Crane 100 MF Index Flat at 4.40%
Money fund yields were flat last week after jumping last month following the Fed's 25 basis point hike on Feb. 1. Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (7-Day Yield) was unchanged at 4.40% in the week ended Friday, 3/10. Yields rose by 1 basis point 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, from 3.59% on Nov. 30, from 2.88% on Oct. 31 and from 2.66% on Sept. 30. Yields should be flat in coming days, and it's now unclear whether the Fed will hike rates again at its next meeting on March 22. The top-yielding money market funds remain flat at just over 4.70%. (See our "Highest-Yielding Money Funds" table above). The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 687), shows a 7-day yield of 4.30%, up 2 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst MFs were up 1 bp at 4.50% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs rose by 3 bps to 4.36%. Treasury Inst MFs up 2 bps for the week at 4.34%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.12%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.06%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 4.32%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down at 2.04%. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (3/10), just 48 money funds (out of 823 total) yield between 0.00% and 1.99% with $18.3 billion, or 0.3%; 89 funds yield between 2.00% and 2.99% with $103.3 billion, or 2.0%; 97 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($76.2 billion, or 1.4%), and 589 funds yield 4.0% or more ($5.093 trillion, or 96.3%). Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.54% after decreasing 1 bp the week before. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of March 10, shows that there was 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. See also, The Wall Street Journal's "Individual Investors Pile Into Cash, Chasing Higher Returns" and "Savers Pile Money Into Bank CDs as Rates Top 5%."
