Savings account vs. money market fund

Two safe forms of investment compared directly – with a crucial difference for large amounts.

Return (2025/2026):

• Overnight money (direct banks): 2.0–3.4% (higher with new-customer offers)
• Overnight money (Sparkasse): often only 0.5–1.0%
• Money market funds: 2.2–2.9% (based on the ECB deposit rate of 2.0%)

Safety – the big difference:

Overnight money:

✅ Deposit protection up to €100,000 per person per bank
❌ Over €100,000: NO protection (if the bank goes bust, the money is gone)

Money market funds:

✅ Segregated assets – fully protected if the fund company becomes insolvent
✅ NO upper limit – even €500,000 is safe
❌ Minimal price fluctuations possible (overnight money: zero)

Availability:

• Overnight money: immediately (instant transfer)
• Money market funds: T+1 to T+2 (1–2 banking days)

Recommendation:

• Under €100,000: overnight money is enough (deposit protection applies)
• Over €100,000: use money market funds (segregated asset protection deposit protection)
• Poor interest at your main bank: a money market fund via your securities account (0.10% TER) instead of 0.5% Sparkasse overnight money