 TITLE: What Are the Best Short-Term Investing Options? CONTENT: High-Yield Savings Account\n--------------------------\nAs the name suggests, a high-yield savings account provides a higher interest rate than a traditional savings account does. The interest rate on a savings account is expressed as APY, or annual percentage yield. Online banks frequently offer higher APYs than regular banks. Why? Because, unlike online banks, regular banks must cover the costs associated with operating bank branches.\nWhile a high-yield account from an online bank might be more attractive than a lower-yield account from a traditional bank, keep in mind that a higher APY might be offset by minimum deposit amounts and minimum (and possibly maximum) balance requirements.\nRemember that an account's APY can fluctuate regularly, based on overall interest rates. As of October 2020, the highest APYs for high-yield savings accounts ranged from 0.80% to 1.10%—that's down from around 2% last year at the same time. However, it handily beats the average standard savings account APY of 0.09%.\nThis investment option is best if you'll need to access your money within the next one or two years.\n*   **Risk level**: Very low. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) insures deposits at member banks up to $250,000, while the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insures deposits at all federal credit unions and most state-chartered credit unions up to $250,000.\n*   **Next step**: Shop around for a high-yield savings account with a financial institution whose deposits are insured. Online banks to check out include Ally, Axos, Chime, CIT, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Synchrony, Varo and Vio. END