Editorial Policy and Assessment Methodologies
MoneyRates takes responsibility for the accuracy of the information and the opinions published in its articles, reviews, and research studies. All MoneyRates writers — staff and freelance contributors — must ensure that their articles are fact-based, truthful, and reflect their honest opinions. This approach applies to all editorial content on the site, including research studies, product reviews, investment strategies, and Federal Reserve updates. The opinions expressed on MoneyRates are the author’s alone, not those of the bank advertiser. Editorial content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser.
If we have made an error, or if our information is misleading, we welcome the opportunity to correct it.
MoneyRates does not receive compensation from any company, product, or person mentioned in our editorial content, including assessments unless it has been specifically disclosed in the article. If we feature an article by a third party — one that does not feature an assessment — we include the word “Sponsored” next to the byline or in another prominent location above the fold. If an advertiser decides to sponsor a page written by one of our writers, the editorial content is strictly ours and reflects the honest opinions of our writers and the research they conducted. In this case, we would also indicate that the article is “Sponsored.”
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Product Assessments and Rankings
MoneyRates features product rankings in order to help consumers decide which products fit their needs. All of our assessments are based on extensive research and analysis by our MoneyRates team; they are independent of any relationships we have with advertisers. The conclusions represented in our rankings are based on data and the expertise of the MoneyRates editorial team. Details about the methodology used for each of our assessments are listed below.
Best Account Rates
MoneyRatespiles rates on approximately 1,700 deposit products from over 500 U.S. banking institutions. Rates are gathered weekly from institution websites and from other sources as appropriate. In the gray listings of the account rates table, we feature the rates we have compiled, ranked from the highest to the lowest rates. We feature advertisers in white above those listings.
Best Online Brokers
The MoneyRates study of Best Online Brokers examined 18 prominent online brokers based on seven different criteria: stock trading commissions, account minimums, maintenance/inactivity fees, margin rates, ratings for mobile applications, availability of basic product information on the broker’s main website and research resources. These criteria were sorted into four different categories to determine the best firms for small investors, margin investors, mobile investors, and research resources. Average rankings across these categories were used to determine the overall rankings of the best online brokers.
America’s Best Rates
The MoneyRates America’s Best Rates study is based on the MoneyRates Index, which is a universe of 100 banks structured to represent a cross-section of the U.S. banking industry by comprising 50 of the largest banks, along with 25 medium-sized banks and 25 small banks. Savings account and money market rates applicable at the $10,000 rate tier are collected throughout the quarter and averaged to determine each product’s rate for the quarter. Top ten lists for savings accounts and money market accounts are produced each quarter, and average rankings for the past year are used to determine a list of the best savings and money market account for the new year.