Money Fund Yields Inch Up to 4.91%
Money fund yields inched higher again over the past week, digesting the last remnants of the Federal Reserve's May 2nd 25 basis point rate hike. Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (7-Day Yield) was up 2 bps to 4.91% in the week ended Friday, 6/2, after increasing by 4 bps the week prior. Yields are up from 4.90% on May 31, 4.64% on April 30, 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 number of the top-yielding money market funds now yield above the 5.0% level, and a few more may move above this level in coming days as they begin extending maturities. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 689), shows a 7-day yield of 4.79%, up 2 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst MFs were unchanged at 4.97% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs rose by 1 bp to 4.88%. Treasury Inst MFs up 5 bps for the week at 4.81%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.60%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.57%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 4.81%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were up 22 bps at 3.06%. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (6/2), just one money fund (out of 819 total) yields under 2.0%; 43 funds yield between 2.00% and 2.99% with $21.4 billion, or 0.4%; 93 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($100.2 billion, or 1.7%), 503 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($2.783 trillion, or 47.7%) and 179 funds now yield 5.0% or more ($2.935 trillion, or 50.3%). Over the past week, 25 funds are now yielding above the 5.0% mark (though many are private and not listed in our "Highest-Yielding Funds" table above) and we expect more to follow in coming days. Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.59% after rising 3 bps three weeks ago. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of June 2, 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.
