Crane Data Subscribers
End to Fee Rebating In Offshore Money Market Mutual Funds Approaches. Our latest issue of Money Fund Intelligence contained an article entitled "Online Trading Portals Expanding Into Europe." In it, we discussed the practice of fee rebating, which is prohibited in the U.S. but which is commonplace among Dublin-based "offshore" money market funds. Vince Tolve, director of trade & client management at SunGard Transaction Network (STN) Money Market Portal, which recently expanded into Europe, told us, "I think the market continues to embrace the traditional U.S.-style, stable NAV money market approach.... Obviously, the rebating is a challenge for intermediaries. But Sungard's fully-disclosed model helps support our clients in this environment." SunGard MD Dave Mishoe tells us that it's becoming more common for funds to sell the low-cost "institutional" class instead of negotiating deals for specific clients. Crane Data expects fee rebating to eventually be banned in the U.K. and Europe as regulators there begin considering adopting U.S.-style money fund regulations, which mandate that all shareholders be treated equally. Tolve adds, "We'd love to see more standardization."
