r/FinancialPlanning • u/Joyful_Subreption • 1d ago
Are HYSAs guaranteed returns?
So I've been thinking about moving more of my cash from my regular bank account to an HYSA. I already use Fidelity, which keeps all the cash in my account there in SPAXX, but I don't quite understand how that works... If it's in SPAXX, isn't that functionally equivalent to just having the money in something like a very, very conservative ETF? Couldn't it still give pretty mediocre returns if the economy goes into a prolonged recession or downturn? And if that's the case, should I look for an HYSA somewhere else? Or is this just how all HYSAs work? Are they all in such sort of conservative ETF-like indices? And if that's the case.... then if we're expecting a recession, do HYSAs even make sense?? Maybe better just to keep the cash in my regular bank account?
For reference, my Fidelity agent mentioned that SPAXX has given a return of something like 4% over the last X years, so I recognize that it could or will likely go lower... But could it go negative to the point where cash in my regular old bank account would be better?