/ 19 August 2009

Investments that allow access to funds

A reader needs to invest a million rand but also wants to make withdrawals and transactions. Basically it is a long-term investment but with access to money. The reader wants to know if this is possible and which bank is the best bet?

Maya replies: Although you mention that it is a long-term investment, if you want to make regular withdrawals and transactions it sounds like you may need a high-interest-yielding bank account.

Investec Private Bank has a range of cash deposit funds that are extremely attractive for larger deposits. If you can manage your funds and work around a 90-day notice period, the Investec Top5 pays the average of the five highest money market fund rates in South Africa, daily. You do not have to be an existing client and you have access to your funds through Investec online banking and the Investec call centre.

If you only need to access a portion of your funds on a regular basis, you could keep those funds in a cash-like investment and invest the remainder in a low risk growth fund if you have more than a three-year time horizon.