How to make your cash work harder in a 5% rate environment

With interest rates remaining a key focal point for investors, many automatically roll their funds into bank term deposits for safety. But are they leaving money on the table? In this interview, Livewire sits down with Ben Samuel, Senior Portfolio Manager at First Sentier Investors, to unpack the evolving role of cash in a balanced portfolio. Ben explores the trade-offs between standard term deposits and active cash funds, how duration management can cushion against RBA volatility, and the mechanics behind their new active cash ETF (Ticker: FSCF). Read the article on Livewire Markets: https://bit.ly/3QQXm32 Timecodes: 00:00 - Introduction: The Role of Cash in Portfolios 00:30 - Term Deposits vs. Cash Funds: A Performance Comparison 03:34 - The Liquidity Trade-off: What Term Deposits Don’t Offer 04:19 - Navigating RBA Volatility & Duration Management 06:06 - Is a 5% Cash Yield Worth Missing Out on Equities? 07:43 - How an Active Cash ETF Works vs. Standard Savings Accounts 10:01 - Portfolio Repricing: What Happens When the RBA Moves? 10:51 - Managing Credit and Liquidity Risks in Cash Funds 13:23 - A Permanent Home or a Temporary Parking Spot?