A few readers have asked for some performance updates on my Save app Market Savings investment, where your principal is FDIC-insured but the interest is linked to market returns via investments in index ETFs. If you put in $10,000 for example, you’ll always get $10,000 back no matter what. However, unlike a bank certificate, your interest is invested in things like stocks and not guaranteed. You might get 8% ($800), you might get 0% ($0). Please see my full Save App review for more details.

Here are some actual (not back-tested) returns for their multiple investment options. You can find previous numbers for January and February here. I personally picked the middle-of-the-road Moderate portfolio.

Here are overall numbers for the different portfolios in April 2023:

Here are the numbers for the overall market in April 2023:

S&P 500 gained +1.6% after finishing the month strongly, and most other major asset classes also made small monthly gains following a strong final week. International equities (excl. US) gained +1.4%, gold +0.9%, high-yield US corporate bonds +0.1%, US 7-10y treasuries +0.8% (10y US rates declined very slightly month-on-month), while oil gained +1.6% following five consecutive prior monthly declines. The US Dollar fell -0.5% (versus a basket of developed market currencies). All of these returns are based on representative ETFs.

Here are the numbers specifically for the Moderate portfolio in April 2023:

The Moderate portfolio gained +0.26%, driven by equities (+0.24%), while all other asset classes had roughly flat contributions. The largest positive contributions came from the iShares MSCI India ETF (+0.05%) and Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (+0.04%); all negative contributions were small: around -0.01% each from the iShares TIPS Bond ETF, which holds US Treasury inflation-protected bonds, and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF.
April Performance +0.26%

Here are the numbers for the overall market in May 2023:

S&P 500 gained +0.5% while most other major asset classes declined. International equities (excl. US) fell -1.9%, gold -1.3%, high-yield US corporate bonds -1.2%, US 7-10y treasuries -1.4%, and oil -10.2%. The US Dollar rose +3.1% (versus a basket of developed market currencies). All of these returns are based on representative ETFs.

Here are the numbers specifically for the Moderate portfolio in May 2023 (they stopped providing the full chart with different portfolios):

Global Diversified Markets Moderate
May Performance -0.94%
The Moderate portfolio declined -0.94%, driven by the broad market decline across asset classes: equities contributed -0.46%, bonds -0.33%, and commodities -0.14%. The largest negative contributions came from the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (-0.14%), which holds companies involved in the gold mining industry, and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (-0.13%). The only notable positive contributor was the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (+0.08%) which benefited from the tech rally.

Here is what is held in my “Moderate” Portfolio:

My personal returns.. Here’s a screenshot from my Save app dashboard, which shows that I invested $1,000 in mid-December 2022. This does not include the returns from my “extra” $5,000 bonus investment (explained below). I don’t really pay much attention to these numbers because I am committed for a full year and just like with the stock market, my final numbers may not look anything like this by the end of my term.

The primary reason I was inclined to make this investment was that by opening via a referral link (that’s mine, if you need more info please contact me directly), I was able to get an extra $5,000 in “equivalent investments”. This means I’ll get my $1,000 back after a year, plus the interest amount as if I held $6,000 total. This improves my range of potential outcomes, since 8% of $1,000 is $80 but 8% of $6,000 is $480.

Finally, I was surprised to learn that the returns on Save app are taxed as long-term capital gains due to the fact that you are investing in lieu of receiving interest and holding it for at least a full year. For any given income level, the long-term capital gains rate is usually lower than how traditional bank interest is treated (ordinary income). See this blog post for details.

Excess returns will go in my Project Free IRA Goal for 2023.

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Save App Market Savings: Actual Performance Numbers (April & May 2023) from My Money Blog.

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