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| Author |
Message |
hhsrat
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Investment Option
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Jun 13 02:17 UTC 2000 |
In Sunday's Ann Arbor News, I noticed that the back of the front section
carried an ad for Ann Arbor Commerce bank. They were advertising
accounts bearing at least 5% interest for nonprofits. Minimum balance
$501. They say no maintnence fees, unlimited check writing, and free
first check order.
We had discussed investing some of Grex's funds in PAX (strongly
recommended by Keesan), but I think that it might be better if we put
the money in a local bank. Ann Arbor Commerce Bank has a pretty good
reputation (from what I can tell), and it seems like it would be easier
to deal with a local entity than an out of town entity.
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| 28 responses total. |
jmsaul
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response 1 of 28:
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Jun 13 03:04 UTC 2000 |
PAX? You mean the religious TV network?
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aruba
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response 2 of 28:
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Jun 13 03:41 UTC 2000 |
No. The Pax we've discussed is a money market account from an outfit based
in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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jmsaul
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response 3 of 28:
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Jun 13 04:26 UTC 2000 |
Got it.
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gypsi
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response 4 of 28:
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Jun 13 04:37 UTC 2000 |
<smirks>
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jmsaul
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response 5 of 28:
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Jun 13 04:51 UTC 2000 |
What can I say? The TV station is the only PAX I know about. (It's the only
station our bird's TV pulls in well.)
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gypsi
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response 6 of 28:
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Jun 13 05:59 UTC 2000 |
I know...just found it amusing. =) Wasn't laughing *at* you.
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jmsaul
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response 7 of 28:
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Jun 13 14:54 UTC 2000 |
I wasn't offended. I'm an M-Netter, remember? ;-)
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keesan
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response 8 of 28:
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Jun 13 17:21 UTC 2000 |
PAX says its most recent 7-day average interest on the money market fund is
5.83%. They also have free checks ($250 or over), which could be used to pay
things like the monthly telephone bill, or the annual insurance bill. Minimum
balance $250.
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hhsrat
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response 9 of 28:
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Jun 13 23:39 UTC 2000 |
Sindi, I realize that PAX pays better interest, but they're not a local
entity. I suggested Ann Arbor Commerce Bank because they are a local
entity, with a local presence that we can go to in the event that
there's a problem. It's more a convinience factor than anything else.
Besides, 5% interest is still pretty good.
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don
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response 10 of 28:
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Jun 14 03:24 UTC 2000 |
The question is whether the $40/yr difference in interest is worth using a
nonlocal. I personally doubt it.
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janc
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response 11 of 28:
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Jun 14 04:51 UTC 2000 |
This AACB account seems to be a normal bank account. We could put *all* of
Grex's money in that, because we can write arbitrary sized checks against it.
Having only one account would be less work for the treasurer.
Even if we decided to go to PAX, moving our regular bank account to AACB might
make sense.
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mary
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response 12 of 28:
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Jun 14 10:27 UTC 2000 |
Where would the initial investment be safest and which rate
is more likely to go down, over time?
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keesan
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response 13 of 28:
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Jun 14 11:22 UTC 2000 |
As far as I know money markets have always paid more than bank accounts, and
the share price is stable at $1. What is so wonderful about local banks?
I had a terrible experience with one local bank (GLB/TCF). I get through to
a person at PAX immediately, they are always competent and friendly. They
have free checks, and postage-paid deposit envelopes. I agree that it would
also be a good idea to have a bank account that pays interest, in which to
accumulate the $5 that people send in.
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don
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response 14 of 28:
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Jun 14 13:53 UTC 2000 |
Great, but it's $6 these days.
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hhsrat
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response 15 of 28:
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Jun 14 23:14 UTC 2000 |
GLB/TCF is not a local bank. They're based in Minneapolis - TCF stands
for Twin Cities Financial. AACB is, as far as I can tell, totally
local.
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jmsaul
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response 16 of 28:
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Jun 14 23:51 UTC 2000 |
I'm pretty sure AACB really is local.
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keesan
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response 17 of 28:
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Jun 15 01:55 UTC 2000 |
Why does it make a difference whether you use a local bank or a national
mutual fund company? I prefer the way PAX invests its money, in socially
responsible companies that treat their workers well. But at this point it
would be nice to have grex money somewhere earning more than the 0% it is
currently getting.
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jmsaul
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response 18 of 28:
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Jun 15 03:23 UTC 2000 |
Because some people like to support local businesses, instead of massive
national conglomerates.
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flem
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response 19 of 28:
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Jun 15 04:08 UTC 2000 |
I'm interested in the AACB idea. I've spent a fair amount of time looking
at PAX, and I think I would be fairly comfortable dealing with them. They
seem like a reasonably high-quality organization, and there don't seem to be
any catches, but I do think it would be easier and less scary dealing with
1) a bank, as opposed to an investment firm, 2) a local organization, that
I can get in my car and drive to, and 3) someplace where we could have just
one account to deal with.
It was agreed at the board meeting (we don't have minutes yet, at this
posting. That I'm aware of) that I would go ahead and put somemoney into a
PAX account. I haven't done so yet, but I think that unless there are strong
objections, I'll go ahead and do that, and we can keep debating the idea of
AACB at our leisure.
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keesan
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response 20 of 28:
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Jun 15 12:31 UTC 2000 |
Thanks, Flem. It is very easy to write a check from PAX to a local bank and
vice versa. The PAX people are the only mutual fund company I could find that
encourages people to open small money market accounts (the others all require
something like $1000 minimum, and $500 deposits or withdrawals, and PAX is
only $250 on all counts). They have a service-oriented approach and encourage
their 'members' to also donate to projects that they are sponsoring in poor
countries. Read about them at www.paxfund.com (I think that is the URL).
Personally, I think it is rather selfish to only support local businesses
(other than local farmers and manufacturers - which cuts down on shipping).
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jmsaul
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response 21 of 28:
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Jun 15 13:54 UTC 2000 |
I'm sorry, but shipping isn't the only consideration. If you want local
businesses to continue to exist, and if you like the personalized service you
can get from a local business, you need to patronize them.
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keesan
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response 22 of 28:
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Jun 15 15:55 UTC 2000 |
So how does a local branch of a national bank differ from a local branch of
a local bank in this respect? Don't they all give personal service?
(I do much prefer the service at Bank of Ann Arbor to TCF, but this is nto
necessarily a matter of where the owners live, rather of who is managing it).
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jmsaul
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response 23 of 28:
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Jun 15 17:09 UTC 2000 |
They differ in that AACB was founded in Ann Arbor, is headquartered in Ann
Arbor, cares about the city, and only operates here. I don't bank there
because I've had an account at the UM Credit Union for years, but people who
do have told me that tellers remember your name and bank executives will
actually sit down and talk to you if you have a problem. Since the owners
are right there in the same building, they're able to make sure things run
smoothly.
Places like TCF/Comerica/etc don't have any concern for the community, and
really don't care about individuals or small businesses because they're so
big you don't matter to them.
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don
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response 24 of 28:
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Jun 18 04:36 UTC 2000 |
re 20, not to offer yet another alternative, but TIAA-Cref has a money-market
account with a $250 minimum open, $25 minimum deposit, and $250 minimum check.
There's a limit on the check-writing, but I don't think it would be
constrictive to thw way we would use it. I'm not advocating Cref over PAX;
I'm just saying that alternatives *do* exist.
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