The mutual fund industry's trade association, the Investment Company Institute released both its monthly asset totals and data for July 31, 2008, and its latest weekly money fund asset series late yesterday. The "Portfolio Holdings of Taxable Money Funds" supplemental tables (not available publicly) show repurchase agreements surging in July at the expense of Treasury bills and Government Agency securities, though WAMs (weighted average maturities) extended (evidence of "barbelling" in funds) to 55 days on average. Assets rebounded slightly in the week ended August 26, though they continued their 5-month slide in July.
U.S. Government Agency Securities remain the largest component with taxable money funds holding $699.1 billion, or 22.1%. Certificates of Deposits rank as the second largest holding when the $100 billion in Eurodollar CDs is included in the total with $634.7 billion, or 20.1%. Repos have rebounded to third with $577.6 billion, or 18.3%, while Commercial Paper continued its painful retreat. Treasury Bills and Securities held by money funds total $441.1 billion, or 14.0% of assets, while Corporate Notes and Bank Notes make up a combined 6.7% and Other assets account for 2.5%.
Money funds now hold $514.8 billion in CP, 48.3% of the total $1,065.7 billion in commercial paper (using the Fed's totals as of late July). CP holdings by money funds have declined by $168.5 billion, or 24.7%, over the past year, but funds overall share of the CP market has increased sharply as the CP market contracted sharply. `ICI Chief Economist Brian Reid showed a chart at our recent Money Fund Symposium indicating that this total has risen sharply. (Crane Data is now offering a PDF version of the MFS conference binder to non-attendees for $250.)
ICI's monthly "Trends in Mutual Fund Investing: July 2009" says, "Money market funds had an outflow of $47.14 billion in July, compared with an outflow of $116.42 billion in June. Funds offered primarily to institutions had an outflow of $18.13 billion. Funds offered primarily to individuals had an outflow of $29.01 billion." Total assets declined by $46 billion to $3.6 trillion in July and have declined by $225.6 billion since Dec. 31, 2008, according to ICI. Money funds now represent 34.5% of the total $10.43 trillion in mutual funds.
The weekly ICI series says, "Total money market mutual fund assets increased by $1.62 billion to $3.579 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, August 26.... Taxable government funds increased by $1.51 billion, taxable non-government funds increased by $2.95 billion, and tax-exempt funds decreased by $2.85 billion. Assets of retail money market funds decreased by $6.51 billion to $1.168 trillion.... Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $8.13 billion to $2.411 trillion."
