Crane 100 Index Inches Up to 4.63%
Money fund yields were relatively flat again last week, though they inched higher by a basis point. They've mostly digested the Fed's March 22nd 25 basis point rate hike and should remain flat until the Fed hikes again on May 2 (if they hike). Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (7-Day Yield) was up 1 bp to 4.63% in the week ended Friday, 4/14. Yields are up from 4.61% on March 31, 4.39% on Feb. 28, 4.15% on Jan. 31 and 4.05% on 12/31/22. They've increased from 3.59% on Nov. 30, from 2.88% on Oct. 31 and from 2.66% on Sept. 30. A handful of the top-yielding money market funds remain above the 5.0% level. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 687), shows a 7-day yield of 4.52%, up 2 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst MFs were up 1 bp at 4.73% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs rose by 3 bps to 4.62%. Treasury Inst MFs up 3 bps for the week at 4.50%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.27%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.31%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 4.56%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down at 2.19%. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (4/14), only 30 money funds (out of 823 total) yield under 2.0% with $2.5 billion, or 0.0%; 107 funds yield between 2.00% and 2.99% with $118.6 billion, or 2.1%; 40 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($24.4 billion, or 0.4%), and 646 funds yield 4.0% or more ($5.483 trillion, or 97.4%). Eight funds have now officially surpassed the 5.0% mark (though most are private and not listed in our "Highest-Yielding Funds" table above) but we expect more to follow in coming weeks. Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.56% after increasing 1 bp last week. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of April 14, 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.
