For the better part of three years, high-yield savings accounts and money market funds were the path of least resistance. Park your cash, earn 4% or 5%, and skip the volatility. That trade made sense when the Fed was hiking. It makes less sense now.

The Fed has cut rates by roughly 175 basis points since mid-2024, and forecasts point to further easing through 2026. Thirty-year mortgage rates are expected to end the year around 5.9%, and short-term yields are already drifting lower. The window on easy cash returns is closing — and that shift has real implications for how dividend investors should be positioning right now.