scroll

MMKT, AAA vs Macquarie’s Accelerator account

Advanced Search

Our Q&As are emailed in our Saturday Morning Report, find the answer to this question below.

Ask a question

The Latest Q&A

Question asked 14/03/2026

MMKT, AAA vs Macquarie’s Accelerator account

I do not understand what advantage MMKT & AAA provide over Macquarie Bank's Accelerator bank account. It pays 4.15% per month, calculated on a daily basis. You have to have a Cash Management Account (CMA) to manage the transactions, like all banks require. It pays 2.25% in same way. Both of which are far better than NAB, for example, at 1.40% for iSav and 0.0% for Sav. Also, our funds are in an SMSF structure, so funds must be visible to a third party - a fund administrator - and Macquarie is well set up for this. (It holds around 1/3 of all SMSF cash funds.) Last time I checked NAB could not manage third party access. Another big thing is that there are no brokerage fees and access to funds is immediate for investing or withdrawals. Also, Macquarie is hooked into Bell Direct as brokers, and I have found their website and facilities to be terrific.

Answer

Hi Bill,

We agree. James (for Discretionary accounts managed under Market Partners) uses the MQG CMA/Accelerator combination as you do. We think it’s the best combination out there for investors able to access the structure.

However, many cannot access this type of structure. For example, investors sitting on a platform like HUB, Netwealth, Praemium, OpenInvest or InvestSmart hold funds ‘on platform’ and the platform provider takes either a big margin on this, or doesn’t pass through any interest on cash.

In these scenarios, it makes more sense to hold MMKT or AAA which are ASX-listed cash ETFs that invest in short-term deposits and money-market instruments. Their appeal is that they sit inside an account like a share, allowing investors to park cash within a portfolio, rather than leaving it on platform for the benefit of the platform provider.

In the case of Market Matters Invest Direct, which sits on the InvestSmart platform, we use the Cash ETF’s in two ways. Firstly, to earn the ~4% on cash held within a portfolio and secondly, we have also launched a Cash Securities Portfolio which means investors in our Portfolios can quickly and efficiently move from one or more portfolio’s to cash if they chose by updating their portfolio allocations online before 8.30am in the morning (to reallocate same day) – providing greater flexibility. Managed portfolio’s on platform simply cannot use the MQG CMA/ACC combination because it can’t be done on scale, whereas using the cash ETFs, it can be, while providing a similar outcome.

Overall, we agree with your interpretation, but it requires more active participation by the investor or manager to utilise MQG. For those looking for less daily participation i.e. they don’t want to have to constantly move cash between accounts, the options are to have someone do it for you, via either a Market Partners Managed Portfolio that runs the MQG structure (500k min investment), or through Market Matters Invest Direct (50k min) that runs with the ETF structure. Both solutions look to maximise returns on cash in the best way they can.

Latest Reports

Weekend report 14/03/2026

Weekend Q&A: The US-Iran War continues to take its toll on global markets

The ASX200 ended a choppy week down 2.6%, with the Middle East conflict weighing on equities. Energy was the only sector to finish higher, while rate-sensitive tech (-7%) and real estate (-5%) dragged on the index as surging oil prices reignited inflation fears. The influential materials sector also endured a tough week, retreating -4.7% as weakness in copper and gold stocks offset a bounce in iron ore names. However, the market's largest stock, BHP, weighed heavily on the index, falling 5.7% over the week as a Chinese ban on its iron ore caused increasing angst. The moves on Friday night in the US point to more of the same next week, with gold and copper stocks coming under renewed pressure.

Afternoon report 13/03/2026

The Match Out: ASX drifts lower, down 2.6% for the week

The dominant forces were geopolitical and monetary policy related. The escalating Iran conflict drove oil above $US101/barrel, stoking inflation concerns and cementing market expectations of an RBA rate hike at Tuesday's meeting - markets are pricing an 80% probability by close. That rate repricing drove a sharp rotation: banks were again the standout beneficiaries, with NAB leading at +1.5%, while gold miners came under significant pressure.