These portfolios have average maturities below three years.
Do you have idle cash in your brokerage account or your checking account? Is it earning crummy interest? Consider parking it in a short-term bond fund.
Although these funds are quite stable, they are not as safe as money-market funds. They are not necessarily an instantaneous source of cash; it might take two to four days to sell shares and get cleared funds into a bank account.
But if you have some tolerance for risk and some patience in getting at your money, using a short-term bond fund could greatly improve the return on your money. The interest paid on cash balances is very chintzy at some brokers and at many commercial banks
Below, all-purpose short-term funds are listed first and then Treasury-only funds. We show assets, long-term holding costs and a measure of how easy shares are to trade. To fine-tune your analysis of yield, credit quality and maturity, go to Morningstar.
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For an explanation of our rankings and a directory of fund categories, turn to Forbes Best ETFs.
*Honor Roll member. For the full list, turn to Best ETFs Honor Roll.
For a searchable directory of fund names and tickers, use the ETF Directory.
