Calvert Insured Account

The Calvert Insured Plus Account is a federally insured money market account that is offered by a mutual fund management. Sound confusing? Calvert Funds makes this product available by utilizing Acacia Federal Savings Bank (Falls Church, VA), Shorebank Pacific (Ilwaco, WA), and Shorebank (Chicago, IL) as participating banks and offers insurance up to $200,000 per depositor by using more than one bank for deposits of over $100,00. Rates are pegged to U.S. Treasury yields, but the money market account yield is not an index and the 7-day effective yield of 4.47% is about 25 basis points below the current 90-day T-Bill yield.

from the prospectus for the Calvert Insured Plus Account:

“Seeks to provide the highest level of interest in a federally insured account with liquidity and safety. Deposits in Calvert Insured Plus are distributed among several of the nation’s premier FDIC-insured savings institutions. By spreading assets among multiple institutions, your Insured Plus deposits offer a higher level of FDIC coverage compared to a deposit in a single banking institution. Currently, deposits in Calvert Insured Plus benefit from FDIC insurance coverage up to a total of $200,000. Calvert Insured Plus is not a mutual fund.”

Calvert Insured Plus Account Performance:

Year-To-Date Return: (No Sales Charge) 2.57%

7-Day Current Yield: 4.38%

7-Day Effective Yield: 4.47%

3-year Average Annual Return: 4.45%

5-year Average Annual Return: 3.28%

10-year Average Annual Return: 2.13%

Minimum Initial Investment $2,000
Minimum Initial Investment for IRA $1,000
Minimum Subsequent Investment $250

SUMMARY - The Calvert Insured Plus Account is technically a higher level of safety than mutual fund money market because investors are offered FDIC-insurance and the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. In addition, the convenience of using one bank rather two banks for depositors with over $100,000 to invest is an attractive feature. The effective yield and the annual returns earned by the account are not as competiive as the highest yielding bank money markets or mutual fund money markets that can be found, but does beat national averages. After commissions and transaction fees the yield is comparable to buying U.S. Treasuries directly, but are not subject to market fluctuations and re-pricing like Treasuries. One final note, this account offers check-writing privileges and low minimum deposits to of the most commonly asked questions regarding new investment ideas here at The Savings Investor.

More information here.