Cash includes various products such as bank accounts, cash management trusts or the cash you have in your wallet/purse.

Generally, cash is the easiest investment to withdraw monies from and add monies to. Cash does not produce a capital growth component.

Depending on your account type with a financial institution, you may receive an interest amount on your balance.

Interest rates are generally shown as percentages per annum (% p.a.). To calculate the amount of interest you will earn in dollars, you need to know:

• how much is invested;
• what the interest rate is; and
• how long the money will be invested for.

For example if you have $1,000 invested for 1 year at an interest rate of 2.7% p.a., your interest received would be:

      $1,000 x .027 x 1 year = $27.

The Government currently guarantees the capital of deposit balances up to and including $250,000 per customer per institution if invested with eligible authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs).