Money Fund Index Inches Up to 4.39%
Money fund yields inched higher last week after jumping earlier in the month after the Fed's 25 basis point hike on Feb. 1. Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (7-Day Yield) rose 2 basis points to 4.39% in the week ended Friday, 2/24. Yields rose by 2 basis points the previous week and they're up from 4.15% on Jan. 31, 2023. Money fund yields have risen from 4.05% on 12/31/22, and they're up from 3.59% on Nov. 30, 2.88% on Oct. 31 and 2.66% on Sept. 30. Yields should inch higher in coming days as they digest the last bits of the Fed's latest hike and they should jump higher again following the Fed's next meeting on March 22. The top-yielding money market funds have broken above 4.70% and should move towards 5.0% 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 681), shows a 7-day yield of 4.27%, up 2 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst MFs were unchanged at 4.49% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs rose by 1 bp to 4.31%. Treasury Inst MFs up 3 bps for the week at 4.30%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.08%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.04%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 4.33%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down at 3.11%. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (2/24), No money funds (out of 816 total) are now yielding below the 2.00% mark this past week, as many continue to rise over 4.0%; 42 funds yield between 2.00% and 2.99% with $19.3 billion, or 0.4%; 204 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($184.6 billion, or 3.5%), and 570 funds yield 4.0% or more ($5.009 trillion, or 96.1%). Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, remained unchanged at 0.55% after increasing the week before. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of Feb. 24, 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.
