Best Cash Management Accounts In April 2021
Cash management accounts can often be overlooked as a way to deliver value. If you’re on the hunt for a great robo-advisor or online broker, don’t forget the extra tangible benefits a good cash management account can provide. As fees decline, brokers and robo-advisors are competing increasingly on feature-rich services to differentiate themselves – and that means value for you!
Many top cash management accounts (CMAs) offer a ton of features and benefits. Some of the most popular or desirable features include:
- A competitive annual percentage yield (APY)
- Fee-free ATMs
- A checking account
- Debit card
- No monthly fee
- No overdraft fees
- Early paycheck direct deposit
- “Round-up” investing
- A portfolio line of credit
Many robo-advisors and brokerages offer these services at no extra cost to you, so you can find a truly attractive cash management account with a ton of benefits.
The distinction between a brokerage account and a traditional bank account continues to collapse. Increasingly there are more and more financial institutions that do it all. So in many cases you could actually use the cash management account as a primary bank account even if you don’t take advantage of the related investing features at all.
And that’s a reason to check out brokers and robo-advisors to see how they compete against a traditional bank and whether it might make sense to move at least some of your business there.
Best cash management accounts in April 2021
Wealthfront
Wealthfront is best known as a robo-advisor, but its cash management account may be the best among the investing-focused sites. It offers many of the most popular features: a competitive interest rate, fee-free ATMs, checking benefits, a debit card and no monthly fees.
But you’ll also get some of the rarer features such as access to your direct deposit two days earlier and a portfolio line of credit, which allows you to borrow money against your investing balance with no credit check. And, oh yeah, Wealthfront offers a top-flight investing service, too.
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers offers one of the best trading experiences but also has attractive cash management features that can make it a true “go anywhere” account. All funds will be held in your investing account, but with the associated debit card, you can pay bills straight from the account. If you run over your available cash, you’ll run up a margin balance, and pay interest rates that are just 1.5 percent above the benchmark rate – so cheap.
You’ll also be able to use mobile check deposit, pay bills to any payee and have automatic payroll deposit. When interest rates were higher, Interactive Brokers paid among the industry’s best rates for cash balances, but with the Fed dropping rates to zero, the broker has done the same.
Fidelity
Fidelity has rightly earned a reputation as a customer-friendly outfit, and you’ll see that in its CMA. You won’t get socked with an account fee, nor does the account have a minimum. You’ll have ATM fees reimbursed when you use the account’s debit card, and you’ll be able to write checks using the account, along with access to bill pay and mobile check deposit. If you’d prefer to simply add a debit card or bill pay to your existing brokerage account, Fidelity can get that done, too.
You can really turn your brokerage account into an all-in-one account here without the hassle.
Betterment
Betterment’s cash management account is no slouch, and it’s one of the best on offer among robo-advisors. Betterment’s CMA is technically two accounts – checking and savings – but the experience will feel seamless. Betterment offers a competitive yield and traditional checking features, including a debit card. ATM fees are reimbursed worldwide, too. The checking account is FDIC-insured up to $250,000, while the savings account is protected up to $1 million through Betterment’s partner banks.
You’ll be able to sign up for the account without setting up an…
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