Well, given your short-term horizon of buying a home within a year, capital preservation and liquidity are paramount, so shifting your $130k from a high-yield savings account (HYSA) to SGOV a short-term U.S.
Treasury ETF could be a reasonable move, but it comes with trade-offs you should consider carefully.
SGOV invests in Treasury bills with maturities under 1 year, and its yield has recently been in the same ballpark (or slightly higher) than your 4.4% HYSA, with the added benefit of interest being exempt from state and local taxes.
However, unlike a HYSA, SGOV’s price can fluctuate slightly, which means there’s a non-zero risk of short-term loss, especially if interest rates change quickly.
The Webull $1,500 bonus for transferring $100k+ can be attractive, but those promos often require keeping the funds in place for a set time and may involve other fine print.
Also, brokerage accounts are not FDIC insured like HYSAs, though SGOV itself holds U.S. government securities, which are considered very safe.
If you’re comfortable opening a brokerage account, understand how to place ETF trades, and can stomach very mild volatility in exchange for a potential tax benefit and cash bonus, this plan can make sense.
But if your priority is absolute stability, and you value simplicity and guaranteed access to your full principal for a home purchase soon, sticking with the HYSA or even a TreasuryDirect short-term bill ladder may offer better peace of mind.
Hope this gives you some direction, feel free to reach out PM if you want to unpack it more.
