In most instances, investors are not rewarded for keeping large amounts of cash on the sidelines. The Federal Reserve has seen to that with its zero interest rate policy and even if the Fed does raise rates next year, U.S. interest rates will still be low by historical standards.
That means any Fed rate hike, whenever it finally arrives, will have only a negligible impact on cash instruments such as money markets. However, there are ways investors can deal with this scenario.
Although the newly minted KraneShares E Fund China Commercial Paper ETF (NYSEArca: KCNY) is not a typical cash-stashing avenue, there are compelling reasons why KCNY merits consideration by investors looking to earn something beyond a penance on cash kept in their brokerage accounts.
KCNY, the first Chinese commercial paper ETF to list in the U.S., features an average maturity of just 128 days and a lineup comprised entirely of investment-grade holdings and tracks the CSI Diversified High Grade Commercial Paper Unhedged Index. [Nifty New China Bond ETF]
“Unlike here in the US (and around most developed countries), Chinese investors actually get a return on their money market funds. As a possible solution for the near zero-yield returns that US investors are seeing on their cash, Kraneshares launched the first-ever commercial paper ETF under the ticker symbol KCNY on the NYSE. It’s a highly unique product that requires some due diligence to understand, of course, and it may not be for everyone,” according to The Reformed Broker, Josh Brown.
Look at KCNY this way: An investor that has cash sitting in a Merrill Lynch or TD Ameritrade Account earns 0.01% in interest, but Chinese money markets have delivered 4.9% over the past year, according to KraneShares.