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11-10-2005, 06:54 AM
I'm researching some options to put away about $200K of the savings of a student government group of a large public unversity. The only considerable options are ones with low or very little risk. We plan to split the amount in half, one for short term expenses and the other half for long term savings.

Any ideas beside CDs? I'll probably be calling around all the major banks tomorrow to see what options I have. I'm considering Citi for their CD offerings since they offer better rates than other large banks and I doubt I'll get any favorable treatment since $200K is under most of the requirements for most large banks' private banking and wealth management options. I also doubt I'll consider INGDirect or Emigrant due to being only useable online.

Any other options? Should I consider bond funds or other fixed income offerings particular to my local state to receive any favorable tax benefits? Does the school student government even receive favorable tax benefits (I know we're legally a non-profit group)?

Sniper
11-10-2005, 07:37 AM
You should inquire if the University offers a mechanism for managing those funds for you along with the rest of it's endowment $$$.

midas
11-10-2005, 11:46 AM
Like Sniper said, if you can ride with the endowment $$$ go for it. If not, short term risk free $$$ should be in money market accounts that give you the best rates - online banks and credit unions have low overhead thus high rates, big banks do not. For the other $$$, I would buy an intermediate bond fund with low expense ratios to avoid long-term interest rate risk.