MMF Yields Inch Lower to 5.13%
Money fund yields inched down by one basis point to 5.13% on average (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index) in the week ended March 8, after going unchanged the week prior. Our Crane 100 is an average of 7-day yields for the 100 largest taxable money funds. Yields were 5.17% on 1/31/24, 5.20% on 12/31/23 and 11/30, 5.19% on 10/31, 5.17% on 9/30, 5.16% on 8/31, 5.09% on July 31, 4.94% on June 30, 4.61% on March 31 and 4.05% on 12/31/22. The vast majority of money market fund assets now yield 5.0% or higher. Assets of money market funds rose by $13.9 billion last week to $6.482 trillion according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Weighted average maturities were unchanged last week. The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 712), shows a 7-day yield of 5.03%, down 1 bp in the week through Friday. Prime Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 5.24% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 5.10%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 5.06%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.85%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.83%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 5.05%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were up 3 bps at 3.02%. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (3/8), 48 money funds (out of 833 total) yield under 3.0% with $19.5 billion in assets, or 0.3%; 77 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($108.5 billion, or 1.7%), 248 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($1.101 trillion, or 17.0%) and 460 funds now yield 5.0% or more ($5.253 trillion, or 81.0%). Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.61%. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of Mar. 8, shows that there was no changes over the past week. Three of the 11 major brokerages tracked by our BSI still offer rates of 0.01% for balances of $100K (and lower tiers). These include: E*Trade, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
