Just use money market funds

Note: I am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice. Invest at your own risk.

Two years ago, I sat in a finance meeting walking through our “cash management strategy.” We were juggling multiple checking accounts, and anything not needed in the next 3 months went to an external advisor who split it across short-term CDs and Treasuries. Gross yield: ~3.5%. Advisor fee: 0.60%. Net: 2.9%.

At the same time, money market funds were earning ~4.5%.

Adding insult to injury, our cash was locked up and required careful handholding to manage liquidity. I suggested we just use a money market fund. After a short debate, we stuck with the plan, hoping the advisor would eventually beat the market. It wasn’t worth a battle over a few thousand dollars a year, but it still felt silly to tie up cash for a lower return when money market funds exist.

Fast forward to today when I set up Skeptical Labs LLC, I found a buffet of business “savings-like” products. Each has its own flavor and eligibility requirements. Most of them should be ignored in favor of a simple money market fund via a basic business brokerage account.

Here’s a quick sample:

At first glance, Ramp and Mercury look competitive with money market funds—but under the hood, they’re mostly wrappers for money market funds. Ramp Treasury is a wrapper for Invesco’s Premier U.S. Government Money Portfolio (FUGXX). Mercury primarily uses JPMorgan’s U.S. Treasury Plus Money Market Fund and may hold other fixed-income securities at its discretion (Mercury Advisory LLC, Wrap Fee Program Brochure, Page 4). Mercury also charges 0.15%–0.60% in fees depending on balance size (same source).

To be clear: I like Ramp and Mercury. Their banking, spend management, and cards are excellent. If you value automation and qualify for their treasury products, they’re perfectly reasonable, even with fees.

But if your goal is straightforward: keep cash liquid and earn a fair yield, you can open a basic business brokerage account at a reputable firm (Fidelity, Vanguard, or Interactive Brokers) and select a competitive money market fund. No or low minimums, no fees, and high liquidity.

If you want to squeeze a few extra basis points, use a free tool like moneymarket.fun to compare yields. Just remember: there are more important things to do than chase an extra 10 bps on idle cash. Keep it simple. Use a money market fund.