Money Fund Yields Inch Down to 5.12%
Money fund yields were down 1 basis point to 5.12% on average (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index) in the week ended May 10, after being unchanged the week prior. Our Crane 100 is an average of 7-day yields for the 100 largest taxable money funds. Yields were 5.13% on 4/30, 5.14% on 3/31 and 2/29/24, 5.17% on 1/31/24, 5.20% on 12/31/23, 4.94% on 6/30/23, 4.61% on 3/31/23 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 $22.8 billion last week to $6.422 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 714), shows a 7-day yield of 5.03%, unchanged in the week through Friday. Prime Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 5.20% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 5.10%. Treasury Inst MFs were unchanged at 5.06%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.85%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.82%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 5.02%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down 27 bps at 3.00%. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (5/10), 53 money funds (out of 835 total) yield under 3.0% with $18.5 billion in assets, or 0.3%; 72 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($116.0 billion, or 1.8%), 255 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($1.325 trillion, or 20.6%) and 455 funds now yield 5.0% or more ($4.962 trillion, or 77.3%). 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 May 10, shows that there were 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.
