Springtime
Degenerate Business School
More Info
Degenerate Business School
Money Market Springtime
Feb 27, 2023 Season 1 Episode 160
Degenerate Business School

We spend our days trying to guess which way financial markets will go, like medieval alchemists or broadcast news meteorologists. Is the bottom already in for the S&P and all degenerate risk assets? Where will rates go, and for how long? Is now the time to buy bonds? Does it even make sense to pick stocks?

But why struggle, when staring us in the face for the first time in our investing lives, is a risk free rate of 4.4%. Plumb any mutual fund money market account from Fidelity or Blackrock and you shall find a yield of just that. Mind you taxes and inflation will still mean we're losing money, but we'll lose it more slowly. 

Why? Because Jerome Powell has raised the Fed Funds rate. The 1 month treasury yield is now 4.68%. Just 1 year ago, that figure was a mere 0.05%. So why not just hang out and collect? We discuss. 

Show Notes

We spend our days trying to guess which way financial markets will go, like medieval alchemists or broadcast news meteorologists. Is the bottom already in for the S&P and all degenerate risk assets? Where will rates go, and for how long? Is now the time to buy bonds? Does it even make sense to pick stocks?

But why struggle, when staring us in the face for the first time in our investing lives, is a risk free rate of 4.4%. Plumb any mutual fund money market account from Fidelity or Blackrock and you shall find a yield of just that. Mind you taxes and inflation will still mean we're losing money, but we'll lose it more slowly. 

Why? Because Jerome Powell has raised the Fed Funds rate. The 1 month treasury yield is now 4.68%. Just 1 year ago, that figure was a mere 0.05%. So why not just hang out and collect? We discuss.