Don't Lose Interest: Managing Cash in Your Brokerage Account
You probably wouldn't dream of leaving piles of cash lying around your home. But many investors end up doing this with cash in their brokerage accounts. Uninvested cash is a potentially valuable part of your investment portfolio. So it pays to pay attention to it, especially when interest rates move up or down. You should know the facts about your uninvested cash, the different cash management programs available and questions to ask.
When you open a brokerage account, a firm typically asks you to select a cash management program for uninvested cash in your account. You may have cash that's not invested because you deposited money in your account, you received cash dividends or interest, or you sold one or more of your investments.
A cash management program ensures that your uninvested cash is available to you when you're ready to invest it or use it for something else, like paying bills. Some cash management programs let you pay your expenses directly or provide you with a debit card and check writing.
Source Fool.com
