CNBC on Lehman and Reserve Fund
CNBC.com writes "Why money market funds won't ever be the same," which discusses the 10-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and Reserve Primary Fund's 'breaking the buck.' They explain, "Investors seeking shelter from plummeting equity markets in September 2008 learned a hard lesson: Sometimes the safe haven for your cash isn't as safe as it seems. Prior to the crisis, retail investors turned to money market funds as a way to stash cash for short-term needs and earn some yield on their savings. The perceived safety of these funds, which were designed to maintain a steady share price of $1, was upended following the bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers, one of Wall Street's most storied firms, 10 years ago this month. The Reserve Primary Fund, a massive money market fund, held Lehman bonds. Institutional investors yanked billions of dollars from the fund, which knocked its share price from $1 to 97 cents on Sept. 16, 2008." The piece, which shows our Crane 100 Money Fund Index over the past decade, quotes our Peter Crane, "In 2007, we had 5 percent interest rates and then for eight years, up to the end of 2015, investors were looking at rates of 0.05 percent. I used to joke that at those levels, it would take 2,000 years to double your money." CNBC tells us, "In response to the financial crisis, the Securities and Exchange Commission sought to protect retail investors from future runs on money market funds. The agency instituted two major rules to protect smaller investors and stem the flow of withdrawals in stressful periods. One regulation would require prime institutional money market funds -- which large investors tend to use -- to maintain a floating net asset value, instead of the steady $1 share price.... The other rule aims to temporarily limit withdrawals from funds amid stressful periods. For instance, so-called redemption gates allow funds' boards of directors to delay withdrawals for up to 10 days. Liquidity fees, which can be as high as 2 percent, may also be assessed against investors who want to cash out amid market turmoil." It adds, "The Crane 100 Money Fund Index, which measures the 100 largest money market funds, has an annualized seven-day current yield of 1.79 percent. The Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund (VMMXX) offers yields just over 2 percent. The national average rate on money market accounts for deposits under $100,000 is 0.13 percent as of Aug. 27, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp."
