Money Fund Yields Jump to 4.23%
Money fund yields jumped higher again last week, with our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (7-Day Yield) rising 9 basis points to 4.23% for the week ended Friday, 2/3. Yields rose by 2 basis points the previous week, and they're up from 4.05% on 12/31/22. They're up from 3.59% on Nov. 30, 2.88% on Oct. 31 and 2.66% on Sept. 30. Yields should move higher in coming days as they digest the Fed's Feb. 1 25 bps rate hike. The top-yielding money market funds have broken above 4.50% and should move towards 4.75% in coming weeks. (See our "Highest-Yielding Money Funds" table above). The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 672), shows a 7-day yield of 4.11%, up 8 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst MFs were up 7 bps at 4.34% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs rose by 8 bps to 4.15%. Treasury Inst MFs up 8 bps for the week at 4.14%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.92%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.87%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 4.18%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down at 1.52%. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (2/3), 2 funds (805 total) have fallen below the 2.0% yield mark this past week, and many continue to rise over 4.0%; 132 funds yield between 0.00% and 1.99% with $109.2 billion, or 2.1%; 5 funds yield between 2.00% and 2.99% with $8.7 billion, or 0.2%; 194 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($221.1 billion, or 4.3%), and 474 funds yield 4.0% or more ($4.842 trillion, or 93.5%). Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged last week at 0.52%. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of Feb. 3, shows that there were no changes over the past week. Just 3 of 11 major brokerages still offer rates of 0.01% for balances of $100K (and lower tiers). These include: E*Trade, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
