ICI: MMF Assets Up $21 Billion
ICI's latest "Money Market Mutual Fund Assets" report shows assets up in the latest week. It says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $21.34 billion to $2.67 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, August 5, the Investment Company Institute reported today. Among taxable money market funds, Treasury funds (including agency and repo) increased by $15.24 billion and prime funds increased by $2.39 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds increased by $3.71 billion. Assets of retail money market funds increased by $4.64 billion to $875.88 billion. Among retail funds, Treasury money market fund assets increased by $830 million to $197.63 billion, prime money market fund assets increased by $1.52 billion to $497.97 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $2.29 billion to $180.28 billion. Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $670 million to $1.78 trillion. Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $16.70 billion to $1.79 trillion. Among institutional funds, Treasury money market fund assets increased by $14.41 billion to $808.77 billion, prime money market fund assets increased by $870 million to $915.38 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $1.42 billion to $69.32 billion." Year-to-date, money fund assets are down $64 billion or 2.3%. However, assets have been up 5 of the last 7 weeks. In other news, Marketwatch posted an article, "Warning Sounds as Mutual-Fund Cash Levels Hit All-Time Low." It says, "Mutual-fund cash levels just shriveled to 3.2%, an all-time low. [M]utual-fund cash levels also dropped to new all-time lows just before the 2000 and 2007 market tops. People's antennae tend to perk up every time an indicator matches or exceeds 2000 or 2007 extremes.... Mutual-fund cash levels fell to new all-time lows in July 2010 (3.4%) and July 2011 (3.3%). Although nasty corrections coincided with the 2010 and 2011 mutual-fund cash level lows, markets recovered thereafter."
