Should You Bank With Your Brokerage?

By CHANELLE BESSETTE of NerdWallet

Cash management accounts are offered by brokerages and provide many banking-like services, such as checking and savings. CMAs tend to have above-average interest rates, and they can make money management and investing easy. But interest rates aren’t as high as they used to be, and these accounts are usually online-only, so customer service will be done remotely. Brokerages usually partner with banks behind the scenes to provide FDIC insurance on CMAs. Consumers can consider their lifestyle needs to see if these accounts would be a useful alternative to a traditional bank account.