Crane 100 MF Index Dips to 4.69%
Money fund yields slid 4 basis points to 4.69% on average for the week ended Friday, Oct. 11 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index, an average of 7-day yields for the 100 largest taxable money funds), after falling 2 bps the week prior and 18 bps two weeks prior. Yields were 4.75% on 9/30, 5.10% on 8/31, 5.13% on 7/31 and 6/28, 5.14% on 5/31, 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. Yields should continue to bottom out as they digest the final remnants of the Fed cut, then they should stabilize until the next cut. The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 662), shows a 7-day yield of 4.59%, down 4 bps in the week through Friday. (Five weeks prior was the first time our Crane MFA fell below 5.0% since July 2023.) Prime Inst money fund yields were down 4 bps at 4.79% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 5 bps at 4.69%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 5 bps at 4.64%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.43%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.40%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 4.57%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were up 10 bps to 2.72%. Assets of money market funds fell by $579 million last week to $6.794 trillion according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Assets reached its record high Thursday Oct. 10 at $6.823 trillion. For the month of October, MMF assets have increased by $29.4 billion, after increasing by $149.8 billion in September. Weighted average maturities were up 1 day at 34 days for the Crane MFA and up 2 days at 34 days for the Crane 100 Money Fund Index. According to Tuesday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (10/11), 100 money funds (out of 780 total) yield under 3.0% with $98.0 billion in assets, or 1.4%; 49 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($57.6 billion, or 0.8%), 625 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($6.428 trillion, or 94.6%) and just 6 funds now yield 5.0% or more ($210.3 billion, or 3.1%). Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was one basis point lower to 0.51%, after dropping 2 basis points the previous week. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of Oct. 11, shows that there were two changes over the past week. Ameriprise Financial Services lowered rates to 0.35% for all accounts between $100K and $249K, to 0.50% for all accounts between $250K and $499K, to 0.65% for all accounts between $500K and $999K, and lowered rates to 1.69% for accounts between $1 million and $4.9 million, they also lowered rates to 1.99% for accounts of $5 million and greater. Merrill Lynch lowered rates for a third week in a row for their advisory accounts, now at 4.73% (down 5 bps). Three of the 10 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. (Note: Three weeks prior we added advisory rates to Brokerage Sweep Intelligence for Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.)
