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To: malkee

Well, no.

Just realize that money market funds are NOT CASH. This goes back to what I was saying up above - too many debt-market “products” have been sold as “same as cash,” or “safe as cash” and so on. ALL claims that something is “safe as cash” are false for some set of market conditions.

Money market funds were “as safe as cash” for 40 years - until one day, the biggest commercial paper house on Wall Street (and one of the biggest in the entire world) - Lehman - went belly up. Suddenly, all assumptions about what was safe and what wasn’t changed. Two generations of “financial professionals” suddenly got their heads out of their asses and said “Oh... never saw that happen before...” and had to come up with a response.

This business of not being able to withdraw your money from a MMF is one of their responses - it is a stupid response IMO, but it is one of the available sets of options. A better option is to tell people what I’m telling you: A MMF is NOT CASH. “Financial professionals” won’t tell you this, because their job is to sell you their products - and cash isn’t one of their products. They make no money, no fees, no grift - off cash. Never, ever forget this one truth about Wall Street: They HATE simple solutions. Their job is to convince you that you a) have a problem (ie, cash pays no interest) and b) sell you a “solution” to that “problem” (the money market fund).

Remember the old saying among “financial professionals:” “Copper your customers and grow rich.” Meaning that they’re looking to shave a penny here, a penny there off of you. Same deal with MMF’s.

Money market funds shouldn’t be where you put your “money I need RIGHT NOW” - that should be in cash. Put money that you can stand waiting a week to two weeks for into a MMF.


144 posted on 01/04/2010 10:01:14 AM PST by NVDave
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To: NVDave

“Just realize that money market funds are NOT CASH”

I think the difference here is that we have a change to how money market ACCOUNTS in commericial banks,S&L’s are going to be restricted.

This is not the same as a fund handled by your broker.


146 posted on 01/04/2010 10:29:30 AM PST by blackminorca
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To: NVDave
Money market funds shouldn’t be where you put your “money I need RIGHT NOW” - that should be in cash. Put money that you can stand waiting a week to two weeks for into a MMF.

Thanks, NYDave. That's what I do now.
150 posted on 01/04/2010 2:50:04 PM PST by malkee (Actually I'm an ex-smoker--more than three years now -- But I think about it every day.)
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