What is the US Treasury Fund?

A U.S. Treasury Fund is a mutual fund that invests its assets in bonds, bills and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. These securities are considered some of the safest investments on the market because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

The United States has never failed to pay off a Treasury-backed investment in its history. But though a U.S. Treasury fund is a very safe place to keep money, the downside of investing in these funds is that they provide a very low rate of return. For example, the T. Rowe Price U.S. Treasury Money Fund returned an average gain of only 1.16 percent per year from 2005 through 2015.