EverBank has some great savings products. Check out their unique offerings in the savings account space.
If you’re on the lookout for innovative bank products (like I am) then you may want to turn your attention to EverBank. I’ve been keeping up with them because they are one of the few resources I’ve found that offered interesting financial products that I couldn’t find anywhere else. Plus, they handily address a lot of my personal investment requirements.
Here’s the quick scoop. While EverBank provides many financial services from mortgage banking to investing, they’re actually quite well known for their online banking and consumer products, from high yield checking and high interest savings accounts to money market accounts and CDs that are denominated in both U.S. and foreign currencies. Considered as one of the largest online banks in the U.S., EverBank has received the Forbes “Best of The Web” recognition from 2000 to 2005.
EverBank’s High Yield Investment Accounts
Here’s a quick summary of their product offerings, which are mostly safe savings accounts with a few intriguing exceptions:
1. Yield Pledge Checking Account
For a no monthly fee high interest checking account, you can take a look at EverBank’s Yield Pledge Checking Account. This account was formerly known as the FreeNet Checking Account but has since been renamed. They do require an opening minimum balance of $1,500, but if you can afford it, you may want to check out this account for the following features:
- The yield promises to be in the “top 5% of competitive accounts” across leading banks (as per their “yield pledge”. Currently you’ll make 6X more than the national average with this account.
- There’s no minimum balance required to receive interest.
- There are NO monthly charges and NO debit card fees.
- You will be reimbursed for all ATM fees, regardless of which ATM you decide to use if you maintain at least $5,000 in your account.
- They are of course, covered by the FDIC.
- Online bill pay is free for accounts that contain at least $5K as an average daily balance. Also, online and mobile banking are free.
- They’ll pay you $50 if you decide to take your business elsewhere ($50 satisfaction guarantee!).
- Numerous awards including Money Magazine’s “Best of Breed” and Kiplinger’s “Best Checking Account”.
- Receive a bonus rate of 1.05% for the first 6 months as a new customer.
2. Yield Pledge Money Market Account
Another FDIC insured product, the EverBank Yield Pledge Money Market Account has a .91% APY. For a limited time, there’s also a new 6 month bonus rate of 1.05% for new accounts (just like with the checking account). They also require an opening balance of at least $1,500. Note that this account is only free if you maintain at least $5,000 in your account, otherwise it’ll cost you $8.95 a month to keep your money here. Given the relatively lower savings rates at this time, you may get more mileage from the Yield Pledge Checking account, which has some pretty attractive features that are focused on lowering costs instead.
3. Yield Pledge Certificate of Deposit
The EverBank Yield Pledge CD is described as a high yielding certificate of deposit (relatively speaking) that is covered by EverBank’s “yield pledge”, which simply means that the bank ensures that their yields will always be at the top 5% of competitive accounts. Their rates range from 0.51% APY for a 3 month CD all the way to 1.81% APY for a 5 year CD. Accounts are FDIC insured. The only downside is that they require a minimum opening balance of $1,500. Some other great features? You can opt for automatic rollovers or ask to be notified by a bank representative when your CD is about to mature (notifications occur 20 days prior to maturity).
4. WorldCurrency CDs
Okay now we come to the fun part! This is what I particularly appreciate about EverBank — they have a series of “WorldCurrency” products which I look upon as great diversifiers for any investment portfolio. Here’s what I mean: for foreign exposure, most of us own foreign equity mutual funds and ETFs. But there are also other ways to invest globally, which Everbank addresses in some of their products. They have several foreign currency based CDs, but these carry with them the currency risk inherent in international investments. So it’s safe to say that they’re only FDIC insured for bank insolvency, not for fluctuations in the value of your investment. If you’re interested in exploring diversification through foreign currencies, then you can check out the following products:
- The EverBank WorldCurrency Single CD is a single currency certificate of deposit. Each CD allows you to invest in one of 17 foreign currencies where you’ll be earning interest at specific country rates.
- The EverBank WorldCurrency Basket CD is a multi-currency CD that diversifies your funds across several foreign currencies. There are several such Basket CDs available that have between 3 to 6 currencies per security, grouped together according to certain commonalities: there’s the Commodity Basket CD, Debt Free Basket CD, European Opportunity Basket CD, Pacific Advantage Basket CD… you get the picture.
- World Currency Access Deposit Account: If you don’t want to be locked into a fixed term, then there’s the WC Access Deposit Account, which is a money market account that allows you to invest in foreign currencies. This would be a pure currency play. It looks like you’ll need some money to spare for this account, since it requires a relatively higher deposit of at least $2,500. Like all other CDs of this type, it has NO monthly fees.
- Then there’s the EverBank WorldCurrency Global Power Shift Basket CD, which is invested in multiple currencies in one certificate of deposit. This product is regarded as a foreign currency CD containing 4 currencies in a basket currently comprised of the Norwegian krone, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and Brazilian real. It’s an optimal diversifying agent for any investment portfolio which earns interest at local currency rates (units are converted back to U.S dollars or rolled over upon maturity). It has a high deposit requirement of $20,000, with holding periods and terms that are for 3 and 6 months.
For more on foreign currency investments and research, check out this link!
5. MarketSafe CD
If you’re nervous about the volatility that stocks and currency exchange rates bring, then here’s the perfect product for you: the EverBank MarketSafe CD. What’s interesting is that this offering only comes around once in a while based on current market conditions, so you’ll need to apply for an account prior to a particular deadline (the last application deadline was on October 8, 2009) in order to participate in it.
The MarketSafe BRIC CD has a term of 3 years and gives you exposure to the 4 BRIC currencies: the Brazilian real, Russian ruble, Indian rupee and Chinese renminbi. Basically, you’ll make money if the BRIC currencies gain against the dollar upon the CD’s maturity at the end of its 3 year term. If your investment does not increase or goes down in value, you won’t be losing any money. In this case, you’ll get 100% of your principal back after the 3 years is up. So there’s no downside (except the potential loss of interest over 3 years)! It requires a reasonable $1,500 minimum deposit.
It’s something I’m seriously contemplating on as a great way to diversify my international holdings. You’ll need to check up on it now if you want to be part of their next offering.
EverBank IRAs
All these products are available through both regular and IRA accounts. There are a whole slew of investment and savings options that are available with EverBank, many of which are not readily available through other banks. If you are looking for no-risk accounts, you can check out their Yield Pledge products. On the other hand, if you’re more interested in diversified foreign CDs or precious metals investments (which aren’t considered staples in most banks), then do take a look at EverBank’s commodity baskets (e.g. WorldCurrency CD baskets and Metals Select Gold and Silver accounts). You can also open an EverTrade brokerage account to trade traditional equity and bond securities.
Created September 3, 2009. Updated March 22, 2012. Copyright © 2012 The Digerati Life. All Rights Reserved.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Sweet. I have been looking for a saving/checking account with a decent return and all I found was stuff that was less than 1 percent. It’s interesting that the checking account has a better return than a 3 month cd.
You’re right, the principal guarantee is the best offer out there. If you think inflation is going to be a problem in the future, then the commodity index CD would be a fantastic decision, because even if most economists get it wrong and the economy goes through a deflationary period first, your principal is protected. You get all of the upside, and none of the downside. It ends up being an FDIC insured investment.
Sad but true that 1.5 – 2.5% is considered a good return nowadays.
I would say Far Eastern and South American Sovereign bonds offer 8% + with minimal risk.
Stories about failing banks make front page news, eclipsing a lot of the more positive events that occur in the banking industry. But EverBank is one of those institutions that seems to have bucked this economic trend.
EverBank is actually the first online savings bank I took an interest in. I mentioned them on this site a while back, while covering a fascinating investment topic, which was on how to hedge for inflation. During my research, I stumbled on EverBank as the one bank that offered products, particularly high interest savings accounts, that addressed some of my diversification needs (through their foreign currency products). Well, they’ve done extremely well during the past year, when they reported positive earnings gains during a time of turmoil in the banking industry.
Thanks for the insights on this bank. I’ve heard about the news on EverBank acquisitions as well, which I plan to read up on.
EverBank has actually been looking to make acquisitions and they’ve actually just recently acquired a financial company called Tygris Commercial Finance Group Inc, which they targeted for diversification purposes. The acquisition is expected to provide more commercial exposure to EverBank, whose primary business is in retail banking. They also believe that this transaction will help increase their capital base and boost their earnings. It’s obvious that EverBank is doing more than a few things right here, they were one of those institutions that sidestepped the subprime mortgage meltdown thereby keeping their powder dry. Now they are in a great position to grow. It’s always good to be in a position of financial strength.
Do you think Everbank is better than ING?
@Ganesh,
I actually like both banks. ING Direct is a favorite among many people I know (and bloggers). ING’s rates aren’t as good as far as I know. EverBank’s base rate for their money market account is 1.51% (their bonus rate is 2.51%). ING Direct’s Orange Savings is at 1.30%. Also, I like the foreign currency products at EverBank: again, they’re the only U.S. bank I know that offers these types of products. If you want to compare rates, then check out my post here.
Be aware that the minimum OPENING balance is $1500 for the money market. The minimum balance to avoid a fee is $5000. If you drop below that, they charge $8.95 a month.
@Aryn,
Thanks for clarifying. And to add to this, EverBank is geared towards higher net worth people in general (or the higher end of the mass market). So I’d like to emphasize that this online bank is a solid company that caters to a “mass affluent” customer base; if you can afford their minimum balances (typically $1,500 per account), then they’re a great choice for your basic banking needs. They’re also known for relatively higher yields compared to their retail banking counterparts.
EverBank is definitely targeted towards the higher end of the net worth scale. Several years ago, they allowed independent advisors to offer their products to clients and had a nice report for advisors to track assets, etc. for clients. The idea being that if an individual is already working with an independent advisor, they are likely to have a higher net worth than the average bank customer and present a lower amount of risk when it comes to lending. This reduced risk and access to more client deposit dollars allows them to more effectively offer competitive rates. As noted, their yields are stout and the Yield Pledge Money Market Account is the best in the business (as far as I’m concerned anyway).
Thanks for this review. I’d like to add it to our bank review section.
Thanks Kristen, that would be great! 🙂
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the American Express Personal Savings account, which currently gets 1.70% APY — the high end of things, and it’s not a teaser rate. I believe it’s no minimum balance, and according to the troubled asset ratio chart, they have a pretty low percentage (which is how I found them). Their online interface is nothing to write home about, and the accounts are completely separated from the credit card account web site, but it’s decent enough.
We’ve banked with Everbank since 2006. Everything works flawlessly. We didn’t choose them primarily for their products but rather for their philosophy and management style. We recognized problems in the banking industry at the time we switched and felt Everbank would weather the storm. Return OF principal was far more important to us than return ON principal, but in this case it was a win on both counts. In this day and age, trust is becoming more and more of a consideration as FDIC insurance does not have enough wherewithal to backstop the entire banking industry without destroying the dollar and Everbank’s product offerings of precious metals and alternative currencies reflects this most critical understanding of the systemic banking risk we face. Everbank is the best!
This looks on the face of it, quite good. I’ve been searching for something that offers a decent APR, without committing to much initially, and the min. $1500 makes it very attractive.
These are some good prospects. I expect more savings accounts promotions in the next year, given today’s economic situation and the post-crisis society we live in. The course of action that banks should take over the next few months is to come up with better offers to reestablish trust and win your business.
EverBank seems like it offers good returns on investment, but I’m still a little bit confused, what makes you so sure that this kind of investment is safe?
I believe in the basic principles: high risk high return, low risk low return, so, something below 12% in ROI for a year might considered a moderate investment.
With higher yields, low expenses, excellent customer service, quality products and strong fundamentals, I consider this bank as a top choice for savers.
To have what you want or to get what you need takes money.