Money-market mutual funds often provide investors the best instrument for parking their cash reserves. They combine safety and the ability to write large checks against your fund balance, generally in amounts of at least $250. Interest earnings continue until the checks clear. Interest rates on these funds generally ranged from 1 to 5 percent during the first decade of the 2000s. In 2014, however, interest rates were very low and money-fund yields were near zero.
