Crane 100 Index Flat Again at 5.16%
Money fund yields remained unchanged for the second straight week, averaging 5.16%, as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index for the week ended Friday, 9/8. The Crane 100 is an average of 7-day yields for the 100 largest taxable money funds. We expect yields to remain flat in coming days as they appear to have finished digesting the Fed's (last) July 26th 25 basis point hike. Yields were 5.16% on 8/31, 5.09% on July 31, 4.94% on June 30, 4.61% on March 31 and 4.05% on 12/31/22. The vast majority of money market fund assets now yield 5.0% or higher. Assets of money market funds rose by $11.9 billion last week to $6.022 trillion according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, and they have risen by $42.3 billion since the start of September (after rising $98.3 billion in August). Weighted average maturities were unchanged last week. The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 682), shows a 7-day yield of 5.05%, unchanged in the week through Friday. Prime Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 5.25% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 5.11%. Treasury Inst MFs down 1 bp for the week at 5.09%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.87%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.82%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 5.07%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down 53 bps to 3.11%. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (9/8), just 38 money funds (out of 811 total) yield under 3.0% with $21.3 billion in assets, or 0.4%; 95 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($105.0 billion, or 1.7%), 233 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($1.271 trillion, or 21.1%) and 445 funds now yield 5.0% or more ($4.624 trillion, or 76.8%). Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.62% after rising 1 bp four weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of Sept 8, shows that there was no changes over the past week. Three of the 11 major brokerages tracked by our BSI still offer rates of 0.01% for balances of $100K (and lower tiers). These include: E*Trade, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
