Treasury Selic is the safest investment in Brazil and you already know that, but there are several remunerated digital accounts, such as Pagbank, Nubank, Picpay and Mercado Pago. Where is it best to invest the safety reserve? I’ll show you which one pays the most and for what purpose each strategy fits best, as well as bonus tips that you can see in the video below.
The three pillars of the emergency reserve
To choose where to apply the money from your emergency reserve, just look for investments that obey three pillars: daily liquidity (possibility of using the money whenever you need), high security and predictability of income.
Still confused about your emergency fund? Check here for the best explanation of it.
1. Daily liquidity
Both remunerated digital accounts and the Selic Treasury have daily liquidity.
When requesting the redemption of part of your investments from the Selic Treasury until 1 pm, the money will be available on the same day in your brokerage account used for the application.
If the redemption request occurs after this time, the money can be withdrawn on the next business day.
In paid digital accounts, the money is available to be used whenever you want. Just “swipe the card” and the money that is earning in the account is already spent on the spot.
2. Investment security
You are “in good hands” in any of the above options when it comes to security.
The Treasury Selic is considered the safest investment in Brazil. More even than savings, even yielding almost twice as much.
Paid digital accounts, such as Nubank, Pagbank and Mercado Pago, typically invest their money in CDBs, which are protected by up to R$250,000.
That is, you have a very high degree of security in both options.
3. Income predictability
There is predictability of returns in both applications.
The Treasury Selic is a floating-rate investment since the profit varies as the Selic goes up or down, but it is always positive.
Paid digital accounts normally earn 100% of the CDI, which is equivalent to the effective Selic rate.
Which yields more: Selic Treasury or digital account?
The Selic Treasury usually yields more, but is it always better to invest in it instead of investing in digital accounts?
As the effective Selic and the CDI are equivalent rates of return, but the Treasury Selic yields a bonus above this rate (currently between 0.05% and 0.30% per year), he has an advantage.
In addition, for the first R$ 10 thousand invested, the B3 rate (0.2% per year) is exempt for those who invest in the Selic Treasury.
Even so, I make both applications to take advantage of the convenience of digital accounts.
I leave an amount for day-to-day accounts in a digital account that yields 100% of the CDI and most of my emergency reserve is currently in the Selic Treasury, which has a slightly higher yield.
How much does R$ 1,000 in CDBs earn?
Within most digital accounts there are other investment possibilities. In the video below, I recorded the screen simulating when they earn BRL 1,000 in these applications. In some, the profit almost doubled the capital invested.
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