Q. My co-op has $570,000 in reserve funds invested in CDs earning approximately 0.5% interest. My question is this—are we being too cautious given that the rate of inflation is about 2.7%? How can we get a better rate of return or is this good enough?

          —Money Manager in Melville

A. According to Mindy Eisenberg Stark, a certified public accountant and certified fraud examiner with the Scarsdale-based accounting firm of Mindy Eisenberg Stark (MES), “Your board has a fiduciary responsibility to preserve the principal on the funds. That said, speak to a broker. Sometimes there are other CDs that might offer a slightly higher rate of interest.”