Just wondering if anyone has recommended this for a client.
Thanks for any input!
How to choose the best HSA
Some HSAs are only savings accounts while others feature an investment option. Those who want to invest should consider the range and type of investments, fees and flexibility.
Wells Fargo, for instance, offers six or seven of its own mutual funds and allows customers to transfer money between savings and investments without charge.
HSA Bank gives customers access to 11,000 mutual funds and the ability to buy stocks through an agreement with TD AmeriTrade. The account is free. AmeriTrade charges $9.95 per trade.
"If you aren't trading, it's not costing you anything extra," Hoewisch says.
Not that many people take advantage of the health savings account investment feature -- if Wells Fargo's experience holds true across the industry. Ryan says 87 percent of the HSA funds that Wells Fargo administers are in cash or money market funds.
"Very little of (the total) is invested in a mutual fund, and that's because the balances are very small," she says.
Savings accounts are insured, up to certain limits, by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which protects savers from loss if a bank goes out of business. Investment accounts don't have this protection.
Thanks for any input!
How to choose the best HSA
Some HSAs are only savings accounts while others feature an investment option. Those who want to invest should consider the range and type of investments, fees and flexibility.
Wells Fargo, for instance, offers six or seven of its own mutual funds and allows customers to transfer money between savings and investments without charge.
HSA Bank gives customers access to 11,000 mutual funds and the ability to buy stocks through an agreement with TD AmeriTrade. The account is free. AmeriTrade charges $9.95 per trade.
"If you aren't trading, it's not costing you anything extra," Hoewisch says.
Not that many people take advantage of the health savings account investment feature -- if Wells Fargo's experience holds true across the industry. Ryan says 87 percent of the HSA funds that Wells Fargo administers are in cash or money market funds.
"Very little of (the total) is invested in a mutual fund, and that's because the balances are very small," she says.
Savings accounts are insured, up to certain limits, by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which protects savers from loss if a bank goes out of business. Investment accounts don't have this protection.
