MMF Assets Hit Yet Another Record
Money market mutual fund assets showed gains for the eleventh week in a row, hitting yet another record and inching closer the $4.8 trillion level. ICI's latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" report says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $19.77 billion to $4.79 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, May 13, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $6.58 billion and prime funds increased by $14.11 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds decreased by $917 million." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs rising $15.3 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $4.5 billion. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $3.924 trillion (82.0% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $728.6 billion (15.2%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $134.9 billion, 2.8%. Money fund assets are up an eye-popping $1.156 trillion, or 31.8%, year-to-date in 2020, with Inst MMFs up $958 billion (42.4%) and Retail MMFs up $198 billion (14.4%). Over the past 52 weeks, ICI's money fund asset series has increased by $1.687 trillion, or 54.4%, with Retail MMFs rising by $358 billion (29.6%) and Inst MMFs rising by $1.330 trillion (70.3%). They explain, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $4.51 billion to $1.57 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $233 million to $993.50 billion, prime money market fund assets increased by $5.19 billion to $453.87 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $905 million to $120.29 billion." Retail assets account for just under a third of total assets, or 32.7%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.4% of all Retail MMFs. ICI adds, "Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $15.26 billion to $3.22 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $6.35 billion to $2.93 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $8.92 billion to $274.76 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $12 million to $14.61 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 67.3% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 91.0% of all Institutional MMF totals. (Note: Crane Data has its own separate, and larger, daily and monthly asset series.)
