A Prospectus Supplement for the $3.9 billion Deutsche Daily Assets fund states that it will remain a Prime Institutional Fund and convert to a Floating NAV starting in October. Also, Deutsche set implementation dates for its two Prime Retail funds and removed "Inst" from the share class name of one of its Tax-Exempt funds. These are among the latest batch of money market fund changes we've discovered, which also include Prime fund liquidations by Putnam, CNR and RBC, Muni fund liquidations by Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, and a Prime to Govt conversion by Invesco. We review these changes below.
Under the subhead, "Deutsche Institutional Money Market Funds," the statement says, "Under the money market fund reforms, all investors, including natural persons, that meet the eligibility requirements may purchase shares of Daily Assets Fund and Deutsche Variable NAV Money Fund, but the funds will be required to price and transact in their shares at a floating NAV to four decimal places in the case of a fund with a $1.00 target share price (e.g., $1.0000) or an equivalent or more precise level of accuracy for funds with a different share price (e.g., a fund that has a target share price of $10.00 could price its share at $10.000) reflecting current market values for their portfolio securities on or before the Compliance Date."
It adds, "Currently, the Deutsche Variable NAV Money Fund transacts in its shares at a floating NAV calculated at 4 p.m. each business day. DIMA (Deutsche Investment Management Americas) currently expects that the Daily Assets Fund will transition to a floating NAV on or about October 10, 2016. As a result, Daily Assets Fund will begin to value its portfolio securities using market based factors and will no longer use the "amortized cost" method of valuation effective on or about October 10, 2016… Until such date, the Daily Assets Fund will continue to seek to maintain a stable $1.00 NAV using the amortized cost method to value its portfolio securities." Both funds will daily strike times of 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm, and 5 pm.
Deutsche's Prime Retail fund filing says, "On or about September 16, 2016, Deutsche Money Market Prime Series and Tax-Exempt Portfolio of Cash Account Trust will implement policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to limit beneficial ownership of each fund's shares to natural persons. On such date, only accounts beneficially owned by natural persons will be permitted to retain their shares in each Deutsche Retail MMF. Each Deutsche Retail MMF will continue to operate with its existing investment objective and investment strategies and will continue to seek to maintain a $1.00 stable NAV. (Although each fund will seek to maintain a $1.00 NAV, there is no guarantee that it will be able to do so and if the NAV falls below $1.00, you would lose money.) In addition, each Deutsche Retail MMF will be required to be able to implement liquidity fees and/or redemption gates by the Compliance Date."
It continues, "In order to separate eligible investors within the funds, the Board of each Deutsche Retail MMF, on the recommendation of Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc, approved the closing of each Deutsche Retail MMF to new investors that are not natural persons effective on or about July 1, 2016. On or about September 15, 2016, financial intermediaries will be required to take steps to remove any shareholders on behalf of whom they hold shares in a Deutsche Retail MMF that are not eligible to be invested in the fund.... Each Deutsche Retail MMF will provide advanced written notice of its intent to make any such involuntary redemptions. Effective on or about September 15, 2016, the Deutsche Retail MMFs may involuntarily redeem shares in accounts if Deutsche Retail MMF does not believe that the account is beneficially owned by a natural person."
Also, we learned that effective July 1 that Deutsche Tax-Exempt Cash Institutional Shares will be renamed Deutsche Tax-Exempt Cash Premier Shares, according to this filing. For more on Deutsche's money fund changes, see our July 21, 2015 News, "Deutsche Announces Reform Plans, Will Convert Most Prime MFs to Govt and our Dec. 22, 2015 News, "More Funds Jump on Prime to Govt Conversion Bandwagon; Mergers."
In other news, another round of Prime fund liquidations were announced, including the $1.6 billion internal Putnam Money Market Liquidity Fund. Putnam's filing says, "At a meeting held on June 24, 2016, the Board of Trustees of Putnam Money Market Liquidity Fund approved a plan to liquidate the Fund upon recommendation by Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the Fund’s investment adviser. The liquidation of the Fund is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2016. On the date of the liquidation, the Fund will liquidate its remaining assets and distribute cash pro rata to all remaining shareholders as of the record date (expected to be on or about August 15, 2016), after the payment of (or provision for) all charges, taxes, expenses and liabilities, whether due or accrued or anticipated of the Fund, who have not previously redeemed all of their shares or exchanged their Fund shares of another Putnam fund."
In addition, the CNR Prime Money Market Fund, with $1.1 billion in assets under management, is also liquidating. CNR's Prospectus Supplement explains, "The Board of Trustees of the Trust has approved a Plan of Liquidation for the City National Rochdale Prime Money Market Fund, which authorizes the termination, liquidation and dissolution of the Fund. In order to effect such liquidation, the Fund is closed to all new shareholder accounts. Shareholders may redeem their shares until the date of liquidation. The Fund will be liquidated on or about August 31, 2016."
RBC, which acquired the CNR Funds' parent company last year, also `liquidated its $8 billion RBC Prime Money Market Portfolio. (See our Dec. 1, 2015 News, "RBC Latest to Abandon Prime MMFs; BlackRock Designates Retail, Inst.") The portfolio, including all its share classes, liquidated on June 30 and we have removed it from our database.
Wells Fargo Funds filed to liquidate the $1.1 billion Wells Fargo California Municipal Money Market Fund and changed the "Inst" share classes on its soon-to-be Retail Muni funds to "Premium" classes. Wells SEC filing says, "At a meeting held on May 24-25, 2016, the Board of Trustees of Wells Fargo Funds Trust unanimously approved the closure and liquidation of the Fund. The Fund is closed to new investors effective at the close of business on June 10, 2016. The liquidation of the Fund is expected to occur after close of business on or about September 1, 2016."
Also, Wells Fargo Municipal MMF and Wells Fargo National Tax-Free MMF, both of which have been declared Retail, will operate as such beginning September 1. The Inst shares of these funds have all been converted to Premier shares.
Another Prospectus update says, "On December 17, 2015, the Board of Trustees of the Goldman Sachs Trust approved a proposal to liquidate two series of the Trust, the Goldman Sachs Financial Square Tax-Exempt California Fund and the Goldman Sachs Financial Square Tax-Exempt New York Fund. After careful consideration of a number of factors, the Board had concluded that the continuation of the Funds would not be in the best interests of each Fund or its shareholders, and that it was advisable and in the best interests of each Fund and its shareholders to terminate and liquidate the Funds. The Funds were originally expected to liquidate on or about August 31, 2016. However, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. has since determined to liquidate each Fund at an earlier date, on or about June 10, 2016, pursuant to the Plans of Liquidation approved by the Board."
Finally, Invesco Money Market Fund changed to Invesco Government Money Market in the latest week. The July issue of our Money Fund Intelligence XLS, which goes out to subscribers on Friday morning, will also remove the following funds (due to liquidation): Goldman Sachs FSq T-E CA Inst (ITCXX), Goldman Sachs FSq T-E NY Inst (ILNXX), Goldman Sachs FSq T-E NY Ser (IYSXX), RBC Prime MMF Inst 1 (TPNXX), RBC Prime MMF Investor (TPMXX), RBC Prime MMF Reserve (TRMXX), RBC Prime MMF Select (TKSXX), SEI Daily Inc Trust MMF A (TCMXX), UBS RMA CA Muni Money Fund (RCAXX), UBS RMA Money Market Fund (RMAXX), UBS RMA NY Muni Money Fund (RNYXX), UBS RMA Retirement (PWRXX), UBS RMA Tax Free MMF (RTFXX), UBS RMA US Govt Portfolio (RUSXX), UBS Select Prime Money Mkt Capital (SPCXX), and UBS Select Tax-Free MM Capital (STEXX). (See our `June 29 News, "UBS Liquidates Sweeps, Goes Govt; Vanguard Floats Internal Money Fund.")
