# Best place (term deposit, bonds, etc) to put cash for 6 months??



## dirkdiggler444 (17 October 2008)

Hi all, anyone have any advice on the best place to put some cash (10k) for 6 months?  Not looking at shares ATM, want something low risk.  Went to 

http://www.smh.com.au/business/money/tools/comparators/banking/termdeposits.html

and found I can get 8% for term deposit at BankWest.  8.2% at Elders Rural.  Any advice?  Should I steer clear of the little guy because they're inheritantly not as safe as the big 4?

What about bonds and debentures?  are these in nature riskier than a term deposit?? As there as some well know names and some possibly shady characters listed under debentures.

Appreciate it.


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## Julia (17 October 2008)

Given that the government has guaranteed all bank deposits, it wouldn't seem to make much difference which bank you choose.


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## johnnyg (17 October 2008)

Regular Saver @ Bankwest returns 9%, all you have to do is deposit between $50 and $500 a month.

Will be looking at this account once my term deposit ends.


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## gfresh (17 October 2008)

I just opened a 5 month term deposit with St George @ 7.51% .. 

I'd advise getting in quick, because a couple I was interested in dropped the rates literally 1-2 days before I was ready to go 

Suncorp has 8% for 12 months, that would seem like a good offer if you want to lock in a high rate for a good period. RBA interest rates may well be 4% in 12 months time, giving you only 4.x% or similar by then. 

The deposit guarantee is the only reason I felt safe putting it into a smaller bank, so it's probably a good thing to allow small institutions to get capital.


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## dirkdiggler444 (17 October 2008)

How can you find out which banks/institutions are covered by the prime ministers guarantee?

There appear to be a lot of smaller companies I have never heard of, and may from off shore.  From what I know, its only Australian based insitutions that are covered, is that right?


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## skc (17 October 2008)

dirkdiggler444 said:


> How can you find out which banks/institutions are covered by the prime ministers guarantee?
> 
> There appear to be a lot of smaller companies I have never heard of, and may from off shore.  From what I know, its only Australian based insitutions that are covered, is that right?




All banks, building societies, credit unions and Australian subsidiaries of foreign banks are covered for the next 3 years. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/12/2388757.htm 

When you say smaller companies, make sure they are approved deposit taking institutions (there is a list under APRA website), and not just some finance companies that take your money for other purposes.

Be mindful also of debentures which are form of corporate debt and definitely not covered by the government guarantee.


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## dirkdiggler444 (17 October 2008)

Just for peoples info, best I could find was Bank Of Qld with 7.55% for 5 months, however you have to apply in person at a branch, which I can't do, so going for AMP with 7.3% for 5 months.  Thanks for the input


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## experttipps (17 October 2008)

visit Govt Treasury site for list of banks covered etc

http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/1424/HTML/docshell.asp?URL=default.htm


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## johnnyg (17 October 2008)

dirkdiggler444 said:


> Just for peoples info, best I could find was Bank Of Qld with 7.55% for 5 months, however you have to apply in person at a branch, which I can't do, so going for AMP with 7.3% for 5 months.  Thanks for the input










And its not even a Term Deposit. Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly. So if you needed to get your cash out in a hurry you could wait until the end of the month and pull your cash, instead of breaking a Term deposit and loosing interest.


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## rederob (17 October 2008)

gfresh said:


> Suncorp has 8% for 12 months, that would seem like a good offer if you want to lock in a high rate for a good period. RBA interest rates may well be 4% in 12 months time, giving you only 4.x% or similar by then.



Rolled over a term deposit on Tuesday with named bank for mentioned term on basis of the exact sentiment shown!
Plus, can't see the economy getting back into "bull" mode for at least another year.


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## Nyden (17 October 2008)

johnnyg said:


> And its not even a Term Deposit. Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly. So if you needed to get your cash out in a hurry you could wait until the end of the month and pull your cash, instead of breaking a Term deposit and loosing interest.




The problem is that there is a max opening deposit of $500. You may only deposit $500 a month as well ... paltry amounts, really. Good for children, but for such low amounts - a few % really doesn't matter anyway


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## johnnyg (17 October 2008)

Nyden said:


> The problem is that there is a max opening deposit of $500. You may only deposit $500 a month as well ... paltry amounts, really. Good for children, but for such low amounts - a few % really doesn't matter anyway




Ah yes indeed Nyden, now that I opened the PDF file I see. Going from their main account page it only stipulates "Simply deposit between $50 and $500 per month, with no withdrawals and we'll reward you with 9% p.a. interest and no account fees."


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## Nyden (17 October 2008)

johnnyg said:


> Ah yes indeed Nyden, now that I opened the PDF file I see. Going from their main account page it only stipulates "Simply deposit between $50 and $500 per month, with no withdrawals and we'll reward you with 9% p.a. interest and no account fees."




Yes, always good to read the fine print  If it seems too good to be true ... so much wisdom in that phrase.


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## michael_selway (18 October 2008)

Nyden said:


> Yes, always good to read the fine print  If it seems too good to be true ... so much wisdom in that phrase.




hehe yeah but Bank West still the best out there @ 8.1%pa

http://www.ratecity.com.au/savings-accounts/highest-rates/

thx

MS


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## GreatPig (18 October 2008)

For personal deposits only, there's also UBank, a subsidiary of NAB. They're offering 8% for 3 months or 7.5% for 6 months.

Note that the 8.1% for BankWest is only until the end of December.

GP


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