The Investment Company Institute's weekly and Crane Data's daily money fund asset series both hit new records as of Wednesday, April 2. ICI's latest "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets rising $17.6 billion to $7.032 trillion, after rising $11.8 billion the week prior and falling $21.8 billion two weeks ago. Money fund assets have risen in 24 of the last 35, and 35 of the last 50 weeks, increasing by $728.1 billion (or 11.6%) since the Fed cut on 9/18/24 and increasing by $1.054 trillion (or 17.6%) since 4/24/24. MMF assets are up by $920 billion, or 15.1%, in the past 52 weeks (through 4/2/25), with Institutional MMFs up $465 billion, or 12.6% and Retail MMFs up $455 billion, or 18.7%. Year-to-date, MMF assets are up by $181 billion, or 2.6%, with Institutional MMFs up $32 billion, or 0.8% and Retail MMFs up $149 billion, or 5.5%.
ICI's weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $17.60 billion to $7.03 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, April 2... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $10.44 billion and prime funds increased by $5.17 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds increased by $1.99 billion.” ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs decreasing $0.1 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $17.7 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $5.752 trillion (81.8% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $1.142 trillion (16.2%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $137.4 billion (2.0%).
It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $17.70 billion to $2.88 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $10.01 billion to $1.83 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $6.23 billion to $929.84 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $1.46 billion to $125.59 billion." Retail assets account for well over a third of total assets, or 41.0%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.4% of all Retail MMFs.
They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $101 million to $4.15 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $429 million to $3.92 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $1.06 billion to $212.51 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $529 million to $11.83 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 59.0% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.6% of all institutional MMF totals.
According to Crane Data's separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have risen by $54.6 billion in April through 4/2/25, hitting a record high of $7.378 trillion on April 2. Assets rose by $2.8 trillion in March, $94.2 billion in February, $52.8 billion in January, $110.9 billion in December, $200.5 trillion in November, $97.5 billion in October, $149.8 billion in September, $109.7 billion in August, $16.6 billion in July, $15.7 billion in June and $91.4 billion in May. They declined by $15.8 billion in April 2024. Note that ICI's asset totals don't include a number of funds tracked by the SEC and Crane Data, so they're over $330 billion lower than Crane's asset series.
In other news, online money market trading portal ICD published a "2025 ICD Client Survey," recently, which explains, "Since 2018, ICD has annually surveyed hundreds of treasury and finance professionals around the world to better understand their liquidity and investment strategies, priorities, and perspectives.... This year's results highlight key trends in cash management and investment planning, with treasury professionals focused heavily on adapting to market fluctuations and enhancing operational efficiency. Additionally, the findings reveal emerging opportunities and ongoing concerns that will shape organizations' financial strategies in the coming months, offering ICD a clear roadmap for refining products and services to better meet client needs."
The survey's "Key Findings At-a-Glance," include: "1. Geopolitical & Interest Rate Concerns. Corporate treasury's main economic concerns center around geopolitical conflicts, uncertain interest rates, and the possibility of a recession. There's also continued worry regarding counterparty exposure, due in part to the recent collapse of major banks in the U.S. and Europe.... 2. Increased Diversification of Liquid Investment Holdings. There are over 12 types of investment products that 20%+ of U.S. respondents are either actively leveraging or planning to leverage in 2025. While mainstream products like Money Market Funds, Demand Deposits, and T-Bills continue to see significant usage, there is also increased interest in other products such as commercial paper and repos."
They also list: "3. Larger Cash Positions & Elevated MMF Deposits. Across the board, respondents plan to hold more cash in 2025 compared to prior years, and there was broad consensus in diversifying this cash across MMFs and other liquid investment products. In total, 82% of respondents plan to maintain or increase cash balances during 2025, which represents an 8% increase from the prior year. In addition, 91% plan to maintain or increase their level of MMF investments. 4.) Technology Projects & AI Evaluations Are in Full Swing. This year, treasury professionals believe that financial reporting, cash forecasting, and data aggregation are the key areas where AI solutions can have the greatest impact. Additionally, 42% of respondents are currently working on a treasury technology project, and nearly 1 in 5 (18%) are implementing a new TMS within the next 12 months."
The survey lists the "Top Survey Stats of 2025," writing, "Our 2025 survey has provided a number of compelling insights to highlight. A collection of the most noteworthy statistics are summarized below. Among these are the fact that nearly 4x more companies will increase their MMF allocations vs decrease them in 2025, with 82% of respondents also planning to maintain or increase their cash balances during the year ahead." They also cite the statistics: "90% of U.S. companies are actively investing in U.S. Govt/Treasury Money Market Funds," "36% of U.S. companies plan to be invested in T-Bills by the year's end," and "<5% of treasury groups are actively invested in crypto or digital assets."
A section on "Treasury's Investment Plans (Americas)," says, "In the U.S., 9 out of every 10 respondents will invest in government/treasury money market funds during 2025. In total, there were seven categories of products -- including T-Bills, Bank Deposits, and various MMF options -– where more than 1/3rd of respondents plan to invest this year. There are also nearly 12 categories where 10%+ of respondents who are not currently invested, plan to do so by the year's end. Among the top risers in this regard are Short Duration Bond Funds, Commercial Paper, and Time Deposits. Alternatively, despite continued mainstream media attention, very few organizations are planning to invest in cryptocurrencies or digital assets. U.S. companies' use of European Commercial Paper (ECP) and EU/UK/APAC Government Bonds is also very low, with 10% or less planning to invest in these products during 2025."
ICD's update states, "Internationally, the dominance of MMF products is less pronounced, but still significant. In total, offshore prime MMF funds comprised the largest share of use at 60%, followed closely by Time Deposits at 56%. Looking at the largest gains, short duration bond funds, ESG products, Repos, and EU government bills -– all categories with limited traction in the past -- have seen a dramatic rise in interest from practitioners for 2025. Although U.S. investment products understandably see less traction overseas, there is still a fair degree of interest in U.S. Government MMFs and Prime MMFs. U.S. T-Bills and Commercial Paper are also seeing rising engagement. On the low end of the spectrum, cryptocurrency and federally insured CDs continue to see very little adoption internationally, as do FDIC-insured CDs and Deposit Accounts."
Finally, under a "Money Market Funds" section, they tell us, "In-line with respondents' intent to maintain or increase their cash balances during 2025, there was also broad consensus in maintaining or increasing MMF holdings as well. In total, 91% plan to maintain or increase their level of MMF investments this year, versus just 9% who plan on decreasing their position or not investing in MMFs at all. Compared to 2024, these percentages are almost identical, as 90% planned to increase or maintain their MMF holdings and 10% were decreasing or not investing."
