Yesterday, Reuters wrote, "Large money funds meet first $1 'shadow price' test", which said, "The largest U.S. money-market funds reported "shadow prices" at $1 per share or more on the first day of a new federal reporting requirement, an outcome that analysts said should reassure investors shaken by the ride some funds took during the financial crisis. Factors like interest rate changes mean money fund shares can be worth slightly more or less than $1 each. Funds can value themselves at $1 per share even if their underlying securities are worth between $0.9950 to $1.0050 per share -- a level of detail known as the funds' "shadow price". The figures released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday also suggest some firms pumped in extra money to keep the funds above the key $1 level, with an eye on avoiding tough new regulations under discussion for the industry." Reuters quoted www.cranedata.com's Peter Crane, "People were well aware of the risks that a value below $1 would be misinterpreted. So from the looks of it I don't think it's a coincidence they're all above that." The piece adds, "Out of 236 taxable money funds with more than $1 billion in assets, Crane said he counted just 30 with shadow prices of $0.9999 or less.... Of the 30 funds Crane said he found with shadow NAVs on the low side, Crane said half were at $0.9999, with only three below $0.9991. Crane declined to name individual funds."
