The SEC's vote to adopt "Money Market Fund Reform Rules" was covered by a host of media outlets on Wednesday, including Bloomberg, which published, "Money Funds Get New Restrictions Aimed at Preventing Runs". Dave Michaels writes, "The riskiest money-market mutual funds will be required to abandon their stable, $1-share value and allow their prices to float under rules adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The rules, approved today on a 3-2 vote, conclude a four-year struggle to toughen regulations after a run at one money fund during the 2008 credit crisis brought the $2.6 trillion industry to near-collapse, halted only by a federal backstop.... The rules include an agreement with the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service to reduce the tax burden from investing in a fund whose share price can change." The Wall Street Journal published a piece, "SEC Approves Tighter Money Fund Rules." Andrew Ackerman writes, "U.S. securities regulators on Wednesday took a long-awaited step to reduce risk in the $2.6 trillion money-market mutual-fund industry, completing rules intended to prevent a repeat of an investor stampede out of the funds during the 2008 financial crisis." The article continues, "The final rule is less ambitious than an earlier proposal considered at the SEC.... SEC commissioners Kara Stein, a Democrat, and Michael Piwowar, a Republican, voted against the changes." The New York Times wrote "S.E.C. Approves Rules on Money Market Funds", and The Financial Times wrote, "US Approves Money Market Funds Reform". USA Today published, "SEC Ends $1 a Share for Some Money Funds"; Fox Business posted, "SEC Ends Staple for Some Money Funds"; CNBC wrote "Split US SEC Adopts Long-Awaited Money Market Fund Reform"; and Reuters published "SEC Adopts Long-Awaited Reforms for Money Market Funds". Further, the AP wrote a piece called "S.E.C. Votes to End Fixed Share Price for Some Money Funds"; while Investors Business Daily ran the story, "SEC Reforms Money Market Funds, Unveils Floating NAV"." Money managers and industry organizations also chimed in. Federated Investors released a statement saying, "While Federated is disappointed that the SEC voted to adopt a floating NAV for institutional prime and institutional municipal money-market funds, Federated remains committed to providing a variety of liquidity-management solutions to our clients, including those that meet the needs of our institutional prime and institutional municipal customers. Federated will review the details contained in the SEC's voluminous rulemaking to assess their implications as we consider next steps." BlackRock said in a statement, "BlackRock supports the SECs efforts to improve the resiliency of U.S. money market funds during times of stress and appreciates the thoughtful, deliberate and consultative process the Agency has undertaken to achieve this result." Fidelity issued a statement and posted a video update from Nancy Prior, president of the fixed income division. She says, "We are well-prepared for the new rules. Where needed, we will make changes to our product offerings and fund operations to comply with these rules." ICI weighed in, too, saying, "While we may question some aspects of the rule as adopted, we strongly believe that the SEC has the long regulatory experience and deep technical expertise required to strike the proper balance, making money market funds more resilient in times of financial stress while preserving the utility and value of these funds for investors." The US Chamber of Commerce expressed disappointment with the new rules, writing, "A floating NAV does not address run risk and would severely if not irreparably harm the viability of the product, taking away a key cash management product and a primary source of funding for the commercial paper market."
