Apr 09

 

The April issue of Crane Data'​s Money Fund Intelligence was e-​mailed to subscribers Monday morning, and our March 31, 2012 monthly performance data and rankings were distributed via our Money Fund Intelligence XLS monthly spreadsheet, our Money Fund Wisdom database query website and our Crane Index money fund averages series. (​Our monthly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings with 3/​31/​12 data will be distributed on the 9th business day, April 13.) The new edition of MFI features the articles: "Another Two Bite the Dust: Consolidation Becomes Real," which discusses the pending liquidations and exits of Fifth Third and Victory Funds from the money fund space; "Talking Tax Exempts w/​Western Asset'​s Amodeo," our monthly fund "​profile" which interviews Western Muni MMF Managers Robert Amodeo and Charles Bardes; and, "No Truce in MMF Reform Debate; No Proposal Yet," which discusses recent (​unsuccessful) attempts to compromise over pending regulations.

Our lead piece says, "We'​ve been arguing for years that predictions of consolidation in the money fund space have been greatly exaggerated, but the latest couple of announcements have us rethinking our position. Two decent-​sized, long-​term players (​as opposed to the fringe outfit that have folded to date) have recently announced exits -- Fifth Third will have its money funds liquidated and its assets merged into Federated, and KeyBank'​s Victory Funds is also calling it quits and liquidating."

Money Fund Intelligence explains, "In the past two years, we'​ve seen Old Mutual, Paypal, Pacific Capital, Pioneer (​partial), Scout (​UMB), Ridgeworth (​merged into Federated), Eagle (​Raymond James), and a handful of others announce liquidations. The number of funds tracked by Crane Data has fallen from 1,​310 to 1,​209, which also includes lots of mergers and stream-​linings."

The Western Asset Profile, which we'​ll excerpt later this month, tell us, "This month, MFI interviews managers of `​Western Asset Management'​s Municipal Money Market Funds. We speak with Robert Amodeo, Portfolio Manager and Head of the Municipal Group, and Charles Bardes, a Portfolio Manager on the Tax-​Exempt Money Market Mutual Funds. The two have been running money funds with the unit since its days as Salomon Brothers Asset Management (​in the late '​80'​s/​early '​90'​s), which then became Citigroup Asset Management and eventually was acquired by Western parent Legg Mason. Our Q&​A involving tax-​exempt money fund issues follows."

The third feature piece in our monthly says, "Despite SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter'​s recent call for a "​step back" and a "​re-​engage"-​ment in the discussion over additional money market fund regulatory reforms, the public battle between the money fund industry and the bank regulatory community rages on. While a number of the most public comments occurred at the ICI'​s Phoenix Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference, regulators and industry participants continue to wage a PR war on multiple fronts. The pending reform proposal, which The Wall Street Journal claimed was imminent, remains nowhere to be seen. (​We'​re guessing June.)"

The April MFI also contains monthly News, Indexes, top rankings and extensive performance tables. E-​mail info@​cranedata.​us 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).

Mar 08

 

Money Fund Symposium, Crane Data'​s annual money market mutual fund conference (​the 4th one will be in Pittsburgh, June 20-​22), is featured in Meeting Planning firm Kinsley Associates' latest "In the Know" newsletter, in an article entitled, "5 Keys to Successful Conferences and Meetings for Small Businesses." The article cites the show'​s dramatic growth in its first three years and says, "Many small companies fall prey to the belief that only large companies are poised to include conferences and meetings in their solution offerings. Admittedly, larger companies may have more advantages due to their size, but smaller companies can reap the same benefits if they partner with the right company and utilize best practices. In fact, smaller companies can achieve fantastic results because they are small and nimble. Crane Data, a company with just seven employees hired Kinsley Meetings to help with its initial conference. These are the keys to success we employed for Crane Data that prove small companies can successfully navigate conferences and meetings: 1. Plan Ahead. 2. Speakers and content drive the momentum. 3. Leverage existing products/​services. 4. Destination is key. 5. Hire the right company. Hosting a conference or meeting takes strategic planning and attention to detail. Finding the right partner is crucial to conducting a successful conference or meeting.... In the case of Crane Data, Kinsley Meetings handles all the logistics for the conferences, including the destination, venue, registration, and all the fine details. This well-​defined separation of responsibilities enables Peter to focus on the educational content of the meeting, and Kinsley to focus on its core strength: meetings." For more on Crane'​s Money Fund Symposium, visit http://​www.​moneyfundsymposium.​com.

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 12

 

In just over a month, we will host our second annual Crane'​s Money Fund University at The Hyatt Regency Boston, Jan. 19-​20, 2012. 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 Boston, we will expand the focus on regulations, adding a second session on recent Money Market Fund Reforms. Please note that this Friday (​12/​16) is the last day that our discounted hotel rate is available.

Day One of the 2012 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; Interest Rate Basics & Money Fund Math with Brian Smedley, U.​S. Rates, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; The Federal Reserve & Money Markets with Joseph Abate, Director F-​I Strategy, Barclays Capital and Michael Cloherty, Head of Rates Strategy, RBC Capital Markets; Money Fund Regulations: 2a-​7 Basics & History with John Hunt, Partner, McLaughlin & Hunt LLP and Joan Swirsky, Of Counsel, Stradley Ronan; Regulations II: Interpretations & Recent Changes with Stephen Keen, Partner, Reed Smith and Joan Swirsky; and, Operations: Fund Admin & The Board'​s Role with Brian Curran, Vice President, BNY Mellon and Susan Wyderko, Exec. Director, Mutual Fund Directors Forum.

Day Two'​s 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 Sal Ursida, Partner, 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 James Randazzo, Senior PM, Wells Capital Management and Ben Schuler, Structured Muni Analyst, Fidelity Investments; Portfolio Management Strategies & Basics with Jeff St. Peters, Portfolio Manager, SSgA and Michael Markowitz, MD & Head STFI, Guggenheim Partners; Credit Analysis & Approved Lists with Bob Piepenburg, Director/​Credit Analyst, BofA Global Capital and Jacob Weinstein, Sr. Portfolio Analyst, Fidelity; and, Ratings, Monitoring & Risk with Joel Friedman, Senior Director, Standard & Poor'​s Viktoria Baklanova, Senior Director, Fitch Ratings and Crane Data'​s Peter Crane.

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 Hyatt Regency Boston. The conference negotiated rate of $​189 plus tax (​14.​45% currently) is available through December, 16th.

We'​d like to thank our current sponsors -- Fitch Ratings, G.​X. Clarke & Co., Fidelity Investments, Invesco, Investortools, and Standard & Poor'​s -- for their support, and we look forward to seeing you in Boston next month. E-​mail Pete for the latest brochure or visit http://​www.​moneyfunduniversity.​com to register or for more details.

Crane Data has also published the preliminary agenda and is accepting registrations for its largest Money Fund Symposium conference, which will be held June 20-​22, 2012, at the Westin in Pittsburgh, Pa.. (​See http://​www.​moneyfundsymposium.​com for details.) Finally, we also plan on joining forces with German conference producer IQPC to support the launch of European Money Fund Summit, an event focusing on money fund regulations, trends and standards in Europe tentatively scheduled for Nov. 14-​16, 2012, in Frankfurt, Germany. Watch for more details in coming months.