Money Fund Yields Fall Back to 3.75%
Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) decreased by 3 bps to 3.75% on average during the week ended Friday, December 5 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after increasing 2 bps the week prior. Fund yields should move lower in coming days as they digest the remainder of the Fed's Oct. 29 25 bps rate cut (and then move lower again if we get a cut on Dec. 10). Yields were 3.78% on 11/30, 3.90% on 10/31, 3.94% on 9/30, 4.11% on 8/31, 4.12% on 7/31, 4.13% on 6/30, 4.10% on 5/31, 4.13% on 4/30/25, 4.14% on 3/31/25 and 4.28% on average on 12/31/24. MMFs averaged 4.75% on 9/30/24, 5.10% on 6/28/24, 5.14% on 3/31/24 and 5.20% on 12/31/23. The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 679), shows a 7-day yield of 3.65%, down 3 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were down 2 bps at 3.88% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 2 bps at 3.77%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 4 bps at 3.68%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.46%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.47% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.67%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down 44 bps to 2.00%. Assets of money market funds rose by $46.8 billion last week to $8.029 trillion, according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. MMF assets hit a record high of $8.053 trillion on December 4. Month-to-date in December (through 12/5), MMF assets have increased $46.8 billion, after increasing by $132.8 billion in November, $142.1 billion in October, $105.2 billion in September, $132.0 billion in August, $63.7 billion in July, $6.7 billion in June, $100.9 billion in May, decreasing $24.4 billion in April, increasing by $2.8 billion in March, $94.2 billion in February, $52.8 billion in January and $110.9 billion last December. Weighted average maturities were at 39 days for the Crane MFA and 40 days the Crane 100 Money Fund Index. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (12/5), 133 money funds (out of 789 total) yield under 3.0% with $160.2 billion in assets, or 2.0%; 637 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($7.674 trillion, or 95.6%), 19 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($194.7 billion, or 2.4%) and following the recent rate cut there continue to be zero funds yielding 5.0% or more. Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.32%, after falling 1 basis point three weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of December 5, shows no changes over the past week. Three of the 10 major brokerages tracked by our BSI offer rates of 0.01% for balances of $100K (and lower tiers). These include: E*Trade, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
