Consulting Services
Crane Data recently sent a notice to attendees, speakers and sponsors of its July Money Fund Symposium conference seeking speaking proposals for next year's 2011 Money Fund Symposium and for our new Money Fund University. The notice said, "We've set the date for our next Money Fund Symposium, which will be held in Philadelphia June 22-24, 2011. We're also launching a spin-off 'basic training' event, Crane's Money Fund University, January 13-14, 2011, in Jersey City, NJ. We're currently preparing the agendas for these programs, and we're looking for speakers for both events. Please let us know if you'd like to be considered, or if you have a topic suggestion. (Send your request to speak, along with a brief topic description and bio, to: pete@cranedata.us. We'll be posting the preliminary agendas, hotel information and signup info on the websites www.moneyfundsymposium.com and www.moneyfunduniversity.com in coming weeks, so watch for more details soon.
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Consulting Services News
Jan 09
Later this morning, Crane Data's January Money Fund Intelligence newsletter will be e-mailed to subscribers. The new edition contains articles entitled: "Outlook Bleak for 2012, But MMFs See Glimmers," which reviews recent asset and regulatory trends; "Interview w/Schwab MF Strategist Rick Holland," which quotes industry veteran Rick Holland; "Top MMFs of 2011; Our 3rd Annual MFI Awards," which announces the top-performing funds for 2011; and "Treasury Partners Enters Portal Transparency War;" which reviews the latest analytical tool offered to portal investors. We have also updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with December 31, 2011, performance information and are in the process of sending out our monthly Money Fund Intelligence XLS and Crane Index products.
The latest MFI says, "The coming year looks bleak for money market mutual funds, but things are not nearly as challenging as they appeared to be just one month ago. Sure, zero yields and the threat of radical regulatory change are even more threatening than they've been the previous three years. But glimmers of hope and relief appeared on both fronts late in the year, and money fund investors and providers have reason for optimism in 2012."
In our regular fund family article, we write, "Money Fund Intelligence's latest monthly fund family "profile" features Charles Schwab Investment Management's Rick Holland, Schwab's new portfolio strategist for money market funds. We discuss Schwab's history with money funds, current portfolio tactics, recent customer concerns, and the outlook for the money market mutual fund business in general. Our Q&A follows." Look for these product shortly, or watch www.cranedata.com for more excerpts in coming weeks.
In other news, Sunday's New York Times featured the article, "Money Funds Could Face More Changes". It discusses Norwegian lender Eksportfinans and potential pending regulatory changes. The piece says, "About 20 American money market mutual funds -- those trusted staples of institutional and individual cash management -- were caught holding notes issued by the bank, Eksportfinans of Norway. The downgrade put the notes well below the quality threshold set by fund regulators."
The Times explains, "What happened next? The answer depends on whether you're talking to mutual fund executives or to their regulators -- and the gap between the answers explains the regulatory fight that the $2.6 trillion money fund industry faces in 2012. Ask a mutual fund industry executive and you'll hear that the affected funds were quietly bailed out by their sponsors. In fact, fund industry executives say the Eksportfinans episode simply proved that the money fund industry is much safer and resilient because of the reforms put in place after 2008, when the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy set off a panic. But ask a federal regulator about the Eksportfinans event and you'll hear that the financial system dodged a bullet that could have started another ruinous stampede. As regulators see it, the episode is a worrisome reminder that, despite the new rules already in place, money funds still pose too big a risk to the nation's financial stability."
It adds, "The commission is expected to propose steps early in the year that would change the kind of money funds available to individual and institutional investors, and comments are already being filed from all sides. But industry executives and analysts contend that there doesn't seem to be a strong empirical link between the risks the regulators are trying to address and some of the changes they want to make.... Ms. Schapiro has confirmed that some combination of these ideas is likely to be proposed in the first three months of this year, but the fight over what is eventually adopted will be long and loud. Regulators seem to be betting that money funds are so strategically important to big mutual fund families that even the sweeping changes on the drawing board will not kill the funds."
Dec 22
While Crane Data is busy preparing for its second annual Money Fund University, a "basic training" conference for money market professionals January 19-20 at the Boston Hyatt, we're also busy preparing for our 4th annual Crane's Money Fund Symposium. Mark your calendars for our 2012 Money Fund Symposium, which will be June 20-22, 2012, at The Westin Convention Center Pittsburgh. Our Symposium in Philadelphia last summer attracted almost 400 speakers, sponsors, and attendees, and we expect our 4th annual money fund conference to be even bigger and better. Our 2012 keynote speakers include: Chris Donahue, CEO & Chairman of Federated Investors and Karen Dunn Kelley, CEO of Invesco Worldwide Fixed Income. (See the full preliminary agenda here.) Crane's Money Fund Symposium offers money market portfolio managers, investors, issuers, and service providers a concentrated and affordable educational experience, as well as an excellent and informal networking venue. Registration for Crane's Money Fund Symposium 2012 will (again) be $750; exhibit space is $3,000; and sponsorship opportunities are $4.5K, $6K, $7.5K, and $10K. Our mission continues to be to deliver a better and less expensive conference alternative to money market fund professionals and investors. We look forward to seeing you in Pittsburgh!
Nov 07
The November issue of Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence newsletter was sent to subscribers on Saturday along with our October 31 performance data, rankings and indexes. (Our 10/31 Money Fund Portfolio Holdings will be published on Nov. 14.) The latest publication includes the articles, "Banks, Bonds Continue Drawing Cash From MFs," which discusses the outflows from money funds and big inflows into bank savings and bond funds; "State Street's Fortuna on Fund Connect Portal," our monthly fund "profile" which again features one of the large online money market trading "portals"; and, "Fund CEOs on Regulations Say Squam Out, Buffer In," which reviews recent comments on possible regulatory changes for money funds. (Note that we published over the weekend because several of our staff will be at the Association for Financial Professionals Annual Conference in Boston Sunday, Nov. 6 through Wed., Nov. 9. Look for us at Booth #1805 and see Pete Crane present on "Under The Cash Hood: Looking Beyond Yield at Money Market Mutual Fund Holdings" Monday at 4pm.)
Our lead article says, "Money market mutual fund assets were down moderately (-$18.7 billion) in October, though assets remain above $2.6 trillion -- the same level they rebounded to the week following the resolution of the debt ceiling crisis (8/10). But competitors on both sides -- banks and bonds -- continue to attract assets at a strong pace." Two charts in MFI show asset changes year-to-date (through 9/30/11) in money funds, bank money market deposit accounts (MMDAs), and bond funds; and a longer term view of asset changes in money funds vs. bank MMDAs."
The November issue also comments, "This month we feature another online money market trading "portal" in our "profile" interview. Money Fund Intelligence interviews Greg Fortuna, Managing Director at State Street Global Markets, and Peter McHugh, Vice President for the company’s Fund Connect platform in Europe. Fund Connect is announcing the rollout of its Transparency Connect analytics module at this week's Association for Financial Professionals' (AFP) annual conference. Our Q&A follows."
Finally, we write, "While there's no official word on the next round of money fund regulations, a couple of fund industry heavyweights weighed in recently on the topic. On recent quarterly earnings call, both BlackRock and Federated's management made comments regarding possible future regulatory changes. We reprint and excerpt them here."
Our monthly Money Fund Intelligence XLS, which contains a host of performance statistics on money funds, rankings and our Crane Indexes, has already been uploaded to the website and e-mailed to clients, and our Money Fund Wisdom database has been updated with October 31, 2011 data. Watch for more excerpts from our latest MFI in coming weeks, or e-mail info@cranedata.us to request the latest issue.