The Sunday Los Angeles Times writes "Money market funds stand out for their meager returns". It says, "The debt crisis in Greece has stoked worries about money funds' safety, but the lack of a decent return is the biggest problem for most investors. Money market mutual funds long have been the utility players of the investment world -- reliable but boring, and usually garnering attention only when they drop the ball. Lately, money funds have been making the blooper reels a lot. In an era of low-yielding investments, money funds stand out for their meager returns. The average fund currently yields 0.04% annually, or a paltry $4 a year on a $10,000 investment." The piece quotes Peter Crane, head of money fund researcher Crane Data in Westboro, Mass., "Money funds would have no problem whatsoever from a Greek default. The thought that there was ever any threat to money market mutual funds was, quite frankly, ridiculous." The article adds, "Even so, the SEC, federal lawmakers and the fund industry are debating the need for additional measures. One idea is to let fund values "float" above or below $1 depending on the value of the underlying securities. Proponents say that could limit the risk of a run on the bank, but opponents say it could raise unnecessary fears." Crane adds, "The only two things we know for certain is that there will be additional changes, and no one knows what those changes will be."
