Yesterday, USA Today wrote "$1.1 trillion pours out of low-yielding money market funds", which said, "Money fund assets have fallen by $1.1 trillion since January 2009, leading to two questions: Where did it go? And why hasn't more left? The exodus from money market mutual funds isn't surprising. The average money fund yields 0.04%, according to iMoneyNet, which tracks the funds. At that rate, a $10,000 investment in the average fund will return just $4 in a year. A quarter of the nation's 1,643 funds -- 415 -- yield zero, iMoneyNet says. Where did the $1.1 trillion go? It's tough to trace money fund assets, which can be used for anything from corporate checking to short-term investments to tuition payments. But experts have a few ideas." (These include: bond funds, Treasury securities, and bank accounts.) Also, on CNBC yesterday, Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb commented on the story, "I think the exodus is a result of the extraordinarily low yields.... Most has moved into longer-dated bond funds."
