The latest Money Fund Intelligence, Crane Data's flagship monthly newsletter, was e-mailed to subscribers this morning. The October edition features articles entitled, "More Changes in Money Fund Land; Now vs. 2008," which details the liquidations, mergers and name changes that have taken place over the past two years; "New Morgan Stanley Committed to Liquidity," which profiles MSIM and Liquidity team members Kevin Klingert, Dave Carson, Jonas Kolk and Michael Cha; and our first issuer article, "SMBC’s Rising Profile in the Money Markets." The agenda for our new Crane's Money Fund University, a "basic training" event for money markets, was also sent out to subscribers.
The "More Changes" article says, "While both yields and assets were relatively flat, the latest month saw more changes among money fund offerings and providers. The steady trickle of liquidations, fund suite consolidations and lineup tweaks continued in September. Though more is undoubtedly on the way, the vast majority of money funds continue on with business as usual." Our monthly Money Fund Intelligence XLS, which contains a "Fund Family" ranking, shows that eleven managers have liquidated their money fund lineups over the last two years and that the number of providers has shrunk from 90 to 80 since Sept. 2008.
Our monthly Fund Profile asks, "How important are money market funds to Morgan Stanley? Klingert says, "Earlier this year, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) established a dedicated Liquidity Management business. While Morgan Stanley has been in the money fund business since 1975, this distinct unit within MSIM is focused on the 2a-7 and Customized Cash market. This is a business that the Firm knows well, and is an important complement to the overall suite of investment solutions that MSIM provides to our clients." (Look for more excerpts in coming weeks.)
Our piece on Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation quotes, "Nobuyuki Kawabata, General Manager, Planning Department, Americas Division, "We've been issuing in the U.S. money markets for several years and have become more active since the liquidity crisis of 2008. The U.S. money markets are the largest in the world by a far margin and institutionally we've always felt that it's important to be a major player here." The article discusses recent developments in the cash marketplace, including funding strategies, ultra-low yields, and changes in money funds from an issuer's perspective.
Finally, the website and preliminary agenda for Money Fund University are now live. Crane Data's complement to its Money Fund Symposium conference (which will be June 22-24 in Philadelphia in 2011) will offer attendees a comprehensive two day, 'basic training' course on money market mutual funds. The event is Jan. 13-14, 2011, at The Westin Jersey City Newport. Topics include: Rule 2a-7, interest rates, money market investments, and much more. For more, visit: www.moneyfunduniversity.com or contact us for the PDF brochure.
