MMF Assets Plunge at Qtr End
Money fund assets plummeted in the past week, which included quarter-end, with almost all of it coming from Prime Institutional MMFs, according to the ICI. Their latest "Money Market Fund Assets" release says, "Total money market fund assets decreased by $26.70 billion to $2.74 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, April 6, the Investment Company Institute reported today. Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $5.40 billion and prime funds decreased by $30.21 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds decreased by $1.89 billion." Government assets, including Institutional and Retail (and Treasury and Government), stand at $1.295 trillion, while Prime assets are at $1.218 trillion. Government fund assets moved ahead of Prime assets for the first time earlier this year fueled by the conversion of $212.3 billion since November 2015. (Another $75.6 billion is scheduled to switch over before the October 14 MMF Reform deadline.) ICI's report continues, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $3.29 billion to $997.74 billion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $2.89 billion to $382.73 billion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $3.61 billion to $440.97 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $4.01 billion to $174.05 billion." It adds, "Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $29.99 billion to $1.74 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $2.51 billion to $912.42 billion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $26.60 billion to $777.15 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $5.90 billion to $51.46 billion." Year-to-date through April 6, MMF assets are down $20 billion. A Footnote to ICI's release adds, "In anticipation of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new money market fund regulations, many advisers are changing their prime money market funds into government money market funds. As a result, there have been, and will continue to be, large shifts in assets from prime funds to government funds before the October 2016 deadline." In the latest week, BBH, Cavanal Hill and Prudential all converted Prime funds to Government. (ICI's collection did not include the $43 billion internal Prudential Core Taxable MMF, which converted into Prudential Core Ultra Short Bond Fund on March 31.)
