Hi!
I’m wavering between buying bonds vs putting cash on my brokerage account. How should I decide which to choose?
Thank you!
It depends mainly on the timehorizon you’d need the cash:
- If you need the money in short-term (meaning less than 1 year), I’d put into cash or money market funds/ETFs as you can earn pretty great interest and you can easily acces the money.
- If you need money a bit shorter terms but not very long, then probably a bond would better (something that matures when you need cash).
If you consider very long-term (5-10+ years), then I’d reconsider if you want bonds as equities have higher returns.
It’s also important to consider what the brokers charge for transactions and what interes the broker pays. For example, I prefer to hold my cash at Lightyear as it gives me decent interest.
Thank you! And how can I choose between bonds: which one I should buy?
It really depends on your timeframe. As a general rule now, I’d consider a bond that matures roughly in that period when you’d need the cash. E.g. if you might need it after 1 year, I’d invest into very short-term bonds.
It’s also important which currency you’d like to hold your money in. I’d consider only high-quality country bonds, such as Germany or the US.
justETF has a great screener and you can filter for bonds or money market assets: https://www.justetf.com/en/find-etf.html. Usually, it’s easier to get exposure to bonds through ETFs.
If you want to invest directly into bonds, IBKR has a great bond screener: Bond Search Tool | Interactive Brokers LLC