The Wall Street Journal writes "Money-Fund Plan Gets Cold Shoulder". It says, "Regulators' latest plan to shore up the $2.7 trillion money-market mutual fund industry is getting an icy reception from some individual investors. As part of a proposal being floated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, investors who wish to sell all their holdings in a money-market fund would only be allowed to receive 95% to 97% of their cash back immediately. The remaining money would be returned to them after 30 days, according to the SEC. That isn't sitting well with investors like Robert "Willie" Williamson, a 66-year-old retired Navy rear admiral who lives in Annapolis, Md.... The goal of the SEC's proposal, expected to be announced as soon as the end of March, is to make sure the funds, which are designed to be safe, have enough cash on hand to pay back all investors during a market storm. It also would require money funds to boost their capital cushions, an idea that is meeting stiff resistance from the fund industry. The SEC proposal is presenting a rare instance where money-management firms and some customers are united." The Journal adds, "Industry experts warn that funds still are struggling under the weight of the 2010 rules, which have forced some funds to hold lower-yielding securities -- at a time when interest rates are at multidecade lows. The yield on the Crane 100, an index of the 100 largest money funds, sunk to 0.06% at the end of January from 4.98% in January 2007, according to Crane Data LLC, a Massachusetts-based money-fund tracker. Assets in retail money funds have fallen to $939 billion at the end of last year from a 14-year-peak of $1.2 trillion in 2007, according to Crane Data. Peter Crane of Crane Data says low returns are the main reason investors are fleeing. "Retail investors have not blinked when it comes to safety issues in money-market funds," says Mr. Crane. "It's all about yield.""
