Insurance for Money Funds Ends Today
A year ago over a period of just a few days, money-fund shareholders withdrew more than $100 billion from these supposedly safe investments after the value of one fund's shares fell below a dollar. Although deposits in money-market mutual funds had never been guaranteed, there had always been an implicit promise that the value of each share would stay at $1.
To prevent a run, the Treasury Department created a temporary insurance system for money funds. That insurance program ends September 18. But as Joan Goldwasser writes in Money Funds Lose a Safety Net, you don't have to worry.
Even though money-market mutual funds still will be safe without the insurance, you can get better rates and a guaranteed safety net with deposit accounts. See Banks Trounce Money-Market Funds.
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