News Archives: January, 2025
Crane Data's January Money Fund Portfolio Holdings, with data as of Dec. 31, 2024, show that Repo holdings jumped sharply last month while Treasuries declined. Money market securities held by Taxable U.S. money funds (tracked by Crane Data) increased by $88.0 billion to $7.089 trillion in December, after increasing $190.8 billion in November, $82.8 billion in October, $233.8 billion in September, $57.2 billion in August and $90.4 billion in July. Taxable holdings decreased by $0.4 billion in June, increased $105.6 billion in May, and decreased $61.4 billion in April. Treasuries, the largest segment, decreased $69.5 billion in December after increasing $188.3 billion in November, $236.2 billion in October and $92.0 billion in September, $85.8 billion in August and $24.3 billion in July. Repo, the second largest portfolio composition segment, increased by $211.3 billion. Agencies were the third largest segment, CP remained fourth, ahead of CDs, Other/Time Deposits and VRDNs. Below, we review our latest Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics. (Visit our Content center to download, or contact us to request our latest Portfolio Holdings reports.)
Among taxable money funds, Repurchase Agreements (repo) increased $211.3 billion (8.8%) to $2.612 trillion, or 36.8% of holdings, in December, after decreasing $26.3 billion in November, $242.8 billion in October and increasing $151.7 billion in September. Repo decreased $40.2 billion in August and $21.5 billion in July. Treasury securities decreased $69.5 billion (-2.3%) to $2.985 trillion, or 42.1% of holdings, after increasing $188.3 billion in November, $236.2 billion in October, $92.0 billion in September, $85.8 billion in August and $24.3 billion in July. Government Agency Debt was up $33.0 billion, or 3.9%, to $879.9 billion, or 12.4% of holdings. Agencies decreased $2.4 billion in November, increased $70.3 billion in October, $20.9 billion in September, $11.2 billion in August and $22.9 billion in July. Repo, Treasuries and Agency holdings now total $6.478 trillion, representing a massive 91.4% of all taxable holdings.
Money fund holdings of Other (Time Deposits) and CP fell in December while CDs rose. Commercial Paper (CP) decreased $7.3 billion (-2.5%) to $289.1 billion, or 4.1% of holdings. CP holdings increased $2.6 billion in November, $12.2 billion in October, $0.3 billion in September and $4.5 billion in August. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) increased $0.5 billion (0.3%) to $187.7 billion, or 2.7% of taxable assets. CDs increased $0.5 billion in November, $2.1 billion in October, but decreased $1.7 billion in September and $13.9 billion in August. Other holdings, primarily Time Deposits, decreased $84.6 billion (-42.4%) to $115.0 billion, or 2.9% of holdings, after increasing $27.6 billion in November, $3.9 billion in October, decreasing $29.4 billion in September and increasing $9.3 billion in August. VRDNs increased to $14.7 billion, or 0.2% of assets. (Note: This total is VRDNs for taxable funds only. We will post our Tax Exempt MMF holdings separately Monday around noon.)
Prime money fund assets tracked by Crane Data increased to $1.175 trillion, or 16.6% of taxable money funds' $7.089 trillion total. Among Prime money funds, CDs represent 16.4% (up from 16.0% a month ago), while Commercial Paper accounted for 24.6% (down from 25.3% a month ago). The CP totals are comprised of: Financial Company CP, which makes up 16.8% of total holdings, Asset-Backed CP, which accounts for 6.4%, and Non-Financial Company CP, which makes up 1.4%. Prime funds also hold 0.4% in US Govt Agency Debt, 3.4% in US Treasury Debt, 26.6% in US Treasury Repo, 0.9% in Other Instruments, 6.4% in Non-Negotiable Time Deposits, 8.6% in Other Repo, 11.3% in US Government Agency Repo and 0.9% in VRDNs.
Government money fund portfolios totaled $3.900 trillion (55.0% of all MMF assets), up from $3.862 trillion in November, while Treasury money fund assets totaled another $2.014 trillion (28.4%), up from $1.969 trillion the prior month. Government money fund portfolios were made up of 22.4% US Govt Agency Debt, 15.6% US Government Agency Repo, 35.9% US Treasury Debt, 25.3% in US Treasury Repo, 0.5% in Other Instruments. Treasury money funds were comprised of 76.7% US Treasury Debt and 23.1% in US Treasury Repo. Government and Treasury funds combined now total $5.914 trillion, or 83.4% of all taxable money fund assets.
European-affiliated holdings (including repo) decreased by $203.9 billion in December to $560.1 billion; their share of holdings fell to 7.9% from last month's 10.9%. Eurozone-affiliated holdings decreased to $393.2 billion from last month's $507.4 billion; they account for 5.6% of overall taxable money fund holdings. Asia & Pacific related holdings fell to $302.1 billion (4.3% of the total) from last month's $313.9 billion. Americas related holdings rose to $6.223 trillion from last month's $5.930 trillion, and now represent 87.8% of holdings.
The overall taxable fund Repo totals were made up of: US Treasury Repurchase Agreements (up $220.9 billion, or 14.3%, to $1.763 trillion, or 24.9% of assets); US Government Agency Repurchase Agreements (down $11.8 billion, or -1.6%, to $742.1 billion, or 10.5% of total holdings), and Other Repurchase Agreements (up $2.1 billion, or 2.0%, from last month to $106.8 billion, or 1.5% of holdings). The Commercial Paper totals were comprised of Financial Company Commercial Paper (down $4.7 billion to $196.8 billion, or 2.8% of assets), Asset Backed Commercial Paper (down $1.0 billion at $75.5 billion, or 1.1%), and Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper (down $1.5 billion to $16.8 billion, or 0.2%).
The 20 largest Issuers to taxable money market funds as of Dec. 31, 2024, include: the US Treasury ($2.985T, 42.1%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($855.7B, 12.1%), Federal Home Loan Bank ($650.8B, 9.2%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($382.1B, or 5.4%), RBC ($200.6B, 2.8%), JP Morgan ($178.1B, 2.5%), Federal Farm Credit Bank ($154.7B, 2.2%), Goldman Sachs ($143.9B, 2.0%), Citi ($138.4B, 2.0%), BNP Paribas ($100.6B, 1.4%), Bank of America ($92.9B, 1.3%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($72.8B, 1.0%), Wells Fargo ($72.3B, 1.0%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($68.9B, 1.0%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($67.3B, 0.9%), Barclays PLC ($59.9B, 0.8%), Credit Agricole ($58.3B, 0.8%), Toronto-Dominion Bank ($57.6B, 0.8%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($46.5B, 0.7%), and Bank of Montreal ($45.2B, 0.6%).
In the repo space, the 10 largest Repo counterparties (dealers) with the amount of repo outstanding and market share (among the money funds we track) include: Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($829.4B, 31.7%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($382.1B, 14.6%), JP Morgan ($169.8B, 6.5%), RBC ($160.5B, 6.1%), Goldman Sachs ($143.1B, 5.5%), Citi ($125.5B, 4.8%), BNP Paribas ($90.0B, 3.4%), Bank of America ($72.0B, 2.8%), Wells Fargo ($71.0B, 2.7%) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($50.5B, 1.9%).
The largest users of the $382.1 billion in Fed RRP include: Vanguard Federal Money Mkt Fund ($47.7B), Fidelity Cash Central Fund ($43.0B), Schwab Value Adv MF ($24.0B), JPMorgan US Govt MM ($22.2B), Fidelity Inv MM: MM Port ($20.6B), Fidelity Sec Lending Cash Central Fund ($19.6B), Goldman Sachs FS Govt ($19.1B), Fidelity Money Market ($17.2B), JPMorgan Liquid Assets ($16.1B) and Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund ($13.7B).
The 10 largest issuers of "credit" -- CDs, CP and Other securities (including Time Deposits and Notes) combined -- include: RBC ($40.1B, 7.4%), Toronto-Dominion Bank ($38.0B, 7.0%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($32.1B, 5.9%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($29.4B, 5.4%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($26.5B, 4.9%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($26.3B, 4.9%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ($24.8B, 4.6%), Bank of America ($20.9B, 3.9%), Bank of Montreal ($19.8B, 3.7%), and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank ($19.6B, 3.6%).
The 10 largest CD issuers include: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($21.7B, 11.3%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($17.3B, 9.0%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($16.9B, 8.8%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank ($15.6B, 8.1%), Bank of America ($12.8B, 6.6%), Toronto-Dominion Bank ($11.8B, 6.1%), Credit Agricole ($10.6B, 5.5%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($9.6B, 5.0%), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation ($8.3B, 4.3%) and Bank of Nova Scotia ($6.3B, 3.3%).
The 10 largest CP issuers (we include affiliated ABCP programs) include: Toronto-Dominion Bank ($23.1B, 8.5%), RBC ($22.4B, 8.3%), Bank of Montreal ($14.4B, 5.3%), Citi ($10.4B, 3.8%), BPCE SA ($10.2B, 3.8%), National Australia Bank Ltd ($9.6B, 3.6%), Barclays PLC ($9.5B, 3.5%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ($9.5B, 3.5%), DNB ASA ($9.4B, 3.5%) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($8.9B, 3.3%).
The largest increases among Issuers include: Federal Reserve Bank of New York (up $212.4B to $382.1B), Fixed Income Clearing Corp (up $77.7B to $855.7B), Goldman Sachs (up $34.8B to $143.9B), RBC (up $33.6B to $200.6B), Federal Home Loan Bank (up $23.2B to $650.8B), JP Morgan (up $12.3B to $178.1B), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (up $5.4B to $68.9B), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (up $4.6B to $67.3B), Wells Fargo (up $4.6B to $72.3B) and Federal National Mortgage Association (up $4.5B to $30.0B).
The largest decreases among Issuers of money market securities (including Repo) in October were shown by: US Treasury (down $69.5B to $2.985T), BNP Paribas (down $49.7B to $100.6B), Barclays PLC (down $37.9B to $59.9B), ING Bank (down $20.4B to $14.9B), Citi (down $19.2B to $138.4B), DNB ASA (down $16.5B to $9.4B), Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (down $15.1B to $8.2B), Credit Agricole (down $13.7B to $58.3B), Bank of America (down $8.3B to $92.9B) and ABN Amro Bank (down $8.3B to $7.7B).
The United States remained the largest segment of country-affiliations; it represents 82.0% of holdings, or $5.810 trillion. Canada (5.8%, $413.2B) was in second place, while Japan (4.0%, $280.6B) was No. 3. France (3.5%, $247.6B) occupied fourth place. The United Kingdom (1.8%, $128.3B) remained in fifth place. Australia (0.9%, $60.6B) was in sixth place, followed by Germany (0.5%, $32.0B), Netherlands (0.4%, $25.7B), Spain (0.3%, $23.7B), and Sweden (0.3%, $20.0B). (Note: Crane Data attributes Treasury and Government repo to the dealer's parent country of origin, though money funds themselves "look-through" and consider these U.S. government securities. All money market securities must be U.S. dollar-denominated.)
As of Dec. 31, 2024, Taxable money funds held 47.5% (up from 42.8%) of their assets in securities maturing Overnight, and another 9.4% maturing in 2-7 days (down from 12.3%). Thus, 57.0% in total matures in 1-7 days. Another 11.9% matures in 8-30 days, while 10.7% matures in 31-60 days. Note that over three-quarters, or 79.6% of securities, mature in 60 days or less, the dividing line for use of amortized cost accounting under SEC regulations. The next bucket, 61-90 days, holds 6.3% of taxable securities, while 10.6% matures in 91-180 days, and just 3.6% matures beyond 181 days.
Crane Data's latest monthly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics will be sent out Friday, and we'll be writing our regular monthly update on the new December 31 data for Monday's News. But we also already uploaded a separate and broader Portfolio Holdings data set based on the SEC's Form N-MFP filings on Thursday. (We continue to merge the two series, and the N-MFP version is now available via our Portfolio Holdings file listings to Money Fund Wisdom subscribers.) Our new N-MFP summary, with data as of December 31, includes holdings information from 993 money funds (up 7 from last month), representing assets of $7.250 trillion (up from $7.131 trillion). Prime MMFs rose to $1.065 trillion (up from $1.058 trillion), or 14.7% of the total. We review the new N-MFP data, and we also look at our revised MMF expense data, which shows charged expenses were mostly flat and money fund revenues rose to $19.3 billion (annualized) in December.
Our latest Form N-MFP Summary for All Funds (taxable and tax-exempt) shows Treasuries and Repurchase Agreements (Repo) remain the largest types of portfolio holdings in money market funds. Treasury holdings in money market funds now total $2.993 trillion (down from $3.050 trillion), or 41.3% of all assets, while Repo holdings rose to $2.619 trillion (up from $2.390 billion), or 36.1% of all holdings. Government Agency securities total $885.6 billion (up from $852.1 billion), or 12.2%. Holdings of Treasuries, Government agencies and Repo (almost all of which is backed by Treasuries and agencies) combined total $6.498 trillion, or a massive 89.6% of all holdings.
The Other category (primarily Time Deposits) totals $122.1 billion (down from $206.5 billion), or 1.7%, and Commercial paper (CP) totals $298.9 billion (down from $306.7 billion), or 4.1% of all holdings. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) total $192.4 billion (up from $187.6 billion), 2.7%, and VRDNs account for $138.5 billion (up from $138.2 billion), or 1.9% of money fund securities.
Broken out into the SEC's more detailed categories, the CP totals were comprised of: $196.8 billion, or 2.7%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $75.5 billion or 1.0%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and, $26.6 billion, or 0.4%, in Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals were made up of: U.S. Treasury Repo ($1.779 trillion, or 24.5%), U.S. Govt Agency Repo ($731.1B, or 10.1%) and Other Repo ($108.0B, or 1.5%).
The N-MFP Holdings summary for the Prime Money Market Funds shows: CP holdings of $254.8 billion (down from $263.4 billion), or 23.9%; Repo holdings of $513.8 billion (up from $406.6 billion), or 48.3%; Treasury holdings of $36.3 billion (down from $52.8 billion), or 3.4%; CD holdings of $167.0 billion (up from $162.3 billion), or 15.7%; Other (primarily Time Deposits) holdings of $77.7 billion (down from $158.5 billion), or 7.3%; Government Agency holdings of $4.9 billion (up from $4.7 billion), or 0.5% and VRDN holdings of $10.2 billion (up from $9.9 billion), or 1.0%.
The SEC's more detailed categories show CP in Prime MMFs made up of: $176.1 billion (down from $180.2 billion), or 16.5%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $63.0 billion (down from $66.2 billion), or 5.9%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and $15.8 billion (down from $17.1 billion), or 1.5%, in Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals include: U.S. Treasury Repo ($298.7 billion, or 28.1%), U.S. Govt Agency Repo ($126.4 billion, or 11.9%), and Other Repo ($88.7 billion, or 8.3%).
In related news, money fund charged expense ratios (Exp%) were mostly flat in December. Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index and Crane Money Fund Average were 0.27% and 0.38%, respectively, as of Dec. 31, 2024. Crane Data revises its monthly expense data and gross yield information after the SEC updates its latest Form N-MFP data the morning of the 6th business day of the new month. (They posted this info Thursday morning, so we revised our monthly MFI XLS spreadsheet and historical craneindexes.xlsx averages file to reflect the latest expenses, gross yields, portfolio composition and maturity breakout.) Visit our "Content" page for the latest files.
Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index, a simple average of the 100 largest taxable money funds, shows an average charged expense ratio of 0.27%, unchanged from last month's level (also 19 bps higher than 12/31/21's 0.08%). The Crane Money Fund Average, a simple average of all taxable MMFs, showed a charged expense ratio of 0.38% as of Dec. 31, 2024, down 1 bp from the month prior and slightly below the 0.40% at year-end 2019.
Prime Inst MFs expense ratios (annualized) average 0.22% (down 1 bp from last month), Government Inst MFs expenses average 0.26% (down 4 bps from last month), Treasury Inst MFs expenses average 0.29% (unchanged from last month). Treasury Retail MFs expenses currently sit at 0.52%, (unchanged from last month), Government Retail MFs expenses yield 0.55% (unchanged from last month). Prime Retail MF expenses averaged 0.50% (unchanged from last month). Tax-exempt expenses were up 1 bp at 0.40% on average.
Gross 7-day yields were down during the month ended December 31, 2024. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 723), shows a 7-day gross yield of 4.55%, down 17 bps from the prior month. The Crane Money Fund Average was 1.72% at the end of 2019, 0.15% at the end of 2020 and 0.09% at the end of 2021. Our Crane 100's 7-day gross yield was also down 16 bps, ending the month at 4.55%.
According to our revised MFI XLS and Crane Index numbers, we now estimate that annualized revenue for all money funds is $19.293 billion (as of 12/31/24), a new record high. Our estimated annualized revenue totals increased from $19.105B last month and $18.473B seen two months ago. Revenue levels are more than six times larger than May's 2021's record-low $2.927B level. Charged expenses and gross yields are driven by a number of variables, but revenues should continue their climb higher as inflows resume to money funds following a pause around April 15.
Crane Data's latest monthly Money Fund Market Share rankings show assets increasing among most of the largest U.S. money fund complexes in December, after rising in November, October, September, August, July, June and May. Assets fell in March and April. Money market fund assets rose by $113.5 billion, or 1.6%, last month to a record $7.182 trillion. Total MMF assets have increased by $408.4 billion, or 6.0%, over the past 3 months, and they've increased by $864.5 billion, or 13.7%, over the past 12 months. The largest increases among the 25 largest managers last month were seen by JPMorgan, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Federated Hermes, which grew assets by $28.6 billion, $27.5B, $26.6B, $21.6B and $16.7B, respectively. Declines in December were seen by American Funds, DWS and SSGA, which decreased by $25.4 billion, $6.3B and $5.8B, respectively. Our domestic U.S. "Family" rankings are available in our MFI XLS product, our global rankings are available in our MFI International product. The combined "Family & Global Rankings" are available to Money Fund Wisdom subscribers. We review the latest market share totals, and look at money fund yields, which were lower again in December.
Over the past year through Dec. 31, 2024, Fidelity (up $198.2B, or 15.6%), Schwab (up $120.1B, or 25.2%), JPMorgan (up $120.0B, or 18.6%), BlackRock (up $105.7B, or 20.7%) and Vanguard (up $78.1B, or 13.7%) were the `largest gainers. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock had the largest asset increases over the past 3 months, rising by $73.8B, $58.7B, $55.4B, $55.2B and $37.8B, respectively. The largest declines over 12 months were seen by: American Funds (down $36.2B), HSBC (down $6.1B), DWS (down $4.9B), PGIM (down $2.9B) and T Rowe Price (down $2.0B). The largest declines over 3 months included: American Funds (down $32.0B) and SSGA (down $8.3B).
Our latest domestic U.S. Money Fund Family Rankings show that Fidelity Investments remains the largest money fund manager with $1.466 trillion, or 20.4% of all assets. Fidelity was up $27.5B in December, up $55.4 billion over 3 mos., and up $198.2B over 12 months. JPMorgan ranked second with $764.8 billion, or 10.6% market share (up $28.6B, up $73.8B and up $120.0B for the past 1-month, 3-mos. and 12-mos., respectively). Vanguard ranked in third place with $647.0 billion, or 9.0% of assets (up $2.9B, up $26.8B and up $78.1B). BlackRock ranked fourth with $615.5 billion, or 8.6% market share (up $3.8B, up $37.8B and up $105.7B), while Schwab was the fifth largest MMF manager with $596.5 billion, or 8.3% of assets (up $10.9B, up $34.5B and up $120.1B for the past 1-month, 3-mos. and 12-mos.).
Federated Hermes was in sixth place with $480.2 billion, or 6.7% (up $16.7B, up $26.0B and up $43.4B), while Goldman Sachs was in seventh place with $463.7 billion, or 6.5% of assets (up $26.6B, up $55.2B and up $70.0B). Morgan Stanley ($307.1B, or 4.3%) was in eighth place (up $21.6B, up $58.7B and up $56.1B), followed by Dreyfus ($290.8B, or 4.0%; up $1.1B, up $8.0B and up $24.6B). SSGA was in 10th place ($251.5B, or 3.5%; down $5.8B, down $8.3B and up $27.1B).
The 11th through 20th-largest U.S. money fund managers (in order) include: Allspring (formerly Wells Fargo) ($218.2B, or 3.0%), Northern ($178.4B, or 2.5%), First American ($164.0B, or 2.3%), Invesco ($147.1B, or 2.0%), American Funds ($125.9B, or 1.8%), UBS ($112.7B, or 1.6%), T. Rowe Price ($48.0B, or 0.7%), HSBC ($41.7B, or 0.6%), DWS ($38.2B, or 0.5%) and Western ($30.6B, or 0.4%). Crane Data currently tracks 61 U.S. MMF managers, unchanged from last month.
When European and "offshore" money fund assets -- those domiciled in places like Ireland, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands -- are included, the top 10 managers are the same as the domestic list, except: BlackRock moves up to the No. 3 spot, and Vanguard moves down to No. 4. Goldman Sachs moves up to the No. 5 spot, while Schwab moves down to the No. 6 spot and Federated Hermes moves down to the No. 7 spot. Global Money Fund Manager Rankings include the combined market share assets of our MFI XLS (domestic U.S.) and our MFI International ("offshore") products.
The largest Global money market fund families include: Fidelity ($1.485 trillion), JP Morgan ($1.029 trillion), BlackRock ($942.5B), Vanguard ($647.0B) and Goldman Sachs ($611.1B). Schwab ($596.5B) was in sixth, Federated Hermes ($491.6B) was seventh, followed by Morgan Stanley ($409.4B), Dreyfus/BNY Mellon ($318.3B) and SSGA ($301.4B), which round out the top 10. These totals include "offshore" U.S. Dollar money funds, as well as Euro and Pound Sterling (GBP) funds converted into U.S. dollar totals.
The January issue of our Money Fund Intelligence and MFI XLS, with data as of 12/31/24, shows that yields were lower in December across most Crane Money Fund Indexes. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds covered by Crane Data (currently 723), was 4.19% (down 14 bps) for the 7-Day Yield (annualized, net) Average, the 30-Day Yield was also down 13 bps at 4.25%. The MFA's Gross 7-Day Yield was at 4.58% (down 14 bps), and the Gross 30-Day Yield was down 13 bps at 4.64%. (Gross yields will be revised once we download the SEC's Form N-MFP data for 12/31/24 on Thursday.)
Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index shows an average 7-Day (Net) Yield of 4.28% (down 16 bps) and an average 30-Day Yield at 4.35% (down 15 bps). The Crane 100 shows a Gross 7-Day Yield of 4.55% (down 16 bps), and a Gross 30-Day Yield of 4.62% (down 15 bps). Our Prime Institutional MF Index (7-day) yielded 4.39% (down 18 bps) as of Dec. 31. The Crane Govt Inst Index was at 4.31% (down 13 bps) and the Treasury Inst Index was at 4.25% (down 16 bps). Thus, the spread between Prime funds and Treasury funds is 14 basis points, and the spread between Prime funds and Govt funds is 8 basis points. The Crane Prime Retail Index yielded 4.15% (down 15 bps), while the Govt Retail Index was 4.02% (down 12 bps), the Treasury Retail Index was 4.01% (down 16 bps from the month prior). The Crane Tax Exempt MF Index yielded 3.21% (up 55 bps) as of December.
Gross 7-Day Yields for these indexes to end December were: Prime Inst 4.61% (down 18 bps), Govt Inst 4.61% (down 13 bps), Treasury Inst 4.53% (down 16 bps), Prime Retail 4.65% (down 15 bps), Govt Retail 4.57% (down 12 bps) and Treasury Retail 4.54% (down 16 bps). The Crane Tax Exempt Index rose to 3.61% (up 56 bps). The Crane 100 MF Index returned on average 0.37% over 1-month, 1.15% over 3-months, 5.08% YTD, 5.08% over the past 1-year, 3.75% over 3-years annualized), 2.32% over 5-years, and 1.61% over 10-years.
The total number of funds, including taxable and tax-exempt, was unchanged in October at 838. There are currently 723 taxable funds, unchanged from the previous month, and 113 tax-exempt money funds (down 2 from last month). (Contact us if you'd like to see our latest MFI XLS, Crane Indexes or Market Share report.)
The January issue of our flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which was sent to subscribers Wednesday morning, features the articles: "Yields Bottoming Near 4.20%; Assets Keep Breaking Records," which discusses the move lower and plateauing of yields and jumps in assets; "ICI: Worldwide MMF Assets Rise in Q3'24 to $11.2 Tril.," which looks at the latest MMF statistics outside the U.S.; and, "Top Money Funds of 2024; 16th Annual MFI Awards" which reviews the best performing MMFs of 2024. We also sent out our MFI XLS spreadsheet Wednesday a.m., and we've updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with 12/31/24 data. Our Jan. Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to ship on Friday, December 10, and our Jan. Bond Fund Intelligence is scheduled to go out on Wednesday, January 15.
MFI's "Yields Bottoming" article says, "Money fund yields fell by 16 basis points to 4.28% on average during December (down from 5.20% at the start of 2024). Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index continues inching lower, falling to 4.23% as of 1/6/25. Fund yields have now digested most of the Federal Reserve's 25 basis point cut on Dec. 18, though they may inch a lower in coming days. But yields should remain solidly above 4.0% in the near-term, and they may even hold these levels for the entire year as expectations for more rate cuts evaporate."
It continues, "Yields on average have declined by 81 bps since the Fed first cut its Fed funds target rate by 50 bps percent on Sept. 18, and they've declined by 38 bps since the Fed cut rates by 1/4 point on 11/7. Yields were 4.45% on 11/30/24, 4.65% on 10/31, 4.75% on 9/30, 5.10% on 8/31, 5.13% on 7/31 and 6/28, 5.14% on 3/31/24 and 5.20% on 12/31/23."
We write in our Worldwide article, "The Investment Company Institute published, 'Worldwide Regulated Open-Fund Assets and Flows, Third Quarter 2024,' which shows that money fund assets globally rose by $572.9 billion, or 5.4%, in Q3'24 to a record $11.215 trillion. Increases were led by a sharp jump in money funds in U.S., Ireland and China, while Luxembourg and France also rose. Meanwhile, money funds in Mexico and Korea were lower. MMF assets worldwide increased by $1.271 trillion, or 12.8%, in the 12 months through 9/30/24, and MMFs in the U.S. now represent 60.4% of worldwide assets."
It states, "ICI's release says, 'Worldwide regulated open-end fund assets increased 6.8% to $74.95 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2024, excluding funds of funds. Worldwide net cash inflow to all funds was $913 billion in the third quarter, compared with $819 billion of net inflows in the second quarter of 2024. The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide regulated open-end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association (IIFA), the organization of national fund associations. The collection for the third quarter of 2024 contains statistics from 44 jurisdictions.'"
Our "Top Money Funds of 2024" piece says, "This issue recognizes the top performing money funds, ranked by total returns, for calendar year 2024, as well as the top funds for the past 5‐year and 10‐year periods. We present the funds below with our annual Money Fund Intelligence Awards. These are given to the No. 1‐ranked funds based on 1‐year, 5‐year and 10‐year returns, through Dec. 31, 2023, in each of our major fund categories -- Prime Institutional, Government Institutional, Treasury Institutional, Prime Retail, Government Retail, Treasury Retail and Tax‐Exempt."
The piece continues, "The Top-Performing Prime Institutional fund (and fund overall) was BlackRock Cash Inst MMF SL (BISXX), which returned 5.43%. Among Prime Retail funds, Schwab Value Adv MF Ultra (SNAXX) had the best return in 2024 (5.36%). (Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index returned 5.08% in 2024.)"
MFI also includes the News brief, "Fed Cuts Rates Another 1/4 to 4.375%. The FOMC's Statement says, 'Inflation has made progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated.... In support of its goals, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent.'"
Another News brief, "J.P. Morgan's 'Mid-Week US Short Duration Update,' features, 'November MMF Holdings Update: Sufficient Supply Meeting MMFs' Demand.' It states, 'Taxable MMFs experienced another strong month of inflows in November, with AUMs increasing by nearly $200bn, bringing total balances to just under $7tn. Despite this significant rise in balances, MMFs successfully found enough supply to meet their demand throughout the month, aided by a rise in T-bill, repo, and time deposit outstandings. As a result, MMFs' use of ON RRP fell to an end-of-month low since May 2021.'"
A third News brief, "SEC Stats: MMF Assets Jump to Record $7.13 Tril. in Nov., Yields Fall," says, "The SEC's 'Money Market Fund Statistics' show that total money fund assets rose by $197.8 billion in November to a record $7.125 trillion. Prime MMFs increased $12.9 billion to $1.187 trillion, Govt & Treasury funds increased $181.5 billion to $5.797 trillion and Tax Exempt funds increased $3.4 billion to $141.3 billion. Taxable yields fell again in November after plunging in October.'"
A sidebar, "WSJ on Why to Cheer MMFs," says, "The Wall Street Journal tells us, 'Why You May Want to Cheer for Money-Market Funds.' Subtitled, 'Money funds remain an attractive place for excess cash and can help keep a lid on short-term borrowing costs,' the article says, 'Cash might be a trash asset to some risk-loving traders. But it's a pretty good thing to have sloshing around the economy. U.S. money-market fund assets have so far through mid-December grown by over $800 billion in 2024, bringing the nearly two-year gain since the end of 2022 to roughly $2 trillion, according to [ICI]. This continuing flow may be a surprise to some. At points in 2024, it often seemed that Fed ... cuts, plus a bullish tilt to equity markets, would push more investors out of cash.'"
Our January MFI XLS, with Dec. 31 data, shows total assets increased $113.0 billion to a record $7.184 trillion, after increasing $196.1 billion in November, $89.9 billion in October, $155.2 billion in September, $105.6 billion in August, $19.7 billion in July, $11.8 billion in June and $79.7 billion in May. They decreased $17.6 billion in April and $66.7 billion in March, but increased $50.0 billion in February and $87.0 billion last January.
Our broad Crane Money Fund Average 7-Day Yield was down 15 bps at 4.19%, and our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (the 100 largest taxable funds) was also down 16 bps at 4.28% in December. On a Gross Yield Basis (7-Day) (before expenses are taken out), the Crane MFA and the Crane 100 averaged 4.58% and 4.55%. Charged Expenses averaged 0.39% and 0.27% for the Crane MFA and the Crane 100. (We'll revise expenses once we upload the SEC's Form N-MFP data for 12/31/24 on Thursday, 1/9.) The average WAM (weighted average maturity) for the Crane MFA was 37 days (up 1 bp) and the Crane 100 WAM was unchanged from the previous month at 37 days. (See our Crane Index or craneindexes.xlsx history file for more on our averages.)
Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) fell by 2 basis point to 4.25% on average during the week ended Friday, Jan. 3 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after falling 7 bps the week prior and 7 bps two weeks prior. Fund yields have digested the majority of the Federal Reserve's 25 basis point cut from December 18, though they should continue to move lower in coming days. They've declined by 81 bps since the Fed first cut its Fed funds target rate by 50 bps percent on Sept. 18, and they've declined by 38 bps since the Fed cut rates by 1/4 point on 11/7. Yields were 4.45% on 11/30, 4.65% on average on 10/31, 4.75% on 9/30, 5.10% on 8/31, 5.13% on 7/31 and 6/28, 5.14% on 3/31 and 5.20% on 12/31/23.
The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 678), shows a 7-day yield of 4.16%, down 2 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were down 2 bps at 4.35% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 2 bps at 4.28%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 4 bps at 4.20%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.99%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.96%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 4.15%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down 46 bps to 2.80%.
Assets of money market funds rose by $84.5 billion last week to a new record high of $7.248 trillion, according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. For the month of January, MMF assets have jumped by $74.0 billion, after increasing by $110.9 billion in December, $200.5 billion in November, $97.5 billion in October and $149.8 billion in September. Weighted average maturities were down 1 day at 37 days for the Crane MFA and down 1 day at 37 days for the Crane 100 Money Fund Index.
According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (1/3), 87 money funds (out of 790 total) yield under 3.0% with $94.0 billion in assets, or 1.3%; 164 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($317.5 billion, or 4.4%), 539 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($6.836 trillion, or 94.3%) and following the recent rate cut there continue to be zero funds yielding 5.0% or more.
Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was down 1 bp at 0.43%, after dropping 2 basis points two weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of Jan. 3, shows one change over the past week. RW Baird lowered rates to 1.37% for accounts between $1 and $999K, to 2.17% for accounts of $1M to $1.9M and to 2.83% for accounts of $5M or greater. Three of the 10 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.
In other news, Federated Hermes' latest monthly insight, titled, "A gorgeous vista for cash managers," is subtitled, "Three things to watch in 2025." Author Deborah Cunnigham states, "After a year of ever-changing clouds, monetary policy looks clearer in 2025. The Federal Reserve seems to finally have realized it miscalculated in September by slashing rates. Inflation had already plateaued and the labor market was weakening, but hardly weak. Faced with a strong economy, officials have wised up to the reality that policy must be restrictive for longer and now project just two quarter-point cuts this year."
She continues, "In retrospect, it's odd that Chair Jerome Powell eagerly supported the easing campaign, as he consistently says he wants to avoid the Fed's mistake of easing too early in the 1970s. He has to be careful. Losing favor with Trump has nothing on losing credibility with investors or his colleagues -- the latter hinted at with recent FOMC dissents. But if this newly cautious Fed makes good on its revised projections, the slower pace is great news for the money markets, as it could mean yields will be even more attractive."
Cunningham says, "It's problematic enough that inflation has been persistent. If it starts to meaningfully rise, look out. But that's the danger of some of the policies Trump has promised to enact. While the post-Covid economy has not followed textbooks, a potential combination of more federal tax cuts, expanded government expenditures, additional tariffs and significant deportations could increase price pressures. While that might not be felt in 2025, the Fed might try to counter fiscal policy by further slowing the pace of cuts. The potential impact on liquidity products? See the previous paragraph's last sentence above, with an emphasis on 'even more.'"
She adds, "Trump's desire to reduce regulations is sure to be disruptive, but might lead to calm at the SEC -- and less market interference. The majority of the five commissioners will flip Republican, and the new administration has a pro-business agenda.... Outgoing Chair Gary Gensler had an adversarial relationship with financial institutions and issued many rules, some we feel were unnecessary, without proper dialogue with market participants. A healthy dynamic between the agency and markets should emerge if Trump's nominee, Paul Atkins, is confirmed. Expect more sensible regulations and attempts to rollback some onerous ones implemented under Gensler."
It appears that most money market mutual funds will be open on Thursday, January 9, though the New York Stock Exchange and stock markets will close for the National Day of Mourning for the death of former President James "Jimmy" Carter. Money funds had previously closed for the President Bush Day of Mourning but many were open for the President Ford Day of Mourning. So far, Fidelity, BlackRock, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Federated Hermes have announced that they will be open, though some of BlackRock's retail MMFs will close. Given this news, Crane Data will remain open and will publish our Money Fund Intelligence Daily, MFI International and Form N-MFP Holdings on their usual schedule Thursday.
BlackRock says in a message to clients, "Thursday, January 9, 2025, has been designated a National Day of Mourning in the United States to honor the passing of former President James Earl Carter, Jr.. The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Inc.'s U.S. equities and options markets and CME Group Inc's. U.S.-based equity markets will be closed on that day. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has recommended that U.S. bond markets close early at 2 PM ET. Banks, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will remain open on January 9."
They explain, "Accordingly, the following funds will be open on January 9 and calculate both a NAV and 1-day distribution rate: BlackRock Liquidity Funds: FedFund, MuniCash, T-Fund and TempCash; BlackRock Cash Funds: Inst and Treas; BlackRock Institutional Cash Series plc: ICS US Dollar Liquidity Fund, ICS US Treasury Fund, ICS US Dollar LEAF and ICS US Dollar Ultra Short Bond Fund. The following funds will be open ... but will close at 2:00 PM ET: BlackRock Liquidity Funds: Treasury Trust Fund and Liquid Federal Trust Fund. The below funds will be closed on January 9: BlackRock Wealth Liquid Environmentally Aware Fund, BlackRock Government Money Market Portfolio, BlackRock Government Money Market V.I. Fund, Summit Cash Reserves Fund, Circle Reserve Fund and BlackRock Short Obligations Fund."
A message from Federated Hermes states, "All Federated Hermes' money market funds and liquidity products will be open for business as usual on January 9, 2025. In addition to Federated Hermes money market funds, certain advisory products and accounts, the Federated Hermes Prime Cash Collective Investment Fund, and the Federated Hermes Prime Private Liquidity Fund will be open for trading."
In other news, a "US Regulatory Intelligence" update from law firm Norton Rose Fulbright titled "SEC Mandates Broker-Dealers Calculate Cash Custody Daily," explains, "The SEC adopted amendments to Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3 ('Customer protection-reserves and custody of securities'). The amendments require broker-dealers that carry over $500 million in customer credit to perform daily cash reserve account calculations." They tell us, "The amendments: require certain broker-dealers to increase the frequency of the computations of the net cash they owe to customers and other broker-dealers from weekly to daily under Rule 15c3-3" and "permit certain broker-dealers that perform a daily customer reserve computation to decrease the required 3 percent 'buffer' in the customer reserve bank account by reducing the customer-related receivables charge (i.e. aggregate debit items charge) from 3 percent to 2 percent in the computation under Rules 15c3-3 and 15c3-1—the broker-dealer net capital rule."
The brief says, "SEC Chair Gary Gensler highlighted that 'nine of the largest broker-dealers already make these calculations on a daily basis.' He stated that '[the] amendments are intended to reduce the likelihood of any mismatch between the amount of segregated funds and the net cash owed to customers and other broker-dealers,' and that 'lowering the likelihood of mismatches will help to protect the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) Fund.'
Author Steven Lofchie continues, "SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce said that, while the final amendments 'are not perfect,' they are 'net beneficial to investors.' She highlighted that '[the amendments] increase costs and operational challenges for 40 of the estimated 49 broker-dealers subject to the daily computation requirement,' but concluded that 'the final amendments do incorporate an increased threshold for triggering the requirement that mitigates some of the costs. In addition, it allows carrying broker-dealers that use the alternative method for net capital and perform a daily customer reserve computation to reduce their aggregate debit items by 2% (instead of the 3% that is currently required)."
The piece adds, "In dissent, SEC Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda argued that the Commission overlooked 'many suggestions from commentators that might potentially lower cost while still reducing risk.' He said that the adoption was rushed in an 'apparent attempt' to finalize the amendments prior to the end of the current administration. Mr. Uyeda said that the SEC should have taken additional time to consider comments and data as well as interact with the public. He argued that the SEC 'may end up leaving yet another mess for its successors to clean up.'"
The publication FinanceFeeds also comments on the new rule in, "SEC enhances customer protection rules for broker-dealers." They write, "The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted amendments to its customer protection rule, Rule 15c3-3. The amendments require certain broker-dealers to change the frequency of their net cash computations from weekly to daily. The change aims to safeguard better customer and PAB (broker-dealer's proprietary accounts) cash."
Their article continues, "SEC Chair Gary Gensler endorsed amendments requiring large broker-dealers to compute and segregate customer balances daily, rather than weekly. He noted that these changes reflect the evolution of markets since 1972, when the Customer Protection Rule first took effect. He explained that daily calculations help reduce mismatches between segregated funds and cash owed to customers. Gensler also noted a reduction of the reserve 'buffer' from 3 percent to 2 percent for broker-dealers performing daily computations."
They quote Gensler, "The Customer Protection Rule requires broker-dealers that custody customers' cash and securities to maintain a special reserve bank account that contains the net cash a broker-dealer owes to its customers. The rule, which we're updating, currently requires broker-dealers to calculate and deposit the appropriate balance for that account on a weekly basis. Today's amendments would change this requirement for the largest broker-dealers to daily computation rather than weekly."
Finally, the piece also quotes SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, "I hope that broker-dealers will take the Commission up on its invitation to engage with the staff on potential issues in dealing with what one commenter called 'cash in motion.' I also look forward to receiving feedback on any operational challenges that arise as broker-dealers implement these requirements, particularly with respect to exigent circumstances and potential challenges with resources around holidays and days when the markets close early."
ICI's latest "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets surging $42.1 billion in the last week of the year to a record $6.848 trillion, after jumping $54.7 billion the previous week. Money fund assets have risen in 16 of the last 22, and 27 of the last 37, weeks, increasing by $544.2 billion (or 8.6%) since the Fed cut on 9/18 and increasing by $870.3 billion (or 14.6%) since April 24. MMF assets are up by $961 billion, or 16.3%, in 2024 (through 12/31/24), with Institutional MMFs up $519 billion, or 14.4% and Retail MMFs up $443 billion, or 19.3%. (Note: Thanks to our subscribers and readers for all your support in 2024 and best of luck in 2025. Happy New Year!)
ICI's weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $42.05 billion to $6.85 trillion for the week ended Tuesday, December 31, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $41.28 billion and prime funds decreased by $751 million. Tax-exempt money market funds increased by $1.52 billion." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs increasing $23.4 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $18.8 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $5.633 trillion (82.3% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $1.079 trillion (15.8%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $135.7 billion (2.0%).
It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $18.78 billion to $2.73 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $12.07 billion to $1.74 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $5.22 billion to $864.65 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $1.49 billion to $124.51 billion." Retail assets account for over a third of total assets, or 39.9%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.8% of all Retail MMFs.
They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $23.26 billion to $4.12 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $29.21 billion to $3.89 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $5.98 billion to $214.02 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $28 million to $11.21 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 60.1% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.5% of all institutional MMF totals.
According to Crane Data's separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets rose by $110.9 billion in December through 12/31 to a record $7.174 trillion. Assets rose by $200.5 trillion in November, $97.5 billion in October, $149.8 billion in September, $109.7 billion in August, $16.6 billion in July, $15.7 billion in June and $91.4 billion in May. They declined by $15.8 billion in April and $68.8 billion in March. They rose $72.1 billion in February, $93.9 billion in January and $32.7 billion last December. Note that ICI's asset totals don't include a number of funds tracked by the SEC and Crane Data, so they're about $340 billion lower than Crane's asset series.
TheStreet.com writes on "Money Market ETFs: Yes, they’re a Thing Now, But Read this First Before Buying. They comment, "Managing cash has never been easier, thanks to the rise of ETFs. If your goal is to keep your principal safe while earning a little on the side, you've already had solid options like Treasury bill ETFs or ultra-short-term bond ETFs. Both come with low credit risk, monthly distributions, and yields tied to prevailing short-term interest rates."
The brief continues, "Now, there's a new player on the block: money market ETFs. The Texas Capital Government Money Market ETF (MMKT) debuted on September 24, 2024, and brings the simplicity of money market investing into an ETF structure. As of December 19, it boasts a 4.49% seven-day SEC yield with a reasonable 0.2% expense ratio."
It explains, "But before you invest, it's important to understand that money market ETFs don't function quite the same way as the money market mutual funds you might already know. The ETF structure adds some quirks that could catch you off guard. Here's what you need to know before making the leap.... MMKT ... is a different story. As an ETF, it doesn't have a fixed NAV of $1 and trades throughout the day on an exchange. That distinction introduces some nuances you won't experience with a money market mutual fund."
The piece adds, "This means you could, in theory, experience an unrealized loss with MMKT. For example, if you buy shares just before the ex-distribution date -- when the NAV is at its peak -- you'll see a drop in value that might take time to recoup, depending on when you sell. Additionally, there's the matter of the bid-ask spread."
For more see our Nov. 18 Link of the Day, "FT on BlackRock Money Market ETFs," our Nov. 12 Link of the Day, "BlackRock Files for Money Market ETFs," and our Sept. 26 Link of the Day, "Texas Capital Launches Govt MM ETF."
Finally, a release titled, "SIFMA Recommends Early Market Close on January 9, 2025, for the National Day of Mourning in Honor of Former President Carter" explains, "SIFMA joins the nation in expressing its condolences on the passing of former President Jimmy Carter.... SIFMA today recommended an early market close at 2:00 pm EST on January 9, 2025, for all fixed-income cash markets in recognition of the National Day of Mourning in honor of the 39th President of the United States. This is in keeping with SIFMA's policy on unscheduled changes in trading hours. This recommendation applies to trading of U.S. dollar-denominated government securities, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, over-the-counter investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds, municipal bonds and secondary money market trading in bankers' acceptances, commercial paper and Yankee and Euro certificates of deposit. SIFMA's recommended early and full market closes are recommendations only; each member firm should decide for itself whether its fixed income departments remain open for trading. All SIFMA recommendations are subject to change due to market conditions." (Note: We'll see and we'll keep you posted, but `Crane Data expects most money market funds to close for the Jan. 9 Day of Mourning.)
Over the past decade, we've been recapping money market fund lineup changes driven primarily by regulatory reforms in a series of "Roll with the Changes" news items. (Our thanks and apologies to the REO Speedwagon.) At the start of the New Year in many of these years, we'd review the major shifts and changes fund managers made ahead of and around the major rounds of reforms in 2016 and in 2023-24. While 2023 didn't see many exits from Prime MMFs or other shifts in preparation of the latest round of Money Fund Reforms (the year was eventful due to record assets and 5% yields though), 2024 did see a number of shifts and exits. Looking back, a year ago, we wrote "Rolling w/Reform Changes V: Little Change in '23 Ahead of MMF Reforms" (1/5/24), and 3 years ago, we wrote "Rolling w/Reform Changes IV: Recap of '21 Exits & Entries, ESG & News" (1/4/22).
Four years ago, we wrote "Rolling w/Reform Changes III: Recap of '20 Prime Exits, News & Moves" (1/7/21), which explained, "In January 2016, money market mutual funds were in the midst of a series of dramatic changes ahead of October 2016's Money Fund Reforms, the biggest changes to money fund regulations since their introduction in October 1970. Nine years ago, we ran the story, "Rolling w/Reform Changes II: Recap of '15 Announcements, '16 Plans" (1/6/16) which reviewed a number of major changes among the largest managers that took place during 2015. (We wrote the original "Managers Rolling with Reform Changes; Recap of Announcements So Far" on July 22, 2015.)
As with many of these past years, exits from Prime MMFs and fund repositioning were notable trends in 2024, as dozens of Prime Inst funds and over $400 billion in assets converted to Government or liquidated." Below, we review these changes and lineup shifts over the past year, as money funds implemented the latest (and perhaps final) round of regulatory changes. (See also our "Dec. 4, 2024 News, "Top 10 Stories of 2024: Assets Break $7 Trillion, Yields Heading Lower. Note: Readers may also review "Crane Data's News," "Link of the Day" and "Money Fund Intelligence Archives" for more stories from the past year, 5 years and decade-plus.)
We saw a steady stream of liquidations and lineup changes in 2024 ahead of the October deadline for Prime Inst MMFs' new emergency liquidity fee regime. In August, we wrote: "SSGA Sticks w/Prime Inst Money Funds; Discusses Reforms; Benchmarks" (8/29/24), "Prime Inst Exits Take Effect: Allspring, DWS, UBS; NY Fed RRP Updates" (8/27/24), "Aug. MFI: Prime Inst Conversions; Q2 Earnings on Sweeps; More Deposits" (8/7/24) and "J.P. Morgan's Donohue Makes Case for Prime Institutional Money Funds (8/1/24).
In July, June and May, we posted, "First American Inst Prime Obligations to Invest Solely in Liquid Assets" (7/23/24), "Schwab, JPM, Meeder Announce Prime Inst Conversions to Government" (7/18/24) "BoardIQ Writes on Prime Inst Exodus" (6/21/24), "Invesco Files to Liquidate Prime Inst MMFs; UBS MF Converting to Retail" (6/13/24), "June MFI: Latest Prime Inst MF Exits; ICI's 2024 Fact Book; Treasury Bills" (6/7/24) and "Federated Hermes Merging Prime Inst Money Funds; Prime Value To POF" (6/6/24) and "ICI's Pan, SEC's Gensler Discuss Liquidity Fees, Prime Inst Money Funds" (5/28/24).
While minor, we also wrote about fund liquidations, moves and changes, particularly in the Tax-Exempt or Municipal MMF space, in these updates: "ICI: Money Fund Assets Break Over $6.5 Trillion; BNY Liquidates Muni MF" (10/25/24), "UBS Files to Liquidate Tax-Free Fund" (10/15/24), "Alight Money Fund Liquidates; Bloomberg Law on Brokerage Sweep Suits" (9/19/24), "Dreyfus NY Muni MMF Liquidating" (8/14/24) and "Empower Govt MMF Liquidates" (6/24/24).
In addition to the sporadic exits and shifts, we saw continued launches in the D&I and Social space (and exits in the ESG fund space). We wrote: "Morgan Stanley Puts Impact Partner Class on Portal; UBS Changes Cutoff" (6/25/24), "Ramirez Govt MMF Partners w/Hispanic Fund; JPM: T-Bills to Go Bigger" (6/4/24), "DWS Liquidating ESG Liquidity Fund, 7th Prime Inst to Exit; MM Basics" (5/22/24) and "Ramirez Asset Management Launches Government MMF; Federated on 24" (1/3/24).
Finally, a number of articles discussed the final implementation of U.S. MMFs Reforms, including: "Federated Hermes' Earnings Call Discusses MMF Surge, Reforms, Direct" (10/28/24), "Bloomberg, ignites on Latest MMF Reforms; Prime Inst Shift a Nonevent" (10/23/24), "SSGA Sticks w/Prime Inst Money Funds; Discusses Reforms; Benchmarks" (8/29/24), "SEC's Money Fund Reforms One Year Later: Disclosures Latest to Go Live" (7/12/24), "Citi's Williams on Impact from MMF Reforms: No Big Deal; Assets Higher" (5/21/24), "JPM Sees Minor Impact on CP/CDs from Shift; Cunningham on Reforms" (5/26/24), "April MFI: Reforms Trigger Prime Shift; Bond Fund Event; ICI Worldwide" (4/5/24), "Fed Blog Shows Declines in Deposits Offset; Wells Fargo on MMF Reforms" (3/28/24) and "FSB's Thematic Review on Money Fund Reforms Reviews Global Markets" (2/28/24).
Happy New Year from Crane Data and Money Fund Intelligence! We'll be sure to keep you posted on product developments and any news impacting money market funds in 2025. So best wishes and thanks for your continued support!
