The Investment Company Institute, the mutual fund industry's trade group and primary statistician, released its weekly "Money Market Mutual Fund Assets" and monthly "Trends in Mutual Fund Investing: June 2009" late Thursday. Both showed a continued slide in money market mutual fund assets. In June, money fund assets fell by $115.6 billion, or 3.1%, to $3.653 trillion, and in the week ended July 29 money fund assets fell by an additional $21.98 billion to $3.634 trillion, their lowest level since mid-November 2008.
ICI also released its "Month-End Portfolio Holdings of Taxable Money Market Funds," which showed dollar amount declines in practically every holding except certificates of deposits, corporate notes and Treasury bills. As of June 30, U.S. Government Agency Securities remain the largest holding in taxable money funds, representing 23.4%, or $749.4 billion, followed by CDs (19.9%, or $635.7 billion), Commercial Paper (16.6%, or $532.3 billion), Treasury Bills and Securities (15.6%, or $499.1 billion) and Repurchase Agreements (15.4%, or $492.7 billion). `Repos, formerly the second largest segment, showed the only sharp drop in the month, down $112.4 billion.
Money funds' asset declines began early this year, after reaching a record $3.922 trillion on Jan. 14, 2009, and they've continued in earnest since mid-March 2009. `Month-to-date in July, ICI's weekly asset statistics show a decline of $30 billion and year-to-date this series shows assets down by $196 billion, or 5.1%. Money market mutual fund assets represented 36.5% of the total $10.0 trillion in overall mutual fund assets as of June 30 according to the ICI.
Institutional money fund assets now account for $2.437 trillion, over two-thirds, or 67%, of total money fund assets, their highest level ever. YTD, institutional assets have declined by $49 billion, or 2%, while retail money fund assets have declined by $158 billion, or 11.6%. "Prime" (or "Taxable non-government") money fund assets remain the dominant segment with $1.974 trillion of the $3.634 trillion (54.3%), Government (including Treasury) money funds total $1.216 trillion (33.5%), and Tax Exempt money funds total $443 billion (12.2%).
