Crane Data continues to prepare for its next live event, our "basic training" Money Fund University, which will take place in less than 2 months, December 19-20, 2024, at The Renaissance Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island. Crane's Money Fund University is designed for those new to the money market fund industry or those in need of a concentrated refresher on the basics. The event also focuses on hot topics like money market fund regulations, money fund alternatives, offshore markets, and other recent industry trends. Our educational conference features a faculty of the money fund industry's top lawyers, strategists, and portfolio managers, and the Providence show will include a Holiday cocktail party Dec. 19 and a free training session for Crane Data clients. We review the MFU agenda and some other upcoming conferences, below. (Note: Thank you to those who visited our booth in Nashville earlier this week at AFP's Annual Treasury Conference! We look forward to seeing you next year in Boston!)
Money Fund University offers a 2-day crash course on money market mutual funds, educating attendees on the history of money funds, the Fed, interest rates, ratings, rankings, and money market instruments such as commercial paper, Treasury bills, CDs and repo. We also cover portfolio construction and credit analysis. Registrations are $750 are still being taken, and the latest agenda is available here. (E-mail us to request the latest brochure, and make your hotel reservations soon!)
The morning of Day One (12/19/24) of the 2024 MFU agenda includes: History & Current State of Money Market Mutual Funds with Peter Crane of Crane Data; The Federal Reserve & Money Markets with Katie Craig of BofA; Ratings, Monitoring & Performance with Steven Johnson of Fitch Ratings, Rahul Ghai of S&P Global and Peter Crane of Crane Data; and, Instruments of the Money Markets Intro with Pankaj Vohra of J.P. Morgan Securities and Peter Crane of Crane Data.
Day One's afternoon agenda includes: Repurchase Agreements with Dan Boate of J.P. Morgan Secs; Treasuries & Govt Agencies with Sue Hill of Federated Hermes and Matt Lachance of TD Securities; Commercial Paper & ABCP with Rob Crowe of Citi Global Markets and Greg Jensen of Citi Global Markets; CDs, TDs & Bank Debt with Vanessa McMichael of Wells Fargo Securities; and, Credit Analysis & Portfolio Management with Sean Lussier of SSGA and Peter Hajjar of SSGA. (Note: Crane Data will host its Holiday Party alongside MFU. Clients and friends are welcome to join us at the Renaissance Hotel on Monday, Dec. 19 from 5-7:30pm!)
Day Two's (12/20) agenda includes: Money Fund Regulations: 2a-7 Basics & History with Stephen Cohen of Dechert LLP and Jamie Gershkow of Stradley Ronon; Money Fund Reforms: Latest 2a-7 Changes with Jon-Luc Dupuy of K&L Gates LLP and Stephen Cohen of Dechert LLP; European MMFs & Ultra-Short Funds with John Hunt of Sullivan & Worcester LLP and Peter Crane of Crane Data; and Money Fund Data & Wisdom Demo/Training with Peter Crane. The conference ends with its annual MFU "Graduation" ceremony (where diplomas are given to attendees).
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 may enjoy a refresher course and the opportunity to interact with peers in an informal setting. Attendee registration for Crane's Money Fund University is just $750, exhibit space is $2,000, and sponsorship opportunities are $3K (Bronze), $4K (Silver), and $5K (Gold). A block of rooms has been reserved at The Renaissance Hotel. (Please reserve before 11/16.)
We'd like to thank our MFU sponsors – Fitch Ratings, CastleOak Securities, Silicon Valley Bank, BlackRock, TD Securities, Capitolis, Northern Trust, Dechert LLP, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, K&L Gates, Dreyfus, Citi and GLMX -- for their support, and we look forward to seeing you in Providence in December! E-mail Pete Crane (pete@cranedata.com) for the latest brochure or visit www.moneyfunduniversity.com to register or for more details.
Crane Data is also preparing the preliminary agenda for our next Bond Fund Symposium, which will be held March 27-28, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Newport Beach, CA. Our Bond Fund Symposium offers a concentrated program for fixed-income managers and dealers with a focus on the ultra-short segment. Registration for Bond Fund Symposium is $1000; exhibit space is $2,000 (includes 2 tickets); and sponsorship opportunities are $3K, $4K, $5K, and $6K. Our mission is to deliver the best possible conference content at a reasonable price to bond fund professionals and investors.
We'll also soon be making plans for our next "big show," Money Fund Symposium, which will be held June 23-25, 2025, at The Renaissance Boston Seaport in Boston. (Let us know if you'd like details on speaking or sponsoring.) Also, mark your calendars for next year's European Money Fund Symposium, which will be held Sept. 25-26 in Dublin, Ireland. Watch for details on these shows in coming weeks and months.
In other news, MarketWatch writes that, "Bond yields aren't high enough yet to help entice investor out of money-market funds." They tell us, "Don't hold your breath waiting for cash to come flooding out of money-market funds. That's the message from `Hong Mu, a portfolio manager at Penn Mutual Asset Management, while speaking by phone with MarketWatch on Wednesday. Bond yields have been rising on a soft-landing scenario for the economy, but because investors recently also have been bracing for a potential victory for former President Donald Trump in November, which could put his tariff and tax-cut proposals into motion."
The piece explains, "But the Federal Reserve likely would need to cut rates below 1% to spur significant money-market outflows, a level that likely would coincide with fears of a recession. Or bond yields would need to climb much higher than they are now."
