Apr 24

 

Crane Data, which produces largest annual gathering of money market professionals, Crane'​s Money Fund Symposium, and the "​basic training" event, Money Fund University, announces the launch of its third event, and first international offering, Crane'​s European Money Fund Symposium. European Money Fund Symposium will be held at the Conrad Hotel in Dublin, Ireland on September 24-​25, 2013, and will feature many of the world'​s foremost experts on "​offshore" money market mutual funds. Registration, which is $​1,​000 USD (​or 750 Euros), is now open and hotel reservations are now being accepted.

Our Peter Crane writes, "​Dear Money Fund & Cash Investment Professional: I'​m pleased to announce the launch of Crane'​s European Money Fund Symposium, Sept. 24-​25, 2013, at The Conrad Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. Crane Data'​s U.​S. Money Fund Symposium attracts the largest gathering of money fund professionals in the world, so we expect our inaugural European event to attract a robust crowd. We'​re now accepting registrations and hotel reservations, and are happy to discuss speaking and sponsorship opportunities."

He adds, "European Money Fund Symposium will offer money market portfolio managers, investors, issuers, and service providers a concentrated and affordable educational experience, as well as an excellent and informal networking venue. Our mission is to deliver the best possible conference content at an affordable price to money market fund professionals and investors. Attendee registration for Crane'​s European Money Fund Symposium is $​1,​000 (​or E750). A block of sleeping rooms has been reserved at The Conrad Dublin. The conference negotiated rate of E179 single and E189 double are available through September 5th. We hope to see you in Dublin!"

The preliminary Day One Agenda for Crane'​s European Money Fund Symposium includes: "State of MMFs in Europe & IMMFA Update" with Jonathon Curry, Global CIO Liquidity, HSBC Global Asset Management; "Global Regulatory Issues: What'​s Next?" with Dan Morrissey, Partner & Head of Asset Management, William Fry and John Hunt, Partner, Nutter, McClennen & Fish; "Risks & Ratings: Areas of Concern" with Yaron Ernst, Managing Director, Moody'​s Investors Service; "Monitoring European & Offshore MFs" with Peter Rizzo, Managing Director, Standard & Poor'​s and Aymeric Poizot, Head of EMEA Fund Ratings, Fitch Ratings; "Major Issues in Euro Money Funds" with Jason Granet, MD & Head International Liquidity PM, Goldman Sachs Asset Mgmt and an as yet unnamed Portfolio Manager from J.​P. Morgan Asset Management; "Major Issues in Sterling Money Funds" with Jennifer Gillespie, Head of Money Markets, Legal & General I.​M. and Jonathan Curry, Global CIO Liquidity, HSBC Global Asset Management; "Major Issues in USD & US Money Funds with Debbie Cunningham, MM CIO, Federated Investors and Jennifer Yazdanpanahi, Head of EMEA Cash, SSgA; and, "MMFs in Asia & Emerging Markets" with Peter Crane, President & Publisher, Crane Data and Andrew Paranthoiene, Director, Standard & Poor'​s.

The Day Two Agenda includes: "Dublin as a Domicile for Money Market Funds" with Pat Lardner, Chief Executive, Irish Funds Industry Association; "Distribution Panel: New Markets & Concerns" with Rich Boyd, Sr. VP & Head of Business Development, Federated Intl Management Ltd, Jim Fuell, Head of Global Liquidity, EMEA, J.​P. Morgan Asset Management; and Kathleen Hughes, Global Head of Liquidity Sales, Goldman Sachs A.​M.; "Dealer Update & Supply Discussion" with Kieran Davis, European Head of ST Trading, Barclays, Jean-​Luc Sinniger, Director, Citi Global Markets and David Hynes, Partner, Northcross Capital LLP; "From the Regulators Perspective" Bank of England, EU Regulator (​Invited); "Portal Panel: Beyond MMFs & Transparency" with Justin Meadows, Chief Executive, MyTreasury, Greg Fortuna, MD, State Street'​s Fund Connect, and Maryum Malik, Director of Business Development, SunGard; "Back Office Briefs: Accounting & Servicing"; and "Portfolio Manager Roundtable & Open Talk."

Sponsors to date of the event include: Moody'​s Investors Service, Federated International, J.​P. Morgan Asset Management, State Street Global Advisors, MyTreasury, Standard & Poor'​s. Sponsorship levels are $​3K, $​4.​5K, $​6K, and $​7.​5K, and limited speaking opportunities remain. Visit www.​euromfs.​com or contact us for more details.

Finally, preparations are being made for Crane Data'​s flagship event, Money Fund Symposium (www.​moneyfundsymposium.​com), which will take place June 19-​21, 2013, at The Baltimore Hyatt Regency. We expect over 400 money fund managers, marketers and professionals, money market securities dealers and issuers, servicers and cash investors of all stripes. We hope to see you in June in Baltimore!

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.

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."