WALL STREET: Big Yields for the Little

The nation's money markets traditionally have reserved their highest interest returns for the best-heeled investors. The individual who can buy a $100,000 bank certificate of deposit, for example, currently gets an average return of 8.3%; the one with only $1,000 can buy a piece of paper from a savings bank yielding 7.08%—but unlike the big investor, he must tie up his money for at least 2½ years. Now, however, at least four mutual funds have been organized to give the small investor a crack at the high yields—a move that seems likely...