Treasury bills are issued by the Department of the Treasury and are considered to be low-risk investments since they’re backed by the federal government. But TreasuryDirect, the Treasury Department’s platform for selling these securities, can be frustrating to use. Buying T-bills from a secondary source, like with Public’s Treasury Account, can be easier and more seamless, giving you more time to focus on your investments.
TreasuryDirect Alternative – An easier way to buy T-bills
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Invest in Treasury bills on Public. It’s seriously easy.
Open a Treasury Account on Public and lock in your 5.3% yield today.
How to Buy T-bills Using TreasuryDirect
Of course, you can always use TreasuryDirect.gov to purchase T-bills. Here’s how you buy T-bills TreasuryDirect:
- To open an account on TreasuryDirect, you need to have a Social Security number or EIN, a U.S. mailing address, and a bank account that you can use to transfer funds to and from TreasuryDirect.
- Once you have an account, you can start trading new issue bills. These are issued in either competitive or non-competitive auctions, which are usually held on a weekly basis.
- If you want to buy older T-bills, you’ll have to do so on the secondary market.
Challenges with TreasuryDirect
You can buy T-bills using TreasuryDirect, the U.S. Treasury’s online platform. But Treasury Direct can be hard to navigate and frustrating to use. That’s why many people use brokers or other secondary market sources to buy T-bills. With Public, you can buy T-bills instantly along with other asset classes such as Stocks, ETFs, Crypto, Alternative assets and manage all of your investments in one place.
Some of the main challenges with TreasuryDirect include:
No Mobile App: Users often say that TreasuryDirect is difficult to use and find it frustrating that the website doesn’t have an accompanying app.
Limited Product Range: TreasuryDirect is a government service, so it only offers users opportunities to bid on government securities. If you want to manage all of your assets in one place, try a Treasury Account from Public.
No Secondary-Market Selling: One of the advantages of T-Bills is that they can be bought and sold on the secondary market via a trusted broker or financial institution. But if you want to do that on TreasuryDirect, you’ll have to transfer everything to a broker.
Problems with Reinvesting: T-Bills have short maturity periods, so many investors choose to reinvest them. But TreasuryDirect severely limits the periods in which users can plan and cancel reinvestments.
Customer Service Issues: TreasuryDirect users frequently report that it can be difficult to access customer service representatives, citing extremely long hold times and frustrating experiences signing into locked accounts.
Onboarding Problems: Anyone can open a TreasuryDirect account, but the process can often be inefficient and be confusing
Scheduling Limitations: Because TreasuryDirect only allows purchasers to invest in their products during pre-arranged auctions, users have to work on the government’s schedule instead of their own when it comes to their purchases.
Alternatives to TreasuryDirect
- Buying Treasury Bills Through Public
- Buying Treasury Bills Through a Broker
- Buying Treasury Bills Through an ETF or Mutual Fund
Buying Treasury Bills Through Public
One of the easiest ways to invest in Treasury bills is by opening a Treasury Account with Public. Public has partnered with Jiko, a licensed broker, to offer an incredibly convenient way to invest in Treasury Bills.
It takes just three easy steps to open a Treasury Account with Public:
Create your Treasury Account.
It’s easy to open an account and you can also invest in a host of other assets, like ETFs, stocks, and crypto.Transfer your money.
You can make a deposit via debit card or link your bank account to transfer your cash.Lock in your rate.
Since Treasury bills are a fixed-income asset, you’ll lock in the rate of return of 5.3%* when you make a purchase.
Advantages of buying Treasury Bills (T-bills) with Public include:
A mobile app with an easy-to-use interface that lets you invest in other asset classes like stocks, ETFs, crypto as well and thus enable you to manage all of your investments in one place
You can invest in T-bills with as little as $100 while there is no maximum limit
Withdraw your money at any time
Your investments are automatically insured for up to $500,000 through the SIPC and you can request for additional insurance coverage if your balance exceeds the limit
Public has 24/7 award-winning customer support, so you always have help available at your fingertips if you are stuck
Invest in Treasury bills on Public. It’s seriously easy.
Open a Treasury Account on Public and lock in your 5.3% yield today.
Buying Treasury Bills Through a Broker
Because T-Bills are highly liquid, they can be bought and sold with ease on the secondary marketusing a brokerage or a bank. The licensed broker or bank can help handle the details, allowing you to invest in government securities without directly using a government platform.
Buying Treasury Bills Through an ETF or Mutual Fund
Many brokerages allow investors to purchase T-Bills within ETFs, a type of pooled investment that exposes you to a range of Treasury products. Investors can opt for an ETF focused on government securities, from FRNS to T-bills.
Treasury bills can also be bought through investments in a money market mutual fund. Treasury Funds, a type of money market fund, focuses on government securities like T-bills.
Conclusion
Treasury bills are some of the most secure investments available because they’re backed by the full faith of the U.S. government. But buying them directly from the government can be difficult and confusing.
With rising interest rates and inflation, investing in t-bills is a safe & viable option and many users are considering it. If TreasuryDirect is confusing or difficult for you to navigate, consider opening a treasury account on Public – its fast, easy & secure. You can not only buy t-bills but also invest in other asset classes like Stocks, ETFs, Crypto, Alternative assets and manage all your investments in one place.
Invest in Treasury bills on Public. It’s seriously easy.
Open a Treasury Account on Public and lock in your 5.3% yield today.