Feb 12

 

The brochure and preliminary agenda are now available for Crane Data'​s 5th annual Money Fund Symposium, the largest gathering of money fund professionals anywhere, which will be held June 19-​21, 2013 at The Hyatt Regency Baltimore. The Agenda has been posted on the Symposium website (​www.​moneyfundsymposium.​com), which is also now accepting registrations ($​750) and hotel reservations. Brochures will be sent to past attendees and to Crane Data subscribers later this week. (​E-​mail us at info@​cranedata.​com to request the full brochure.) Last year'​s Money Fund Symposium in Pittsburgh attracted over 420 money fund managers, marketers and servicers, cash investors, and money market securities dealers and issuers, and was supported by 30 sponsors and exhibitors.

After an initial "Welcome to Money Fund Symposium 2013" by Peter Crane, President & Publisher of Crane Data, this year'​s agenda will start the afternoon of June 19 with the keynote speech "Moving Forward: Money Funds & Washington" by ICI'​s Paul Schott Stevens. The opening afternoon will also feature: "The Treasury Talks: FSOC & Floating Notes" with U.​S. Department of the Treasury'​s Matt Rutherford. This will be followed by a session entitled, "Corporate & MMFs: Liquidity Is Still King" with Jeff Glenzer from the Association for Financial Professionals and Tony Carfang of Treasury Strategies. The first day will close with a panel, "Major Money Fund Issues 2013" featuring Charlie Cardona of BNY Mellon CIS/​Dreyfus, Debbie Cunningham of Federated Investors and Nancy Prior of Fidelity Management & Research. The opening reception will be sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Day 2 of Money Fund Symposium features: "The State of The Money Market Fund Industry" with Peter Crane of Crane Data and Robert Deutsch of J.​P. Morgan Asset Management; "Senior Portfolio Manager Perspectives" with Chris Stavrakos of BlackRock, Dave Sylvester of Wells Fargo Funds and John Tobin of J.​P. Morgan Asset Management; "Repurchase Agreement Issues & Update" with Joseph Abate of Barclays Capital and Rob Sabatino of UBS Global Asset Management; and "Municipal Money Fund Market Update" with Helena Condez of T. Rowe Price Associates, Colleen Meehan of Dreyfus Corp., and Ron Vandenhandel of Deutsche Bank.

The afternoon of Day 2 (​after a Dreyfus-​sponsored lunch) features: "Dealer Doings: Supply, Innovations, Concerns" moderated by Lu Ann Katz of Invesco and featuring Chris Condetta of Barclays Capital, John Kodweis of J.​P. Morgan Securities, and Jean-​Luc Sinniger of Citi Global Markets; "Government Agency Issuers & Supernationals" with Jonathon Hartley of FHL Banks Office of Finanace, Regina Gill of Federal Farm Credit Funding, and Michael Schulze of KfW; "Risks to Ratings: Areas of Concern" with Peter Yi of Northern Trust, Roger Merritt of Fitch Ratings and Peter Rizzo of Standard & Poor'​s; and "Survivor: Update on European Money Funds" with Jonathon Curry of HSBC Global Asset Management and Dan Morrissey of William Fry. (​The Day 2 reception is sponsored by Barclays.)

The third day of Symposium features: "Strategists Speak '​13: Fed, Cash Plus & Europe" with Brian Smedley of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Alex Roever of J.​P. Morgan Securities, and Garret Sloan of Wells Fargo Securities; "Regulatory Roundtable: Pending & Potential" with John McGonigle of Federated Investors, and possibly a speaker from the Securities & Exchange Commission (​invite pending). The last section includes: "Portal Panel: Beyond MMFs & Transparency" with John Carter of Citi Global Transaction Services and George Hagerman of Cachematrix; and, finally, "Technology Tools & Software Update" with Peter Crane, Anthony Mossa of Bloomberg, and James Morris of Investortools.

Money Fund Symposium 2013 promises once again to be "​the" place to be for money market professionals -- register and reserve your spot today! Exhibit space for Money Fund Symposium is $​3,​000; and sponsorship opportunities are $​4.​5K, $​6K, $​7.​55K, and $​10K. Finally, our next Crane'​s Money Fund University is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 23-​24, 2014, in Providence. Note too that Crane Data is preparing to launch its first European Money Fund Symposium, which is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 26-​27, 2013 in Dublin, Ireland. Contact us or watch for more details in coming weeks.

Jan 08

 

The January issue of Crane Data'​s Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which will be e-​mailed to subscribers later this morning, will announce the winners of our MFI Awards, a designation given to the top-​performing money market mutual funds for 2012. We also review recent fund news in the article, "Consolidation & Liquidations, Asset Rebound & FSOC Outlook," and feature the profile, "Dechert'​s Vartanian Says FSOC Jumping the Gun" in our new edition. Finally, we'​ve updated our Money Fund Wisdom database query system with Dec. 31, 2012, performance statistics and rankings, and our MFI XLS will be sent out shortly. (​Our Dec. 31 Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to go out on Thursday.)

Our piece, "Top MMFs of 2012; Our 4th Annual MFI Awards," says, "In this issue, we once again recognize some of the top-​performing money funds, ranked by total returns, for calendar 2012, as well as the top-​ranked funds for the past 5-​year and past 10-​year periods. We present the following funds with our annual Money Fund Intelligence Awards. (​See the table on page 6 of MFI for the table with the winners.) These include the No. 1-​ranked funds based on 1-​year, 5-​year and 10-​year returns, through Dec. 31, 2012, in each of our major fund categories (​our "​Type") -- Prime Institutional, Government Institutional, Treasury Institutional, Prime Individual, Government Individual, and Treasury Individual."

MFI says, "The top-​performing Taxable funds overall in 2012 and among Prime Institutional funds was Reich & Tang Natixis Liq Prm Port Treas (​LQTXX), which returned 0.​25%. Among Prime Retail funds, Flex-​funds Money Market Retail (​FFMXX) again had the best return in 2012 (​0.​10%). American Beacon US Govt Select (​AAOXX) won the Top Government Institutional fund over a 1-​year period with a return of 0.​09%, while Selected Daily Govt Fund S (​SDGXX) won the MFI Award for Government Retail Money Funds (​1-​year return). BlackRock Cash Treas MMF Inst (​BRIXX) ranked No. 1 in the Treasury Institutional class, and Invesco Treasury Private (​TPFXX) ranked tops among Treasury Retail funds.

We say about the "Top Funds Over Past Five Years," "​For the 5-​year period through December 31, 2012, Touchstone Inst MF again took top honors for the best-​performing money fund with a return of 1.​01%. Fidelity Select MM Port ranks No. 1 among Prime Retail funds with an annualized return of 0.​78%. Goldman Sachs FS Govt In (​FGTXX) again ranked No. 1 among Govt Institutional funds, while Selected Daily Govt Fund D (​SGDXX) ranked No. 1 among Treasury Retail funds over the past 5 years. Vanguard Admiral Treasury ranked No. 1 in 5-​year performance among Treasury Institutional money funds, and Invesco Treasury Priv ranked No. 1 among Treasury Retail MM funds."

On the "Best Money Funds of the Decade," MFI comments, "The highest-​performers of the past 10 years include: DWS Daily Assets Fund Inst (​DAFXX), which returned 2.​04% (​No. 1 overall and first among Prime Inst); Fidelity Select MM Portfolio (​FSLXX), which returned 1.​87% (​the highest among Prime Retail); American Beacon US Govt Select (​AAOXX), which returned 1.​85%, (​No. 1 among Govt Inst funds); and, Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (​VMFXX), which ranked No. 1 among Govt Retail funds (​1.​76%). Milestone Treasury Obligs Fin (​MIL01) returned the most among Treasury Institutional funds over the past 10 years; and, Goldman Sachs FS Trs Obl Sel (​GSOXX) ranked No. 1 among Treasury Retail funds."

MFI'​s Awards piece adds, "See our additional rankings tables on pages 9-​11, and see our Money Fund Intelligence XLS for more detailed listings, percentiles, and rankings. Look for more details in coming days on the website too (​www.​cranedata.​com). Winners will receive a letter and certificate stating their No. 1 ranking and the criteria used. The table below shows the No. 1 ranked money funds for each category based on 1-​year, 5-​year, and 10-​year annualized total returns." Watch for more excerpts from MFI and more awards in coming days.

Dec 07

 

Crane Data is making preparations to host its third annual Crane'​s Money Fund University at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, Jan. 24-​25, 2013. Money Fund University was designed to offer attendees an affordable and comprehensive two day, "​basic training" course on money market mutual funds, educating attendees on the history of money funds, interest rates, Rule 2a-​7, ratings, rankings, money market instruments such as commercial paper and repo, and portfolio construction and credit analysis. With our first New York City show, we will continue our expanded focus on money fund regulations and Rule 2a-​7, with two sessions on the topic (​past and potential future), and we'​ve added new sessions on "​offshore" money funds and technology tools. (NOTE: Our Money Fund Intelligence, MFI XLS and November 30 performance data and products was sent to subscribers and updated on the website Friday morning. Our Money Fund Wisdom database has also already been updated.)

The morning of Day One of the 2013 MFU agenda includes: Welcome to Money Fund University, History & Current State of Money Market Mutual Funds with Peter Crane, President & Publisher, Crane Data and Sean Collins, Sr. Economist, Investment Company Institute; The Federal Reserve & Money Markets with Joseph Abate, Director F-​I Strategy, Barclays Capital and Brian Smedley, U.​S. Rates, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Interest Rate Basics & Money Fund Math with Phil Giles, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University; and, Ratings, Monitoring & Performance with Viktoria Baklanova, Senior Director, Fitch Ratings, Joel Friedman, Senior Director, Standard & Poor'​s, and Crane Data'​s Peter Crane.

Day 1'​s afternoon agenda includes: Instruments of the Money Markets Intro with Alex Roever, Managing Director, J.​P. Morgan Securities; Instruments: Repurchase Agreements with Ellie Boldenow, Executive Director, J.​P. Morgan Securities; Instruments: Treasuries & Govt Agencies with Sue Hill, Senior Portfolio Manager, Federated Investors and Michael Duke, Asst. VP, G.​X. Clarke & Co.; Instruments: Commercial Paper & ABCP with Rob Crowe and Jean-​Luc Sinniger of Citi Global Markets; Instruments: CDs, TDs & Bank Debt with Garret Sloan, F-​I Strategist, Wells Fargo Securities and Dave Lummis, President, J.​M. Lummis & Co.; Instruments of the Money Markets: Tax-​Exempt Securities, VRDNs, TOBs & Muni Bonds with Colleen Meehan, Senior PM, The Dreyfus Corp. and Rick White, Director, Wells Fargo Securities; and, Credit Analysis & Portfolio Management with Adam Ackerman, VP & Portfolio Manager, J.​P. Morgan Asset Management.

Day Two'​s agenda includes: Money Fund Regulations: 2a-​7 Basics & History with John Hunt, Partner, McLaughlin & Hunt LLP and Joan Swirsky, Of Counsel, Stradley Ronon; Regulations II: Recent & Future Rule Changes with Stephen Keen, Partner, Reed Smith and Joan Swirsky; Offshore & European Money Fund Primer, with Peter Crane and John Hunt; and, Technology Tools: Money Market Software, with Crane discussing his Money Fund Wisdom database, Bloomberg'​s Anthony Mossa talking about their money market functions and data, and Investortools discussing their SMART Rule 2a-​7 compliance software.

New portfolio managers, analysts, investors, issuers, service providers, and anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of "​cash" investing should benefit from our comprehensive program. Even experienced professionals should enjoy a refresher course and the opportunity to interact with peers in an informal setting. Attendee registration for Crane'​s Money Fund University is $​500. Exhibit space is $​2,​000 and sponsorship opportunities are $​3K, $​4.​5K, and $​5K. A small block of rooms have been reserved at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York. The conference negotiated rate of $​229 plus tax is available through December 31st.

We'​d like to thank our 2013 MFU sponsors -- G.​X. Clarke & Co., Fitch Ratings, Dreyfus/​BNY Mellon CIS, J.​P. Morgan Asset Management, BofA Global Capital Management, Invesco, Investortools, and Standard & Poor'​s -- for their support, and we look forward to seeing you in New York next month. E-​mail Pete for the latest brochure or visit www.​moneyfunduniversity.​com to register or for more details.

Crane Data is also preparing to publish the preliminary agenda and is accepting registrations for its big show, Money Fund Symposium, which will be held June 19-​21, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore, Md.. (​See www.​moneyfundsymposium.​com for details.) Let us know if you'​d like more information on this event, and watch for more information in coming weeks.

Nov 07

 

The November issue of Crane Data'​s Money Fund Intelligence was sent to subscribers Wednesday morning, along with our October 31, 2012 monthly performance data and rankings. Our Money Fund Wisdom database query website has been updated, and our Money Fund Intelligence XLS monthly spreadsheet, and Crane Index money fund averages will be released shortly. (​Our next monthly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings with 10/​31/​12 data are scheduled to be released on the 7th business day, Friday, Nov. 9.) The latest edition of MFI features the articles: "MMFs Reopen Talks w/​SEC; Step Up Attacks on FSOC," which discusses recent regulatory rumors and news; "JPM'​s Flex Class Prepares for Negative Yield World," which reviews developments in the Euro money fund marketplace; and, "Higher Repo Rates Lead to Fee Waiver Relief in 2012," which includes some rare good news for money fund providers.

Our MMFs Reopen Talks piece comments, "The regulatory reform saga continues. Bloomberg reported and the ICI confirmed that several large fund companies met recently with the SEC and Treasury Department officials to discuss a possible compromise. Though no details or confirmation of the meeting has been released by regulators, we assume they were being briefed on BlackRock'​s "​standby liquidity fee" and similar "​gating" proposals. At the same time, fund industry supporters have stepped up their attacks on the Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC."

The article adds, "Though the SEC and Treasury haven'​t confirmed the meeting, the ICI issued a brief comment, saying, "​ICI and the fund industry are engaging directly with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a united effort to constructively build on the success of the 2010 reforms." (​ICI'​s Money Market Working Group is also scheduled to meet in Boston this week.)"

Our monthly "​profile" piece says, "Late last month, J.​P. Morgan Asset Management announced the launch of a new "​Flexible Distributing" class for its Luxembourg-​​domiciled Euro-​​denominated money market funds. The "​Flex" shares would allow the funds to maintain a stable NAV in a potential negative yield environment by automatically selling shares to cover expenses and debits from any yields below zero."

Our Waiver Relief article says, "While the party may be over soon, stubbornly high rates on repurchase agreements have been a major factor in providing fee waiver relief to money funds during 2012. We show the DTCC'​s average repo rates (​GCFF Repo Index) (​available via www.​dtcc.​com) for Treasury, Agency and MBS-​backed repo, and we display the average expense ratios for money funds in a chart."

MFI adds, "Repo rates have climbed from averaging 16 to 18 bps during the first quarter of 2012 to averaging 28 to 33 bps during the third quarter of this year. Repo rates have tripled since the DTCC began posting averages on them in December 2011, rising from 0.​08% for Treasuries and 0.​09 for Agencies."

The November MFI also contains monthly News, Indexes, top rankings and extensive performance tables. E-​mail info@​cranedata.​com to request the latest issue. Subscriptions to Money Fund Intelligence are $​500 a year and include web access to archived issues and fund "​profiles". Additional users are $​250 and bulk pricing and "​site licenses" are available. Crane Data'​s other products include: Money Fund Intelligence XLS ($​1K/​yr), MFI Daily ($​2K/​yr), Money Fund Wisdom ($​4K/​yr), MFI International ($​2K/​yr), and Brokerage Sweep Intelligence ($​1K/​yr).

In other news, see also Bloomberg'​s article, "​FSB Sets 2013 Deadline for New Money-​Market Fund Rules". It says, "Global regulators set a September 2013 deadline to present tougher rules for money-​market mutual funds, repurchase agreements and other so-​called shadow banking activities as part of a broader push to reduce risk in the financial system. The Financial Stability Board also said that it would issue draft rules next year targeted at non-​bank institutions whose failure would roil the global economy."