Money market mutual funds again posted huge outflows, as April 15's "giant sucking sound" of cash moving to pay income taxes likely exacerbated declines in the latest week. ICI's weekly "Money Market Mutual Fund Assets" says, "Total money market mutual fund assets decreased by $51.33 billion to $2.913 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, April 14." Money fund assets have declined for 7 weeks in a row, losing $252.4 billion, or 8.0%, and have declined in 13 of the past 14 weeks.
Year-to-date in 2010, money fund assets have fallen by $380 billion, or 11.5%. Institutional assets have led the declines in 2010, dropping by $314 billion, or 14.1%, while retail assets have dropped by just $66 billion, or 6.2%. Over the past 52 weeks, money fund assets have plummeted, down $904 billion, or 23.7%. Institutional assets fell $578 billion, or 23.2%, and retail assets fell $326 billion, or 24.5%. Since peaking at a record $3.920 trillion on Jan. 14, 2009, money fund assets have now fallen by over a trillion dollars; they're down a shocking $1.007 trillion, or 25.7%.
ICI's report says, "Taxable government funds decreased by $28.76 billion, taxable non-government funds decreased by $18.54 billion, and tax-exempt funds decreased by $4.03 billion. Assets of retail money market funds decreased by $8.03 billion to $1.002 trillion. Taxable government money market fund assets in the retail category decreased by $1.20 billion to $155.19 billion, taxable non-government money market fund assets decreased by $4.90 billion to $627.15 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $1.93 billion to $219.44 billion."
The weekly ICI release adds, "Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $43.30 billion to $1.912 trillion. Among institutional funds, taxable government money market fund assets decreased by $27.56 billion to $696.46 billion, taxable non-government money market fund assets decreased by $13.63 billion to $1.070 trillion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $2.11 billion to $144.62 billion." Institutional money fund assets have recently declined to 65.6% of all money fund assets, down from a record percentage of 67.5% in December 2009.
Yesterday, money fund assets declined by an additional $21.7 billion, according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Money market funds traditionally see large outflows in the weeks coinciding with April 15, so there's likely no relief in sight for the declines any time soon.
