The latest Crane Index publication, our monthly summary of money market mutual fund averages and cash benchmarks excerpted from Money Fund Intelligence, shows money fund yields hitting all-time lows in April 2009. The Crane 100 Money Fund Index, an average of the 100 largest taxable money funds' latest 7-day yields, fell 5 basis points to 0.38% in the month ended April 30, while our broader Crane Money Fund Average, made up of 886 taxable money funds, also fell 5 bps to 0.21%.
The Crane 100 30-day annualized simple yield was 0.40% in April. The 100 largest funds showed a 1-month cumulative return of 0.03%, a 3-month return of 0.13% (unannualized), a year-to-date return of 0.20%, and a 1-year return of 1.60%. Average annualized returns for the Crane 100 Money Fund Index were 3.68% over 3 years, 3.23% over 5 years, 3.22% over 10 years. The Crane 100 average 7-Day Gross Yield (annualized) was 0.75% as of April 30, 2009. The Crane 100 7-day yield average, currently 0.38%, was 1.22% as of Dec. 31, 2008, was 2.47% a year ago, and was 4.98% two years ago (April 30, 2007).
The Crane Institutional Money Fund Index (7-Day Yield), which is made up of 433 taxable money funds marketed to corporations and fiduciaries, was 0.30% as of April 30, down 0.06% in the month. The Crane Individual Money Fund Index, comprised of 453 taxable retail money funds, was 0.13%, down 0.03%. The Crane Tax-Exempt Money Fund Index, which is made up of 438 tax-exempt and municipal money funds, yielded 0.36% at month-end, unchanged from March 31, 2009.
Among fund sub-categories, the Crane Treasury Institutional MF Index was 0.06% as of April 30, the Crane Government Inst MF Index was 0.17%, and the Crane Prime Inst MF Index was 0.50%. The Crane Treasury Individual MF Index was 0.01%, the Crane Govt Individual MF Index was 0.06%, and the Crane Prime Individual MF Index was 0.22%. The Crane Tax Exempt Institutional MF Index was 0.56%, the Crane T-E Individual MF Index was 0.29%, and the Crane State Tax-Exempt Index was 0.33%.
Our Crane Brokerage Cash Index, which is made up of FDIC-insured brokerage sweep products and money fund yields from the 11 largest brokerages, was 0.13% in April, while the Crane Brokerage Sweep Index, which includes FDIC-insured sweep programs only, yielded 0.05%. The Top Bank Money Market Index, an average rate of the 10 highest yielding bank savings and money market deposit account products, was 1.88%.
Crane Data LLC began publishing its indexes in May 2006. For more details on our Crane Indexes, for a copy of our latest monthly Money Fund Intelligence, or Crane Index, or for information on our historical Crane Index averages, contact Pete. You can also find selected Crane Indexes on The Bloomberg (type "ALLX CRNI" for a listing).
