In case you missed it, yesterday's Wall Street Journal featured the article, "'Safe' Products May Pose Risks For Investors". It said, "As markets swing wildly, financial firms are seeking to lure skittish investors with products that tout consistent monthly payouts, set levels of return or protection of your principal. Such products may soothe investors' frayed nerves, allaying their fears of further market declines or of outliving their retirement assets. But they can also come with pitfalls, such as high fees, and their complex strategies may ultimately give investors less peace of mind than advertised." Also, see the mention of money funds in Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's "Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress". It says, "Losses at a prominent money market mutual fund prompted investors, who had traditionally considered money market mutual funds to be virtually risk-free, to withdraw large amounts from such funds. The resulting outflows threatened the stability of short-term funding markets, particularly the commercial paper market, upon which corporations rely heavily for their short-term borrowing needs."
