The Luxembourg-based JPMorgan USD Liquidity Fund recently became the first money market mutual fund domiciled outside the U.S. to surpass the $100 billion mark. Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence International shows the fund at $102.42 billion as of October 13, and we show JPMorgan as the largest manager of money market mutual funds outside the U.S. with over $202.81 billion. When U.S. money fund assets are combined with European totals, JPMorgan ranks as the largest money fund manager in the world with approximately $564.51 billion, ahead of Fidelity's U.S.-heavy $507.39 billion (totals will be available shortly in our quarterly Money Fund Intelligence Distribution Survey).
The company recently published a press release in Europe entitled, "JPMAM increases dominance in liquidity funds arena", which says, "One year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and 2 years after the start of the credit crisis, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, the world's largest provider of institutional liquidity funds, has continued to see huge flows into its AAA-rated stable net asset value (NAV) funds despite an overall fall in assets across the money market funds industry this year. As a result, J.P. Morgan Asset Management remains the largest international provider of 'AAA' rated money market funds with a 31% market share of IMMFA-style funds."
It continues, "J.P. Morgan Asset Management's international Liquidity Funds business has grown by over 100% since September 2007, in terms of assets under management and now stands at $198 billion. In addition, assets under management in the JPM USD Liquidity Fund specifically, have also grown by over 100% to $100 billion over the same period, making it the largest mutual fund in Europe today."
The $100-plus billion JPM USD Liquidity fund is followed in size by the Cayman Islands-domiciled Western Asset USD Liq Reserves at $29.36 billion and the Dublin-domiciled Goldman Sachs USD Liq Resv Inst at $26.92 billion. In the U.S., four funds total over $100 billion -- JPMorgan Prime MM ($167.21 bil), Fidelity Cash Reserves ($137.12 bil), Vanguard Prime MMF ($112.78 bil) and JPMorgan US Govt MM ($109.51 bil). Crane Data began tracking "offshore" money funds early in 2009, so we don't have annual growth numbers. But we show JPMorgan's domestic U.S. money fund assets increasing by 27.5%, or $81.98 billion, to $379.61 billion in the 12 months through Sept. 30, 2009.
Kathleen Hughes, Head of Global Liquidity EMEA, says in the release, "When investors are looking for safety, liquidity and diversification, they clearly want a manager they can trust as well as one with a proven track record. It is testament to J.P. Morgan Asset Management's size, financial strength and global capabilities that we are seeing our inflows increase on such a scale. The JPM USD Liquidity Fund is a particular beneficiary of this but because of the strength of our global platform, our broader fund range has benefited greatly too."
Finally, Bob Deutsch, Head of Global Liquidity, adds, "As one of the most respected names in the liquidity funds industry with over $500 billion worth of assets under management globally, we also believe in sharing our investment insights, resources and intellectual capital with our clients. Through value-added programmes and services, such as investment forums, exclusive white papers, industry surveys and one-on-one consultations, J.P. Morgan Global Liquidity brings unique perspectives to investment decisions and we're proud of our depth and scale of ability in this area."
