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If you’re holding cash right now, there’s a decent chance it’s still sitting in a big-bank savings account earning close to nothing.
Not because you haven’t looked around, but because moving money always feels like it should come with a reason, not just a marginal bump in yield.
That’s the spot a lot of people are in: emergency cash handled, no rush to buy stocks, but also no desire to watch money quietly lose ground to inflation.
This is where a certain real estate fund starts to make sense. Instead of earning fractions of a percent in a traditional savings account, some investors are earning around 4.0% in income, paid out as dividends — roughly 10 times more than the national average savings rate, depending on where your cash is parked.
It’s not a savings account, and it’s not meant to be. It’s a next-layer option for money you want working harder without jumping straight into stocks or buying a rental property yourself.
The fund comes from Arrived and is structured as a private real estate investment trust focused on single-family rental homes.
Instead of buying one property and dealing with tenants, repairs, and vacancies, investors buy shares in a diversified pool of homes spread across multiple U.S. markets.
At last update, the fund held dozens of properties and more than $20 million in net assets, with rental income distributed to investors through regular dividend payments.
The strategy is deliberately boring in the best way: focus on growing metro areas, strong renter demand, and properties that are meant to produce steady cash flow rather than speculative upside.
Over time, investors get exposure to both rental income and potential long-term appreciation, without needing to manage anything directly.
The math behind the headline isn’t complicated — it’s just jarring when you see it laid out.
National average savings account rates still hover around 0.4%–0.6% APY, depending on the survey and timing. While high-yield accounts exist, most people’s everyday bank savings still sit near those lower averages.
Set that next to a 4.0% dividend yield, and the comparison becomes obvious.
On $10,000, a typical savings account might generate $40–$60 per year. At a 4% yield, that same $10,000 could generate around $400 annually in dividend income, assuming payouts remain similar.
That gap, not marketing, is what drives interest here.
One reason this fund gets attention is accessibility. The minimum investment starts at $100, which lowers the barrier significantly compared to buying property outright or even some private real estate deals.
That makes it easier to treat this as a test allocation rather than a major commitment. You can start small, see how the dividends feel, and decide later whether it earns a larger role in your portfolio.
Arrived also limits how much any single investor can contribute to a given fund to maintain diversification and regulatory structure, which helps prevent a small number of investors from dominating the pool.
This is where expectations matter.
A savings account prioritizes liquidity and protection. Your money is FDIC-insured, accessible daily, and designed to be there when you need it, even if the yield is minimal.
This fund prioritizes income and long-term growth. Your principal is tied to real estate values, there’s no FDIC insurance, and liquidity is limited. Redemptions typically aren’t available until after a six-month lockup, and early exits can carry a small fee.
In simple terms: savings accounts are for safety and immediacy. This fund is for money you don’t need tomorrow, but would like to earn more than 0.4% while it sits.
This isn’t about replacing your emergency fund or chasing yield at all costs. It’s about what comes after that.
For investors who already have their cash buffer covered and want the next layer of money to do more than tread water, a 4%-yielding real estate fund (starting from just $100) offers a clear step up from the traditional savings account world.
Not flashier. Not risk-free. Just a more productive place for idle cash that’s ready to work a little harder.
This article This Real Estate Fund Pays 10x More Than the Average Savings Account – Invest From Just $100 originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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