Invesco on Gates and Fees
Invesco released commentary on money market reform called, "Understanding New Rules for Liquidity Fees and Redemption Gates." It says, "On July 23, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to approve new amendments to Rule 2a-7 which governs money market funds. The SEC stated that the structural and operational reforms included in these rules will address risks of investor runs in money market funds, while preserving their benefits to investors. The reforms included the following new rules regarding redemption gates and liquidity fees for money market funds: 1. Redemption gates -- Current Rule 2a-7: Gives a fund's board of directors the power to suspend redemptions under extreme market conditions. However, once redemptions are suspended, the fund must be liquidated. Amended Rule 2a-7: If "weekly liquid assets" fall below 30%, a fund's board of directors may temporarily suspend redemptions for up to 10 business days in any 90-day period . 2. Liquidity fees -- Current Rule 2a-7: Does not provide for liquidity fees. Amended Rule 2a-7: If "weekly liquid assets" fall below 30%, a fund's board may impose up to a 2% fee on redemptions. If "weekly liquid assets" fall below 10%, redemptions will be subject to a 1% fee, unless that funds board determines it is not in the best interests of the fund and its shareholders. Broadly, the amendments to Rule 2a-7 give the fund's board discretion whether to impose fees and gates, depending on the circumstances and best interest of a fund and its shareholders. For more than 30-years, Invesco Global Liquidity has worked to gain and keep the trust of our investors through our deep industry knowledge and our investment expertise. Our primary goal through the money market fund reform process is to provide our investors with a full suite of liquidity management solutions to meet their investing needs with the least amount of disruption while remaining focused on our disciplined investment process. For Invesco Global Liquidity, safety is of paramount importance in the investment process for all of our money market funds. Our conservative investment philosophy has always focused on providing safety, liquidity and yield -- in that order -- to our money market fund investors. Also, Goldman Sachs President and CEO Gary Cohn presented Tuesday at the Deutsche Bank Global Financial Services Investor Conference. On interest rates, he said, "While the pace and magnitude of future interest rate changes will be heavily debated, we believe we are well positioned for any outcome.... If rates rise, we will help our investing clients navigate that transition. Certain products like our money market funds will become more relevant." A Reuters article, "Goldman Sachs' Cohn Says Volatility Has Helped Profits," reports Cohn as saying, "Goldman rebates on money market funds because of low rates would add $100 million to profit."
