As Interest Rates Drop, Advisors Debate Where to Stash Cash [Video]

Does holding cash still make sense amid this new monetary environment? Nervous consumers have long relied on cash during tumultuous times. Still, a recent Cardrates survey reveals 70% of Americans think the U.S. is becoming a cashless society. However, 77% don’t think it should be.

The Investment Company Institute (ICI) says retail investors’ assets in money market funds have grown $951 billion since 2022. Meanwhile, just one day before U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s historic call to cut, the ICI Money Market Funds report showed total money market assets stood at a landmark high of $6.3 trillion.

Parking idle cash in money market funds proved popular amid the Federal Reserve’s two-year rate-hiking cycle. However, following the Fed’s first rate cut in September, with more cuts anticipated before year-end, many investment professionals and individual investors are looking elsewhere for greater rewards and fewer downsides.

Investors have had a wild ride recently. The stock market suffered heavy losses …