​

Charles Schwab reported Q1'​25 earnings and hosted its "2025 Spring Business Update" last week (​see the transcript here). CFO Mike Verdeschi tells us, "We saw solid growth across all fronts during the first quarter as we continued to meet the evolving needs of our growing client base. New account formation was approximately 1.​2 million during the period, our highest total in several years.... This combination of organic growth and increased client utilization of our leading products and solutions resulted in year-​over-​year revenue and adjusted earnings growth of 18% and 41% respectively. Transactional cash levels continue to reflect normalized cash behaviors inclusive of organic growth, seasonality and investor sentiment. And we made additional progress on reducing the level of bank supplemental funding to approximately $​38 billion, down more than 60% from peak levels."

He explains, "In terms of rates, the outlook for 2025 remains dynamic with the forward curve moving between three to four 25 basis point cuts to the Fed'​s target rate versus the one cut assumed back in January for our financial scenario. At this point in time, these potential incremental cuts are expected to be mostly in the back half of the year. Under such a scenario, we still expect full year 2025 net interest margin to expand into the 2.​55% to 2.​65% range. We also could see average 4Q NIM contracted slightly from the level indicated in our January financial scenario. Of course, movements in the forward curve is nothing new and we'​d expect it to continue to change as investors assess the shifting macroeconomic picture. And while the drivers of earnings are evolving with stronger cash levels and higher trading volumes versus lower equity markets and additional future rate cuts, the combination of our strong 1Q '​25 results and diversified model has us currently tracking around the upper end of the full year scenario outlined at the winter business update in January.

Verdeschi says, "​Moving to our balance sheet.... As expected, we saw the seasonal outflow in client transactional sweep cash to begin the year and then cash building slightly during February and March. This activity represents normal behavior in this type of environment as client redeployment of the 4Q cash build was offset by net equity selling as investors to exposure to risk assets. With another quarter of encouraging cash performance, we use the cash flows coming off of the securities portfolio plus some cash on hand to further reduce high-​cost supplemental funding at the banks."

He continues, "In terms of Q2, we still expect to see typical drawdown in client cash due to tax disbursement payments in April. Similar to past years, we expect this activity to impact both transactional sweep cash as well as other liquid cash alternatives, such as purchase money market funds. However, it is possible that a continuation of market volatility in this quarter could influence client cash allocations. Given the increasing uncertainty in today'​s environment, we'​re focusing on flexibility in managing the balance sheet to remain well positioned to navigate a wide range of potential outcomes."

Verdeschi adds, "​Some additional thoughts on bank supplemental funding. Following the $​15 billion paydown during the fourth quarter, we reduced the balances by another $​11.​8 billion during the first quarter of '​25, bringing the outstanding balance as of March 31st to $​38.​1 billion or down approximately 60% from the peak. As previously mentioned, we would not necessarily expect to reduce funding levels by the same magnitude every quarter. For example, sizable tax related outflows in 2Q will likely make it more challenging to replicate the level of paydown observed over the past two quarters. However, as we move forward, we still expect to make additional progress each quarter until the supplemental funding at the banks is reduced to a level consistent with our diversified long term funding profile."

During the Q&​A, CEO Rick Wurster comments, "​April has brought levels of engagement that are historical for us.... The ability for a client to call up and quickly get an answer to walk into a branch and talk to someone to talk with their advisor and know that Schwab stands behind them and supports that, this is a period where we shine. And we'​ve seen the first part of April, 2 times to 3 times the level of new accounts being opened.... In terms of what that translates to and some of the metrics that you described, in aggregate, we'​ve seen a slight risk off tone from our investors in the first few weeks of April. And by that we'​ve seen higher levels of cash growth than we would have expected in a month where we'​ve got April tax payments due, some slight reduction in margin and net equity selling."

Verdeschi states, "​So when you think about the volume of transactions that we'​re seeing, and even though you see some of that margin coming back a bit, the fact that we'​re picking up cash, the cash alone more than offsets the earnings impact of some of that margin coming off. So when you look at just the beginning of April, it continues to give us confidence about that earnings range that I provided, certainly the upper end of that range."

Analyst Bill Katz of TD Cowen asks, "​Now that you'​re getting much closer in terms of normalizing the balance sheet in terms of paying down some of the higher cost deposits, [it] seems like client cash sorting has peaked for the cycle and your growth is accelerating and you ended the quarter slightly north of your capital ratio.... How are you thinking about balance sheet growth into the second half of this year?"

Verdeschi responds, "​So as you highlight, as we think about the balance sheet this year, yes, our focus continues to be managing balance sheet in the way that'​s going to meet our client needs, while at the same time, driving some of those broader objectives of bringing down the supplemental borrowings.... If you'​re heading for a lower rate environment, it'​s possible you could see more growth in the mortgage portfolio. We haven'​t seen as much there. But we'​re going to continue to manage the balance sheet in a way to support that lending activity. And of course, over time, as we pay down those supplemental borrowings, we have a securities portfolio that we will begin to roll and reinvest."

Asked about the NIM (​net interest margin), Verdeschi answers, "Regarding NIM, we still feel good about the ability to expand NIM. And of course, the interest rate environment is evolving. As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, when we came into the year in our financial scenario, we assumed one cut in May and now the market is as much as four cuts over the course of the year. So when you take some of the puts and takes here, you'​re right, the pickup in cash, we performed a little bit better in cash that'​s enabled a faster reduction of supplemental borrowings. Of course, that could continue over the course of the year; it remains to be seen how the environment evolves.... But putting that all together, we still feel very good about the ability to expand net interest margin over the course of the year and importantly, continue to grow earnings and we'​re growing them organically and building capital."

Ben Rubin of UBS asks, "​Another question here for Mike on the balance sheet. You paid down nearly $​30 billion in supplemental funding over the past two quarters alone, which is encouraging to see. But in your prepared remarks, you spoke to achieving more funding diversity over the long term between sweep deposits, other products like brokered CDs, as well as potential third party arrangements. So just curious, how do you view the optimal mix across your different funding sources over the long term?"

Verdeschi responds, "Funding diversification to me is just a basic capability that we want to maintain. But at the same time, that funding diversification is going to be done in a way is efficient and achieve the financial outcomes we want to achieve. Starting with the bank, yes, good progress in paying down that bank supplemental funding. And we'​re going to continue to make progress there. I think having some mix of secured and unsecured borrowings in the bank makes sense.... So that diversification creates efficiency and it creates flexibility to meet the ongoing client needs. So that'​s how I think about that approach to funding diversification. And again, we'​re going to continue to progress the paydown of that bank supplemental funding over the course of the year."

In other earnings news, Morgan Stanley also briefly discusses sweep accounts during its Q1'​25 earnings call. (​See the Seeking Alpha transcript here.) CFO Sharon Yeshaya comments, "Total deposits of $​375 billion were up quarter-​over-​quarter as demand for our savings offering was partially offset by the modest decline in sweep balances. Within sweeps, we saw clients consistently deploy cash into markets during each month of the first quarter."

She adds, "​Overall, deposit movements in the quarter were generally in line with seasonality and our expectations. Net interest income was up modestly quarter-​over-​quarter to $​1.​9 billion. Looking ahead to the second quarter, we expect a seasonal decline in sweeps related to tax payments, which would result in a modest decline in NII. However, over the course of the recent two weeks, we have seen a notable increase in sweep balances, exceeding our internal forecasts. While this is likely associated with recent market uncertainty, it could have offsetting impacts to the NII in the second quarter should this continue. For the second quarter, deposit mix will remain the key driver of NII."

​

ICI'​s latest "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets falling $​125.​4 billion to $​6.​881 trillion, after falling $​25.​4 billion the week prior but rising $​17.​6 billion two weeks ago (​to a record on 4/​2). Massive (​presumably) tax-​related outflows make this the largest weekly outflow in history. But money fund assets have still risen in 24 of the last 37, and 35 of the last 52 weeks, increasing by $​577.​3 billion (​or 9.​2%) since the Fed cut on 9/​18/​24 and increasing by $​903.​4 billion (​or 15.​1%) since 4/​24/​24. MMF assets are up by $​913 billion, or 15.​3%, in the past 52 weeks (​through 4/​16/​25), with Institutional MMFs up $​465 billion, or 13.​0% and Retail MMFs up $​447 billion, or 18.​6%. Year-​to-​date, MMF assets are up by $​30 billion, or 0.​4%, with Institutional MMFs down $​82 billion, or -​2.​0% and Retail MMFs up $​113 billion, or 4.​1%.

ICI'​s weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets decreased by $​125.​36 billion to $​6.​88 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, April 16.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds $​120.​96 billion and prime funds decreased by $​3.​05 billion. Tax-​exempt money market funds decreased by $​1.​35 billion." ICI'​s stats show Institutional MMFs decreasing $​96.​3 billion and Retail MMFs decreasing $​29.​1 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $​5.​622 trillion (​81.​7% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $​1.​126 trillion (​16.​4%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $​133.​6 billion (​1.​9%).

It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds decreased by $​29.​11 billion to $​2.​85 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets decreased by $​21.​63 billion to $​1.​81 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $​6.​24 billion to $​916.​38 billion, and tax-​exempt fund assets decreased by $​1.​24 billion to $​122.​55 billion." Retail assets account for well over a third of total assets, or 41.​4%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.​5% of all Retail MMFs.

They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $​96.​25 billion to $​4.​03 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets decreased by $​99.​33 billion to $​3.​81 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $​3.​19 billion to $​209.​24 billion, and tax-​exempt fund assets decreased by $​102 million to $​11.​01 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 58.​6% 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 have fallen by $​76.​0 billion in April (​through 4/​16/​25) to $​7.​248 trillion, hitting a record high of $​7.​384 trillion on April 3. Assets rose by $​2.​8 trillion in March, $​94.​2 billion in February, $​52.​8 billion in January, $​110.​9 billion in December, $​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 2024. Note that ICI'​s asset totals don'​t include a number of funds tracked by the SEC and Crane Data, so they'​re over $​330 billion lower than Crane'​s asset series.

In other news, an ignites story, "Brokers Got Hit With 47 Cash Sweep Suits. So Far, None Have Stuck," explains, "At least 13 brokerages have been implicated in a spate of lawsuits targeting cash sweep rates, court records show. In fact, of the 47 lawsuits filed since 2019, all but three are pending. That, lawyers say, suggests that plaintiffs may have a tough time convincing courts that brokerages acted wrongly in sweeping their cash into affiliated bank deposit accounts rather than higher-​yielding accounts or products like money market funds. The first such suit was filed in August 2019 against Merrill Lynch, claiming that the brokerage breached a contract with investors and acted negligently by sweeping cash into affiliated bank deposit products with '​below market' yields. Money market funds would have been a more appropriate option, plaintiffs contended."

The piece continues, "District Judge Valerie Caproni dismissed [​this] complaint in June 2020, saying that Merrill'​s cash sweep policy disclosures were '​sufficiently conspicuous' to investors, court documents show. [​The investor] filed an amended complaint in February 2021, which is pending."

It quotes, "'​If you'​re making the decision for the client to put it in poor-​yielding cash investment, then you may have legal risk,' said Pete Crane, president of Crane Data. By comparison, if the client is picking the product with openly disclosed rates, '​there'​s very little concern, because it'​s not like they'​re holding you hostage.' Since 2023, four similar cases have been filed against Merrill Lynch or parent company Bank of America, court filings show."

The piece says, "Other major brokerages with affiliated banks have also been targeted by similar lawsuits filed since 2023, including J.​P. Morgan, LPL, Morgan Stanley, Schwab and Wells Fargo. Last year alone, each were sued at least five times. Money market funds have had significantly higher yields than brokerage sweep programs since 2021, Crane Data shows. But real scrutiny started in 2022, when the Federal Reserve began increasing interest rates, said Steve Jodlowski, senior counsel at DiCello Levitt."

It tells us, "​Last year, the Fed cut rates three times, and it has sat in the range of 4.​25% to 4.​50% since December. Most of the lawsuits include allegations that the brokerages should have swept cash into money market funds from Fidelity or Vanguard, rather than their affiliated bank deposit accounts, court records show. The average bank deposit returned 0.​4% at the end of last year, Crane Data shows. That'​s compared to a 4.​2% 7-​day yield, on average, for money funds during 2024."

The story also states, "But swept cash is a large income stream for brokerage firms, Crane said. For example, in 2024, Schwab recorded $​729 million in revenue from its cash sweeps and Ameriprise collected $​154 million in distribution fees from them, company disclosures show. 'The brokerages clearly are going to fight any kind of trend to pay higher yields on sweeps, because that'​s how they make all their profits,' Crane said."

The ignites article continues, "Suits against Ameriprise and LPL have been voluntarily dismissed, but the court has left the door open for the plaintiffs to refile the cases, court records show. Plaintiffs in those cases include both brokerage and IRA clients whose accounts earned low rates for sweep assets in accounts held by affiliated banks, court records show. '​The plaintiffs appear to be going after a number of different customer relationships, each of which would have different legal considerations,' said Paul Clark, senior counsel at Seward & Kissel.... Regulators are also paying attention to where brokerages default client cash. Since 2022, six firms have agreed to pay a combined $​267 million to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission allegations over their sweep programs."

Finally, it says, "In January, the SEC settled sweep rate-​related charges with Merrill and Wells Fargo affiliates. In those cases, the regulator said that the firms failed to put reasonable policies in place when picking cash sweep options for customers. Merrill agreed to pay $​25 million, and Wells Fargo paid $​35 million.... Under current law, the SEC does not require brokers to offer any form of sweep program and permits brokers to hold customers' uninvested cash without paying interest at all, Seward & Kissel'​s Clark said."

For more on lawsuits over brokerage sweeps, see these Crane Data News stories: "WSJ: SEC, Brokerage Sweeps Settle" (​1/​21/​25), "Schwab Latest Firm Sued Over Sweeps; BlackRock'​s Small: MMFs Stickier" (​12/​12/​24), "Wells Quiet on Sweeps on Q3 Call" (​10/​18/​24), "Barron'​s Writes on Brokerage Sweep Woes; Reuters on Rate Cuts, MMFs" (​9/​23/​24), "Alight Money Fund Liquidates; Bloomberg Law on Brokerage Sweep Suits" (​9/​19/​24), "Sept. MFI: Sticking with Prime Inst; MMFs Hit Record; Sweeps Scrutiny" (​9/​9/​24), "Barron'​s: JPMorgan Sued on Sweeps" (​8/​29/​24), "More on SEC Sweeps Scrutiny; Inv News on Sweeps, UBS'​s Earnings Call" (​8/​20/​24), "Law Firm Says Bolster Disclosures, Rates on Sweeps; Crane Index 5.​11%" (​8/​13/​24), "Barron'​s: BofA Cites Risk from Sweeps" (​8/​8/​24), "Central Bank of Ireland on Fund Regulations; Brokerage Sweeps Lawsuits" (​8/​5/​24), "Tradeweb Completes ICD Acquisition; AdvisorHub on Wells Sweep Suit" (​8/​2/​24) and "IN: Ameriprise Sued Over Sweeps" (​7/​31/​24).

​

The U.​S. Securities and Exchange Commission published its latest monthly "Money Market Fund Statistics" summary, which shows that total money fund assets rose by $​2.​8 billion in March 2025 to a record $​7.​391 trillion. The SEC shows Prime MMFs increased $​22.​1 billion in March to $​1.​256 trillion, Govt & Treasury funds decreased $​21.​8 billion to $​5.​993 trillion and Tax Exempt funds increased $​2.​4 billion to $​141.​7 billion. Taxable yields continued to decline in March after previous decreases in February and January. The SEC'​s Division of Investment Management summarizes monthly Form N-​MFP data and includes asset totals and averages for yields, liquidity levels, WAMs, WALs, holdings, and other money market fund trends. We review their latest numbers below. (​Our MFI XLS monthly shows money fund assets rising $​2.​3 billion in March 2025 to a record $​7.​333 trillion. In April month-​to-​date through 4/​14, total money fund assets have decreased by $​58.​8 billion to $​7.​265 trillion, according to Crane Data'​s separate, and slightly smaller, MFI Daily series.)

March'​s asset increase follows a rise of $​101.​8 billion in February, $​47.​9 billion in January, $​113.​2 billion in December, $​197.​8 billion in November, $​93.​3 billion in October, $​166.​6 billion in September, $​97.​8 billion in August, $​19.​5 billion in July, $​21.​3 billion in June, and $​89.​7 billion in May. Assets decreased $​17.​7 billion in April and $​68.​5 billion last March. Over the 12 months through 3/​31/​25, total MMF assets have increased by $​934.​3 billion, or 14.​5%, according to the SEC'​s series.

The SEC'​s stats show that of the $​7.​391 trillion in assets, $​1.​256 trillion was in Prime funds, up $​22.​1 billion in March. Prime assets were up $​15.​4 billion in February, $​27.​4 billion in January, $​4.​0 billion in December, $​12.​9 billion in November, $​16.​4 billion in October, but down $​5.​6 billion in September and $​25.​1 billion in August. They fell $​11.​5 billion in July and $​204.​6 billion in June. But assets rose $​19.​7 billion in May. Assets were down $​30.​0 billion in April, and up $​8.​1 billion last March. Prime funds represented 17.​0% of total assets at the end of March. They'​ve decreased by $​158.​6 billion, or -​11.​2%, over the past 12 months. (Note that the SEC'​s series includes a number of internal money funds not tracked by ICI, though Crane Data includes most of these assets in its collections.)

Government & Treasury funds totaled $​5.​993 trillion, or 81.​1% of assets. They decreased $​21.​8 billion in March, increased $​85.​6 billion in February, $​23.​1 billion in January, $​109.​5 billion in December, $​181.​5 billion in November, $​73.​2 billion in October, $​171.​2 billion in September, $​121.​9 billion in August, $​31.​3 bil-​lion in July, $​229.​2 billion in June, $​65.​5 billion in May, $​9.​3 billion in April, but they decreased $​78.​8 billion last March. Govt & Treasury MMFs are up $​1.​080 trillion over 12 months, or 22.​0%. Tax Exempt Funds increased $​2.​4 billion to $​141.​7 billion, or 1.​9% of all assets. The number of money funds was 277 in March, unchanged from the previous month and down 12 funds from a year earlier.

Yields for Taxable MMFs continued to decline in March, while Tax Exempt MMFs yields rose. The Weighted Average Gross 7-​Day Yield for Prime Institutional Funds on March 31 was 4.​48%, down 2 bps from the prior month. The Weighted Average Gross 7-​Day Yield for Prime Retail MMFs was 4.​50%, down 2 bps from the previous month. Gross yields were 4.​40% for Government Funds, down 1 bp from last month. Gross yields for Treasury Funds were down 2 bps at 4.​37%. Gross Yields for Tax Exempt Institutional MMFs were up 126 basis points to 3.​20% in March. Gross Yields for Tax Exempt Retail funds were up 67 bps to 3.​04%.

The Weighted Average 7-​Day Net Yield for Prime Institutional MMFs was 4.​38%, down 1 bp from the previous month and down 101 bps from 3/​31/​24. The Average Net Yield for Prime Retail Funds was 4.​24%, down 1 bp from the previous month and down 100 bps since 3/​31/​24. Net yields were 4.​18% for Government Funds, down 1 bp from last month. Net yields for Treasury Funds were down 2 bps from the previous month at 4.​15%. Net Yields for Tax Exempt Institutional MMFs were up 126 bps from February to 3.​09%. Net Yields for Tax Exempt Retail funds were up 66 bps at 2.​80% in March. (​Note: These averages are asset-​weighted.)

WALs and WAMs were mostly down in March. The average Weighted Average Life, or WAL, was 51.​4 days (​down 1.​4 days) for Prime Institutional funds, and 45.​7 days for Prime Retail funds (​down 0.​5 days). Government fund WALs averaged 88.​6 days (​up 0.​2 days) while Treasury fund WALs averaged 91.​5 days (​up 0.​9 days). Tax Exempt Institutional fund WALs were 4.​0 days (​down 1.​1 days), and Tax Exempt Retail MMF WALs averaged 28.​1 days (​down 1.​1 days).

The Weighted Average Maturity, or WAM, was 25.​3 days (​down 3.​4 days from the previous month) for Prime Institutional funds, 24.​9 days (​down 4.​2 days from the previous month) for Prime Retail funds, 33.​9 days (​up 0.​1 days from previous month) for Government funds, and 40.​2 days (​down 1.​9 days from previous month) for Treasury funds. Tax Exempt Inst WAMs were down 1.​1 days at 4.​0 days, while Tax Exempt Retail WAMs were down 0.​6 days from previous month at 27.​4 days.

Total Daily Liquid Assets for Prime Institutional funds were 54.​1% in March (​up 1.​4% from the previous month), and DLA for Prime Retail funds was 47.​3% (​up 1.​2% from previous month) as a percent of total assets. The average DLA was 65.​7% for Govt MMFs and 94.​1% for Treasury MMFs. Total Weekly Liquid Assets was 64.​9% (​down 0.​5% from the previous month) for Prime Institutional MMFs, and 60.​0% (​down 1.​1% from the previous month) for Prime Retail funds. Average WLA was 78.​2% for Govt MMFs and 98.​9% for Treasury MMFs.

Note that the SEC made a number of changes to their monthly release, so we'​re no longer publishing several tables. A press release titled, "SEC Publishes New Data and Analysis About Registered Investment Companies and Money Market Funds," states, "The Securities and Exchange Commission ... published new data and analysis in a pair of reports that provide the investing public with updated key information about registered investment companies and money market funds. '​It is important that the Commission publicly shares the information it collects in a clear and transparent way,' says Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda. 'These two reports will provide the public with key information about the approximately $​41.​5 trillion investors trust to funds and the approximately $​7.​39 trillion invested in money market funds.'"

The SEC says, "Money Market Fund Statistics is an enhanced version of the money market funds report generated by the Division of Investment Management. This report contains additional statistical analysis and enhancements, as well as certain metrics based on Form N-​MFP data. The modifications to the report are designed to further facilitate the public'​s ability to efficiently review, digest, and use aggregate information about the money market fund industry by including summaries of more money market fund data, including information about internal affiliated funds, portfolio investments, flows, and industry concentration. The report extends the downloadable historical statistical series of data back to 2010."

Tim Husson, who leads the SEC'​s Division of Investment Management'​s Analytics Office, adds, "Forms N-​MFP and N-​CEN provide insights into key areas of the investment company industry. The reports reflect our continued dedication to enhance the public'​s use of important information about the industry."

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A filing for Ramirez Government Money Market Fund (​Retail Class, RMZXX and Institutional Class, RAMXX), states, "The Board of Trustees of Advisor Managed Portfolios, upon a recommendation from Ramirez Asset Management, Inc., the investment adviser to the Fund, has determined to close and liquidate the Fund immediately after the close of business on April 29, 2025. This decision was made due to the Fund'​s inability to obtain a level of assets necessary for it to be viable. Effective immediately, the Fund will no longer accept purchases of new shares. The Fund is closed to new purchases, whether from existing or new investors. The Fund will no longer pursue its stated investment objective and Fund assets will be managed to provide for sufficient liquidity prior to liquidation. On or promptly after the Liquidation Date, the Fund will make a liquidating distribution to its remaining shareholders equal to each shareholder'​s proportionate interest in the net assets of the Fund, in complete redemption and cancellation of the Fund'​s shares held by the shareholder, and the Fund will be dissolved."

It adds, "At any time prior to the Liquidation Date, shareholders may redeem their shares of the Fund. The Adviser will bear all expenses incurred in carrying out the liquidation process, except for transaction costs incurred in connection with liquidating the Fund'​s investments. Shareholders remaining in the Fund just prior to the Liquidation Date may bear increased transaction fees incurred in connection with the disposition of the Fund'​s portfolio holdings. For additional information please contact the Fund at 888-​472-​3102 or send an email request to funds@​ramirezam.​com."

In other news, Crane Data published its latest Weekly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics Tuesday, which track a shifting subset of our monthly Portfolio Holdings collection. The most recent cut (​with data as of April 11) includes Holdings information from 57 money funds (​unchanged from two weeks ago), or $​3.​494 trillion (​down from $​3.​509 trillion) of the $​7.​307 trillion in total money fund assets (​or 47.​8%) tracked by Crane Data. (Note: Our Weekly MFPH are e-​mail only and aren'​t available on the website. See our latest Monthly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings here and our April 10 News, "April Money Fund Portfolio Holdings: Repo Surges, Treasuries Plummet.")

Our latest Weekly MFPH Composition summary shows Government assets dominating the holdings list with Treasuries totaling $​1.​676 trillion (​up from $​1.​644 trillion two weeks ago), or 48.​0%; Repurchase Agreements (​Repo) totaling $​1.​196 trillion (​down from $​1.​231 trillion two weeks ago), or 34.​2%, and Government Agency securities totaling $​291.​0 billion (​down from $​294.​0 billion), or 8.​3%. Commercial Paper (​CP) totaled $​139.​4 billion (​down from two weeks ago at $​140.​9 billion), or 4.​0%. Certificates of Deposit (​CDs) totaled $​74.​8 billion (​down from $​82.​3 billion two weeks ago), or 2.​1%. The Other category accounted for $​76.​5 billion or 2.​2%, while VRDNs ac-​counted for $​39.​9 billion, or 1.​1%.

The Ten Largest Issuers in our Weekly Holdings product include: the US Treasury with $​1.​676 trillion (​48.​0% of total holdings), Fixed Income Clearing Corp with $​339.​8B (​9.​7%), the Federal Home Loan Bank with $​189.​1 billion (​5.​4%), JP Morgan with $​123.​6B (​3.​5%), Citi with $​80.​6B (​2.​3%), BNP Paribas with $​79.​4B (​2.​3%), RBC with $​69.​0B (​2.​0%), Federal Farm Credit Bank with $​68.​3B (​2.​0%), Wells Fargo with $​56.​9B (​1.​6%) and Bank of America with $​48.​3B (​1.​4%).

The Ten Largest Funds tracked in our latest Weekly include: JPMorgan US Govt MM ($​288.​7B), Goldman Sachs FS Govt ($​254.​9B), JPMorgan 100% US Treas MMkt ($​254.​1B), Fidelity Inv MM: Govt Port ($​232.​1B), Morgan Stanley Inst Liq Govt ($​172.​5B), State Street Inst US Govt ($​164.​1B), BlackRock Lq FedFund ($​163.​1B), BlackRock Lq Treas Tr ($​155.​2B), Fidelity Inv MM: MM Port ($​154.​8B) and Dreyfus Govt Cash Mgmt ($​130.​7B). (​Let us know if you'​d like to see our latest domestic U.​S. and/​or "​offshore" Weekly Portfolio Holdings collection and summary.)

Finally, ICI also released its latest monthly "Money Market Fund Holdings" summary, which reviews the aggre-​gate daily and weekly liquid assets, regional exposure, and maturities (​WAM and WAL) for Prime and Gov-​ernment money market funds. It tells us, "The Investment Company Institute (​ICI) reports that, as of the final Friday in March, prime money market funds held 44.​0 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid as-​sets and 58.​8 percent in weekly liquid assets, while government money market funds held 76.​9 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid assets and 87.​4 percent in weekly liquid assets." Prime DLA was down from 45.​2% in February, and Prime WLA was down from 60.​8%. Govt MMFs' DLA rose from 76.​2% and Govt WLA was up from 87.​2% for the previous month.

ICI explains, "At the end of March, prime funds had a weighted average maturity (​WAM) of 27 days and a weighted average life (​WAL) of 50 days. Average WAMs and WALs are asset-​weighted. Government money market funds had a WAM of 37 days and a WAL of 91 days.” Prime WAMs were 4 days shorter and WALs were 1 day shorter from the previous month. Govt WAMs and WALs were unchanged from February.

Regarding Holdings by Region of Issuer, the release tells us, "Prime money market funds' holdings attributable to the Americas rose from $​600.​61 billion in February to $​613.​18 billion in March. Gov-​ernment money market funds' holdings attributable to the Americas rose from $​5,​226.​23 billion in February to $​5,​294.​89 billion in March."

The Prime Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas-​related holdings at $​613.​2 billion, or 54.​9%; Asia and Pacific at $​189.​8 billion, or 17.​0%; Europe at $​283.​4 billion, or 25.​4%; and, Other (​including Supranational) at $​30.​2 billion, or 2.​7%. The Government Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas at $​5.​295 trillion, or 91.​7%; Asia and Pacific at $​136.​4 billion, or 2.​4%; Europe at $​308.​7 billion, 5.​3%, and Other (​Including Supranational) at $​34.​2 billion, or 0.​6%.

​

Crane Data'​s latest Money Fund Intelligence International shows that assets in European or "​offshore" money market mutual funds inched higher again over the past 30 days to a record $​1.​518 trillion, while yields were flat or lower. Assets for USD, EUR and GBP MMFs all rose over the past month. Like U.​S. money fund assets, European MMFs have repeatedly hit record highs in 2023, 2024 and early in 2025. These U.​S.-​style money funds, domiciled in Ireland or Luxembourg and denominated in US Dollars, Pound Sterling and Euros, increased by $​20.​6 billion over the 30 days through 4/​11. The totals are up $​85.​7 billion (​6.​0%) year-​to-​date for 2025, they were up $​235.​3 billion (​19.​7%) for 2024 and up $​166.​9 billion (​16.​2%) for the year 2023. (​Note that currency moves in the U.​S. dollar cause Euro and Sterling totals to shift when they'​re translated back into totals in U.​S. dollars. See our latest MFI International for more on the "​offshore" money fund marketplace. These funds are only available to qualified, non-​U.​S. investors and are almost entirely institutional.)

Offshore US Dollar money funds increased $​7.​7 billion over the last 30 days and are up $​48.​4 billion YTD to $​792.​1 billion; they increased $​94.​1 billion in 2024. Euro funds increased E19.​6 billion over the past month. YTD, they'​re up E22.​5 billion to E340.​3 billion, for 2024, they increased by E82.​9 billion. GBP money funds increased L2.​4 million over 30 days, and they'​re up L18.​3 billion YTD at L273.​0B, for 2024, they rose L19.​3 billion. U.​S. Dollar (​USD) money funds (​260) account for over half (​52.​2%) of the "​European" money fund total, while Euro (​EUR) money funds (​181) make up 24.​4% and Pound Sterling (​GBP) funds (​171) total 23.​4%. We summarize our latest "​offshore" money fund statistics and our Money Fund Intelligence International Portfolio Holdings (​which went out to subscribers Monday), below.

Offshore USD MMFs yield 4.​26% (​7-​Day) on average (​as of 4/​11/​25), down 1 basis point from a month earlier. Yields averaged 4.​20% on 12/​30/​22 and 0.​03% on 12/​31/​21. EUR MMFs, which left negative yield territory in the second half of 2022, yield 2.​39% on average, down 17 bps from a month ago and up from 1.​48% on 12/​30/​22 and -​0.​80% on 12/​31/​21. Meanwhile, GBP MMFs broke above the 5.​0% barrier 20 months ago, but they broke back below 5.​0% 9 months ago. They now yield 4.​42%, down 3 bps from a month ago, but up from 3.​17% on 12/​30/​22. Sterling yields were 0.​01% on 12/​31/​21.

Crane'​s April MFI International Portfolio Holdings, with data as of 3/​31/​25, show that European-​domiciled US Dollar MMFs, on average, consist of 28% in Commercial Paper (​CP), 17% in Certificates of Deposit (​CDs), 23% in Repo, 19% in Treasury securities, 12% in Other securities (​primarily Time Deposits) and 1% in Government Agency securities. USD funds have on average 46.​9% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 6.​1% maturing in 2-​7 Days, 8.​8% maturing in 8-​30 Days, 10.​1% maturing in 31-​60 Days, 7.​7% maturing in 61-​90 Days, 12.​8% maturing in 91-​180 Days and 7.​7% maturing beyond 181 Days. USD holdings are affiliated with the following countries: the US (​37.​3%), France (​10.​6%), Canada (​10.​2%), Japan (​10.​0%), Australia (​5.​4%), the Netherlands (​4.​0%), Sweden (​3.​8%), the U.​K. (​3.​7%), Germany (​3.​7%) and Finland (​2.​8%).

The 10 Largest Issuers to "​offshore" USD money funds include: the US Treasury with $​148.​0 billion (​19.​0% of total assets), Fixed Income Clearing Corp with $​50.​5B (​6.​5%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp with $​22.​1B (​2.​8%), Nordea Bank with $​20.​2B (​2.​6%), RBC with $​19.​6B (​2.​5%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd with $​19.​1B (​2.​4%), BNP Paribas with $​18.​8B (​2.​4%), JP Morgan with $​16.​9B (​2.​2%), Barclays PLC with $​16.​7B (​2.​1%), and Credit Agricole with $​16.​1B (​2.​1%).

Euro MMFs tracked by Crane Data contain, on average 42% in CP, 21% in CDs, 19% in Other (​primarily Time Deposits), 16% in Repo, 2% in Treasuries and 0% in Agency securities. EUR funds have on average 36.​8% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 7.​7% maturing in 2-​7 Days, 13.​5% maturing in 8-​30 Days, 10.​6% maturing in 31-​60 Days, 8.​4% maturing in 61-​90 Days, 11.​3% maturing in 91-​180 Days and 11.​7% maturing beyond 181 Days. EUR MMF holdings are affiliated with the following countries: France (​32.​0%), Japan (​10.​7%), Canada (​8.​8%), the U.​S. (​8.​3%), the Netherlands (​7.​0%), Germany (​6.​3%), the U.​K. (​5.​7%), Sweden (​3.​3%), Finland (​3.​1%) and Australia (​3.​0%).

The 10 Largest Issuers to "​offshore" EUR money funds include: Credit Agricole with E22.​7B (​7.​0%), BNP Paribas with E19.​8B (​6.​1%), Societe Generale with E14.​7B (​4.​5%), JP Morgan with E11.​3B (​3.​5%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp with E10.​2B (​3.​1%), Credit Mutuel with E9.​2B (​2.​9%), Republic of France with E8.​9B (​2.​7%), Natixis with E8.​3B (​2.​6%), BPCE SA with E8.​1B (​2.​5%), and DZ Bank AG with E8.​0B (​2.​5%).

The GBP funds tracked by MFI International contain, on average (​as of 3/​31/​25): 38% in CDs, 18% in CP, 22% in Other (​Time Deposits), 18% in Repo, 3% in Treasury and 1% in Agency. Sterling funds have on average 36.​2% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 8.​1% maturing in 2-​7 Days, 8.​9% maturing in 8-​30 Days, 14.​5% maturing in 31-​60 Days, 8.​0% maturing in 61-​90 Days, 14.​4% maturing in 91-​180 Days and 9.​9% maturing beyond 181 Days. GBP MMF holdings are affiliated with the following countries: France (​15.​2%), Japan (​14.​7%), Canada (​11.​9%), the U.​K. (​11.​5%), the U.​S. (​10.​7%), Australia (​10.​3%), the Netherlands (​5.​0%), Singapore (​3.​6%), Germany (​3.​4%), and Finland (​2.​7%).

The 10 Largest Issuers to "​offshore" GBP money funds include: UK Treasury with L15.​3B (​6.​1%), BNP Paribas with L11.​9B (​4.​7%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd with L9.​6B (​3.​9%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp with L9.​0B (​3.​6%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank with L8.​8B (​3.​5%), RBC with L8.​6B (​3.​4%), National Australia Bank Ltd with L8.​4B (​3.​4%), Commonwealth Bank of Australia with L8.​2B (​3.​3%), JP Morgan with L8.​2B (​3.​3%), and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc with L8.​2B (​3.​3%).

​

The April issue of our Bond Fund Intelligence, which was sent to subscribers Monday morning, features the stories, "Worldwide BF Assets Fall to $​13.​8 Trillion, Led by Brazil," which covers ICI'​s recent quarterly update on worldwide assets, and "Bond Fund Symposium '​25: Brill, Salvay Talk Core BFs," which quotes from our recent conference in Newport Beach. BFI also recaps the latest Bond Fund News and includes our Crane BFI Indexes, which show that bond fund return dipped in March while yields were mostly higher. We excerpt from the new issue below. (Contact us if you'​d like to see our latest Bond Fund Intelligence and BFI XLS spreadsheet, or our Bond Fund Portfolio Holdings data.)

BFI'​s lead article states, "Bond fund assets worldwide decreased in the latest quarter to $​13.​77 trillion, led lower by Brazil, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland and the U.​S. We review the ICI'​s 'Worldwide Regulated Open-​End Fund Assets and Flows, Fourth Quarter 2024,' release and statistics below."

It continues, "​ICI'​s report says, 'Worldwide regulated open-​end fund assets, excluding assets in funds of funds, decreased 1.​5% to $​73.​86 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.... The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide regulated open-​end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association (​IIFA).'"

Our "BFS" article states, "Crane Data recently hosted its latest Bond Fund Symposium in Newport Beach, Calif. One session interviewed Invesco Investment Grade Portfolio Manager Matthew Brill, who tells us, '​A large West Coast asset manager had some outflows last year, and a lot of that just went into AGG. So AGG is the kind of the catch all ETF. It charges like three basis points and it'​s got something like $​100 billion in it.' (Note: Thanks again to those who supported BFS! Attendees and Crane Data subscribers may access the binder, PPTs and recordings via our 'Bond Fund Symposium 2025 Download Center.')"

It continues, "​He explains, 'Vanguard'​s got their index funds with hundreds of billions, and yet each and every year ... the majority of [​us active managers] are going to beat these funds. I think investors are in it just because they don'​t really know that active management should beat passive within fixed income."

Our first News brief, "Returns Inch Lower, Yields Up in March," says, "Bond fund returns were lower in March after rising in Jan. and Feb. Our BFI Total Index fell 0.​25% over 1-​month but rose 5.​02% over 12 months. (​Money funds rose 4.​84% over 1-​year as measured by our Crane 100 Index.) The BFI 100 decreased 0.​10% in March and rose 5.​38% over 12 mos. Our BFI Conservative Ultra-​Short Index was up 0.​29% over 1-​month and 5.​33% for 1-​year; Ultra-​Shorts rose 0.​27% and 5.​69%. Short-​Term returned 0.​36% and 6.​13%, and Intm-​Term rose 0.​05% in March and 5.​42% over 12 mos. BFI'​s Long-​Term Index was down 0.​28% and up 4.​81%. High Yield returned -​0.​79% in March and 6.​40% over 12 mos."

A second News brief, "Morningstar'​s, 'The Best Bond Funds' comments, 'The US bond market is having a good year: The Morningstar US Core Bond Index was up nearly 5% during the first quarter of 2025. '[​I]​nvestors took a risk-​off approach to the markets during the quarter,' explains Morningstar Indexes strategist Dan Lefkovitz.'"

Our next News brief, "'TCW Files for Active Fixed Income ETF Conversion,' states, 'The TCW Group (​TCW) ... has filed an initial registration statement in connection with the conversion of the TCW MetWest Intermediate Bond Fund (​MWIIX/​MWIMX) to an actively managed exchange-​traded fund (​ETF).'"

A BFI sidebar, "Vanguard Launches Short ETF," tells us, "​A release titled, 'Vanguard Expands Active Bond ETF Suite with Short Duration ETF,' states, 'Vanguard ... launched Vanguard Short Duration Bond ETF (​VSDB), an active fixed income ETF managed by Vanguard Fixed Income Group. VSDB is designed to provide clients with current income and lower price volatility consistent with short-​duration bonds.'"

Finally, another sidebar, "Barron'​s Problem w/​ETFs," says, "​Barron'​s writes on 'The Problem With Active Bond ETFs.' They explain, '​Actively managed bond exchange-​traded funds are more popular than their stock counterparts. Yet they have a major flaw: Many of them trade at a premium that effectively makes them much pricier than they first appear.'"

​

State Street Global Advisors (​SSGA) writes that "Cash Is Both Shield and Sword" in its latest "Q2 2025 Cash Outlook." Portfolio Strategist Will Goldthwait explains, "Throughout history, financial crises have repeatedly taught a crucial lesson: survival favors the cautious. In times of heightened economic uncertainty, the prudent course is often to hold more cash and wait for calmer markets. Cash not only provides liquidity and security during volatile periods, but also grants the flexibility to seize opportunities when asset prices eventually correct. Historically, those who maintained unleveraged positions and proactively de-​risked their portfolios were the ones best positioned to endure market turmoil and emerge stronger on the other side."

He tells us, "​Looking back at events like the Great Depression of the 1930s, the stagflation of the 1970s, the Dot-​Com bubble burst in the early 2000s, and the global financial crisis of 2008, the pattern is consistent: overextended leverage and risky exposures led to catastrophic losses. Meanwhile, investors and institutions that preserved capital and avoided excessive risk were not only able to withstand the storm but also capitalize on the recovery by deploying cash at distressed valuations. Warren Buffett famously emphasized this approach, maintaining that cash is not just a poor investment in good times but a valuable option in bad times."

Goldthwait continues, "Today, similar caution is warranted. The current administration'​s aggressive stance on tariffs, particularly its intent to impose levies on all imports, injects a significant layer of uncertainty into the global economic outlook. However, it is important to recognize that today’​s economy is fundamentally different from that of the 1930s, making it unclear whether tariffs will have the same damaging effects as they did during the Great Depression."

He says, "​The global financial system is far more integrated, and both monetary and fiscal tools are more sophisticated and responsive. Furthermore, there is an unprecedented amount of cash and liquidity standing by in the system, which could serve as a powerful buffer if the economy begins to falter. Massive liquidity injections in recent years, combined with more proactive central banks, could mitigate the worst potential outcomes of policy missteps."

SSGA adds, "In such an environment -- marked by geopolitical tensions, unpredictable policy shifts, and elevated market volatility -- cash serves as both a shield and a sword. It cushions against downside risk while preserving optionality for future investments under more favorable conditions. Until there is greater clarity on policy direction and macroeconomic stability, exercising patience and prudence remains the wisest strategy. History has shown time and again that it is the cautious, the unlevered, and the de-​risked who ultimately endure -- and prevail."

In other news, ICI'​s latest "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets falling $​25.​4 billion to $​7.​006 trillion, after rising $​17.​6 billion the week prior (​and hitting a record) and rising $​11.​8 billion two weeks ago. Money fund assets have risen in 24 of the last 36, and 35 of the last 51 weeks, increasing by $​702.​7 billion (​or 11.​1%) since the Fed cut on 9/​18/​24 and increasing by $​1.​029 trillion (​or 17.​2%) since 4/​24/​24. MMF assets are up by $​926 billion, or 15.​2%, in the past 52 weeks (​through 4/​9/​25), with Institutional MMFs up $​465 billion, or 12.​7% and Retail MMFs up $​461 billion, or 19.​1%. Year-​to-​date, MMF assets are up by $​156 billion, or 2.​3%, with Institutional MMFs up $​14 billion, or 0.​3% and Retail MMFs up $​142 billion, or 5.​2%.

ICI'​s weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets decreased by $​25.​40 billion to $​7.​01 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, April 9... Among taxable money market funds, government funds decreased by $​9.​22 billion and prime funds decreased by $​13.​68 billion. Tax-​exempt money market funds decreased by $​2.​50 billion.” ICI'​s stats show Institutional MMFs decreasing $​17.​9 billion and Retail MMFs decreasing $​7.​5 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $​5.​743 trillion (​82.​0% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $​1.​129 trillion (​16.​1%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $​134.​9 billion (​1.​9%).

It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds decreased by $​7.​50 billion to $​2.​88 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $​1.​51 billion to $​1.​83 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $​7.​22 billion to $​922.​62 billion, and tax-​exempt fund assets decreased by $​1.​79 billion to $​123.​80 billion." Retail assets account for well over a third of total assets, or 41.​1%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.​6% of all Retail MMFs.

They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $​17.​90 billion to $​4.​13 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets decreased by $​10.​73 billion to $​3.​91 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $​6.​46 billion to $​206.​05 billion, and tax-​exempt fund assets decreased by $​710 million to $​11.​12 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 58.​9% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.​7% of all institutional MMF totals.

According to Crane Data'​s separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have risen by $​16.​5 billion in April through 4/​9/​25, hitting a record high of $​7.​384 trillion on April 3. Assets rose by $​2.​8 trillion in March, $​94.​2 billion in February, $​52.​8 billion in January, $​110.​9 billion in December, $​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 2024. Note that ICI'​s asset totals don'​t include a number of funds tracked by the SEC and Crane Data, so they'​re over $​330 billion lower than Crane'​s asset series.

Barron'​s comments on money fund assets in "Assets in Money-​Market Funds Decline Even as Investors Seek Havens. Here’​s Why." They write, "Assets in money-​market funds fell slightly over the past week even as investors sought havens amid a turbulent stock market." They quote Robert Sabatino, head of Global Liquidity Portfolio Management at UBS Asset Management, "We'​re entering a cyclical period where money-​market funds tend to lose some assets because of tax season."

The piece adds, "Given the high yield on money-​market funds, they'​re likely to continue to attract more assets. And if the stock market continues to get pummeled, cash may be the one piece of investors' portfolios to generate a positive return in coming months."

​

Crane Data'​s April Money Fund Portfolio Holdings, with data as of March 31, 2025, show that holdings of Repo jumped sharply last month while Treasuries declined. Money market securities held by Taxable U.​S. money funds (​tracked by Crane Data) increased by $​45.​6 billion to $​7.​272 trillion in March, after increasing $​53.​7 billion in February, $​84.​1 billion in January, and $​88.​0 billion in December. They rose by $​190.​8 billion in November, $​82.​8 billion in October and $​233.​8 billion in September. Treasuries, the largest segment, decreased $​83.​3 billion in March. Repo, the second largest portfolio composition segment, increased by $​92.​7 billion. Agencies were the third largest segment, CP remained fourth, ahead of CDs, Other/​Time Deposits and VRDNs. Below, we review our 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 $​92.​7 billion (​3.​4%) to $​2.​811 trillion, or 38.​7% of holdings, in March, after increasing $​173.​9 billion in February, decreasing $​67.​8 billion in January and increasing $​211.​3 billion in December. Treasury securities decreased $​83.​3 billion (-​2.​8%) to $​2.​876 trillion, or 39.​5% of holdings, after decreasing $​118.​3 billion in February, increasing $​92.​1 billion in January and decreasing $​69.​5 billion in December. Government Agency Debt was up $​16.​1 billion, or 1.​8%, to $​896.​5 billion, or 12.​3% of holdings. Agencies decreased $​6.​5 billion in February, increased $​7.​1 billion in January and increased $​33.​0 billion in December. Repo, Treasuries and Agency holdings now total $​6.​583 trillion, representing a massive 90.​5% of all taxable holdings.

Money fund holdings of Other (​Time Deposits), CP and CDs all rose in March. Commercial Paper (​CP) increased $​7.​6 billion (​2.​5%) to $​312.​4 billion, or 4.​3% of holdings. CP holdings increased $​4.​4 billion in February and $​11.​4 billion in January, but decreased $​7.​3 billion in December. Certificates of Deposit (​CDs) increased $​4.​1 billion (​2.​2%) to $​194.​5 billion, or 2.​7% of taxable assets. CDs decreased $​5.​0 billion in February, increased $​2.​8 billion in January and increased $​4.​9 billion in December. Other holdings, primarily Time Deposits, increased $​8.​2 billion (​5.​2%) to $​167.​2 billion, or 2.​3% of holdings, after increasing $​5.​0 billion in February and $​38.​9 billion in January, but decreasing $​84.​6 billion in December. VRDNs increased to $​14.​8 billion, or 0.​2% of assets. (​Note: This total is VRDNs for taxable funds only. We will post our Tax Exempt MMF holdings separately Thursday around noon.)

Prime money fund assets tracked by Crane Data increased to $​1.​238 trillion, or 17.​0% of taxable money funds' $​7.​272 trillion total. Among Prime money funds, CDs represent 15.​7% (​up from 15.​6% a month ago), while Commercial Paper accounted for 25.​2% (​up from 25.​0% a month ago). The CP totals are comprised of: Financial Company CP, which makes up 16.​2% of total holdings, Asset-​Backed CP, which accounts for 7.​1%, and Non-​Financial Company CP, which makes up 1.​9%. Prime funds also hold 0.​4% in US Govt Agency Debt, 5.​1% in US Treasury Debt, 22.​8% in US Treasury Repo, 1.​0% in Other Instruments, 10.​2% in Non-​Negotiable Time Deposits, 7.​8% in Other Repo, 10.​5% in US Government Agency Repo and 0.​9% in VRDNs.

Government money fund portfolios totaled $​3.​944 trillion (​54.​2% of all MMF assets), up from $​3.​943 trillion in February, while Treasury money fund assets totaled another $​2.​091 trillion (​28.​8%), up from $​2.​065 trillion the prior month. Government money fund portfolios were made up of 22.​6% US Govt Agency Debt, 18.​3% US Government Agency Repo, 31.​5% US Treasury Debt, 27.​0% in US Treasury Repo, 0.​5% in Other Instruments. Treasury money funds were comprised of 75.​1% US Treasury Debt and 24.​7% in US Treasury Repo. Government and Treasury funds combined now total $​6.​035 trillion, or 83.​0% of all taxable money fund assets.

European-​affiliated holdings (​including repo) decreased by $​48.​4 billion in March to $​693.​2 billion; their share of holdings fell to 9.​5% from last month'​s 10.​3%. Eurozone-​affiliated holdings decreased to $​493.​3 billion from last month'​s $​519.​6 billion; they account for 6.​8% of overall taxable money fund holdings. Asia & Pacific related holdings fell to $​307.​7 billion (​4.​2% of the total) from last month'​s $​311.​9 billion. Americas related holdings rose to $​6.​262 trillion from last month'​s $​6.​164 trillion; they now represent 86.​1% of holdings.

The overall taxable fund Repo totals were made up of: US Treasury Repurchase Agreements (​up $​73.​7 billion, or 4.​1%, to $​1.​862 trillion, or 25.​6% of assets); US Government Agency Repurchase Agreements (​up $​23.​7 billion, or 2.​9%, to $​851.​4 billion, or 11.​7% of total holdings), and Other Repurchase Agreements (​down $​4.​8 billion, or -​4.​7%, from last month to $​97.​4 billion, or 1.​3% of holdings). The Commercial Paper totals were comprised of Financial Company Commercial Paper (​up $​6.​9 billion to $​200.​7 billion, or 2.​8% of assets), Asset Backed Commercial Paper (​up $​2.​7 billion at $​88.​4 billion, or 1.​2%), and Non-​Financial Company Commercial Paper (​down $​2.​1 billion to $​23.​4 billion, or 0.​3%).

The 20 largest Issuers to taxable money market funds as of March 31, 2025, include: the US Treasury ($​2.​876T, 39.​5%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($​924.​7B, 12.​7%), Federal Home Loan Bank ($​660.​9B, 9.​1%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($​348.​7B, or 4.​8%), JP Morgan ($​254.​9B, 3.​5%), RBC ($​207.​3B, 2.​9%), Federal Farm Credit Bank ($​163.​6B, 2.​2%), BNP Paribas ($​158.​9B, 2.​2%), Citi ($​151.​4B, 2.​1%), Bank of America ($​106.​9B, 1.​5%), Goldman Sachs ($​100.​5B, 1.​4%), Wells Fargo ($​93.​8B, 1.​3%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($​79.​8B, 1.​1%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ($​70.​4B, 1.​0%), Barclays ($​68.​9B, 0.​9%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($​66.​4B, 0.​9%), Credit Agricole ($​56.​6B, 0.​8%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​50.​1B, 0.​7%), Bank of Montreal ($​49.​2B, 0.​7%), and Societe Generale ($​43.​6B, 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 ($​896.​3B, 31.​9%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($​348.​7B, 12.​4%), JP Morgan ($​242.​8B, 8.​6%), RBC ($​164.​0B, 5.​8%), BNP Paribas ($​148.​7B, 5.​3%), Citi ($​140.​0B, 5.​0%), Goldman Sachs ($​99.​6B, 3.​5%), Wells Fargo ($​93.​6B, 3.​3%), Bank of America ($​85.​4B, 3.​0%), and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($​61.​1B, 2.​2%).

The largest users of the $​348.​7 billion in Fed RRP include: Fidelity Cash Central Fund ($​47.​2B), Vanguard Federal Money Mkt Fund ($​39.​3B), Fidelity Govt Money Market ($​30.​8B), Fidelity Sec Lending Cash Central Fund ($​24.​4B), Fidelity Govt Cash Reserves ($​23.​5B), Schwab Value Adv MF ($​20.​2B), Fidelity Inv MM: Treas Port ($​17.​4B), Fidelity Inv MM: Govt Port ($​16.​1B), Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund ($​14.​7B) and Fidelity Treasury Fund ($​13.​1B).

The 10 largest issuers of "​credit" -- CDs, CP and Other securities (​including Time Deposits and Notes) combined -- include: RBC ($​43.​3B, 7.​0%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​32.​1B, 5.​2%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($​28.​3B, 4.​6%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($​28.​0B, 4.​6%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($​27.​1B, 4.​4%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($​24.​5B, 4.​0%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ($​23.​0B, 3.​7%), Bank of America ($​21.​5B, 3.​5%), Bank of Montreal ($​21.​0B, 3.​4%) and ING Bank ($​20.​0B, 3.​3%).

The 10 largest CD issuers include: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($​20.​8B, 10.​7%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($​17.​4B, 8.​9%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($​14.​2B, 7.​3%), Credit Agricole ($​14.​1B, 7.​2%), Bank of America ($​13.​2B, 6.​8%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank ($​12.​8B, 6.​6%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($​11.​3B, 5.​8%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​11.​2B, 5.​8%), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation ($​7.​7B, 3.​9%) and Bank of Nova Scotia ($​6.​0B, 3.​1%).

The 10 largest CP issuers (​we include affiliated ABCP programs) include: RBC ($​25.​1B, 8.​7%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​18.​3B, 6.​4%), Bank of Montreal ($​16.​3B, 5.​7%), Barclays PLC ($​13.​5B, 4.​7%), JP Morgan ($​12.​0B, 4.​2%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ($​10.​5B, 3.​6%), BPCE SA ($​10.​1B, 3.​5%), National Bank of Canada ($​9.​1B, 3.​1%), Landesbank Baden-​Wurttemberg ($​8.​6B, 3.​0%) and Citi ($​8.​0B, 2.​8%).

The largest increases among Issuers include: the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (​up $​147.​0B to $​348.​7B), Fixed Income Clearing Corp (​up $​53.​7B to $​924.​7B), RBC (​up $​27.​3B to $​207.​3B), Federal Home Loan Bank (​up $​12.​0B to $​660.​9B), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (​up $​8.​8B to $​79.​8B), DNB ASA (​up $​8.​3B to $​15.​3B), BNP Paribas (​up $​6.​9B to $​158.​9B), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (​up $​6.​3B to $​66.​4B), NRW.​Bank (​up $​5.​1B to $​7.​6B) and Federal Farm Credit Bank (​up $​4.​9B to $​163.​6B).

The largest decreases among Issuers of money market securities (​including Repo) in March were shown by: US Treasury (​down $​83.​3B to $​2.​876T), Barclays PLC (​down $​23.​6B to $​68.​9B), Citi (​down $​22.​1B to $​151.​4B), JP Morgan (​down $​21.​9B to $​254.​9B), Bank of America (​down $​20.​0B to $​106.​9B), Credit Agricole (​down $​13.​9B to $​56.​6B), Societe Generale (​down $​7.​6B to $​43.​6B), ING Bank (​down $​6.​5B to $​28.​8B), Deutsche Bank AG (​down $​6.​2B to $​23.​4B) and Standard Chartered Bank (​down $​3.​9B to $​15.​5B).

The United States remained the largest segment of country-​affiliations; it represents 80.​4% of holdings, or $​5.​846 trillion. Canada (​5.​7%, $​415.​9B) was in second place, while France (​4.​2%, $​306.​8B) was No. 3. Japan (​4.​0%, $​288.​6B) occupied fourth place. The United Kingdom (​2.​0%, $​143.​7B) remained in fifth place. Australia (​0.​8%, $​56.​3B) was in sixth place, followed by Netherlands (​0.​7%, $​50.​3B), Germany (​0.​7%, $​49.​4B), Sweden (​0.​5%, $​33.​3B), and Spain (​0.​4%, $​26.​4B). (​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 March 31, 2025, Taxable money funds held 51.​6% (​up from 47.​1%) of their assets in securities maturing Overnight, and another 8.​9% maturing in 2-​7 days (​down from 11.​8%). Thus, 60.​5% in total matures in 1-​7 days. Another 11.​5% matures in 8-​30 days, while 10.​8% matures in 31-​60 days. Note that over three-​quarters, or 82.​8% 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 4.​9% of taxable securities, while 7.​2% matures in 91-​180 days, and just 5.​2% matures beyond 181 days.

​

Crane Data'​s latest monthly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics will be sent out Wednesday, and we'​ll be writing our regular monthly update on the new April data for Thursday'​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 Tuesday. (​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 March 31, includes holdings information from 987 money funds (​down 2 from last month), representing assets of $​7.​433 trillion (​up from $​7.​388 trillion a month ago). Prime MMFs rose to $​1.​133 trillion (​up from $​1.​107 trillion), or 15.​2% 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 fell to $​19.​7 billion (​annualized) in March.

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.​880 trillion (​down from $​2.​967 trillion), or 38.​7% of all assets, while Repo holdings rose to $​2.​820 trillion (​up from $​2.​729 billion), or 37.​9% of all holdings. Government Agency securities total $​902.​1 billion (​up from $​885.​7 billion), or 12.​1%. Holdings of Treasuries, Government agencies and Repo (​almost all of which is backed by Treasuries and agencies) combined total $​6.​602 trillion, or a massive 88.​8% of all holdings.

The Other category (​primarily Time Deposits) totals $​175.​6 billion (​up from $​166.​2 billion), or 2.​4%, and Commercial paper (​CP) totals $​322.​6 billion (​up from $​315.​2 billion), or 4.​3% of all holdings. Certificates of Deposit (​CDs) total $​194.​3 billion (​up from $​189.​9 billion), 2.​6%, and VRDNs account for $​138.​3 billion (​up from $​135.​4 billion), or 1.​9% of money fund securities.

Broken out into the SEC'​s more detailed categories, the CP totals were comprised of: $​201.​2 billion, or 2.​7%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $​88.​3 billion or 1.​2%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and, $​33.​1 billion, or 0.​4%, in Non-​Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals were made up of: U.​S. Treasury Repo ($​1.​879 trillion, or 25.​3%), U.​S. Govt Agency Repo ($​837.​5B, or 11.​3%) and Other Repo ($​103.​2B, or 1.​4%).

The N-​MFP Holdings summary for the Prime Money Market Funds shows: CP holdings of $​281.​2 billion (​up from $​273.​0 billion), or 24.​8%; Repo holdings of $​476.​6 billion (​up from $​460.​7 billion), or 42.​1%; Treasury holdings of $​61.​5 billion (​down from $​78.​8 billion), or 5.​4%; CD holdings of $​170.​0 billion (​up from $​166.​3 billion), or 15.​0%; Other (​primarily Time Deposits) holdings of $​127.​7 billion (​up from $​113.​6 billion), or 11.​3%; Government Agency holdings of $​4.​9 billion (​down from $​5.​0 billion), or 0.​4% and VRDN holdings of $​10.​6 billion (​up from $​10.​4 billion), or 0.​9%.

The SEC'​s more detailed categories show CP in Prime MMFs made up of: $​181.​6 billion (​up from $​174.​0 billion), or 16.​0%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $​78.​3 billion (​up from $​75.​3 billion), or 6.​9%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and $​21.​2 billion (​down from $​23.​8 billion), or 1.​9%, in Non-​Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals include: U.​S. Treasury Repo ($​265.​1 billion, or 23.​4%), U.​S. Govt Agency Repo ($​125.​0 billion, or 11.​0%), and Other Repo ($​86.​5 billion, or 7.​6%).

In related news, money fund charged expense ratios (​Exp%) were mostly flat in March. Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index and Crane Money Fund Average were 0.​27% and 0.​37%, respectively, as of March 31, 2025. 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 Tuesday 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.​37% as of March 31, 2025, down one bp from the month prior and slightly below the 0.​40% at year-​end 2019.

Prime Inst MFs expense ratios (​annualized) average 0.​23% (​unchanged from last month), Government Inst MFs expenses average 0.​25% (​unchanged from last month), Treasury Inst MFs expenses average 0.​28% (​unchanged from last month). Treasury Retail MFs expenses currently sit at 0.​52%, (​unchanged from last month), Government Retail MFs expenses yield 0.​54% (​down 1 bp from last month). Prime Retail MF expenses averaged 0.​49% (​down 1 bp from last month). Tax-​exempt expenses were unchanged at 0.​40% on average.

Gross 7-​day yields were slightly lower during the month ended March 31, 2025. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (​currently 728), shows a 7-​day gross yield of 4.​41%, down 1 bp 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 2 bps, ending the month at 4.​41%.

According to our revised MFI XLS and Crane Index numbers, we now estimate that annualized revenue for all money funds is $​19.​659 billion (​as of 3/​31/​25). Our estimated annualized revenue totals decreased from the record high, $​19.​723B last month but is still higher than $​19.​437B 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 mixed among most of the largest U.​S. money fund complexes in March after rising in February, January, December, November, October, September, August, July, June and May. Assets fell in April and last March. Money market fund assets fell by $​3.​6 billion, or -​0.​0%, last month to $​7.​326 trillion. Total MMF assets have increased by $​145.​3 billion, or 2.​0%, over the past 3 months, and they'​ve increased by $​922.​4 billion, or 14.​4%, over the past 12 months. The largest increases among the 25 largest managers last month were seen by Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, Invesco and UBS, which grew assets by $​21.​7 billion, $​16.​8B, $​16.​5B, $​9.​4B and $​2.​2B, respectively. Declines in March were seen by SSGA, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and First American, which decreased by $​14.​4 billion, $​11.​1B, $​9.​1B and $​8.​2B, 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 slightly lower in March.

Over the past year through March 31, 2025, Fidelity (​up $​205.​8B, or 15.​6%), JPMorgan (​up $​131.​3B, or 20.​4%), Schwab (​up $​125.​9B, or 24.​4%), BlackRock (​up $​105.​8B, or 21.​0%) and Vanguard (​up $​77.​5B, or 12.​9%) were the `​largest gainers. Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, American Funds and Invesco had the largest asset increases over the past 3 months, rising by $​55.​5B, $​45.​0B, $​31.​2B, $​22.​9B and $​20.​6B, respectively. The largest declines over 12 months were seen by: American Funds (​down $​20.​2B), DWS (​down $​5.​1B), PGIM (​down $​2.​8B), RBC (​down $​2.​8B) and Columbia (​down $​2.​5B). The largest declines over 3 months included: Goldman Sachs (​down $​17.​6B), Morgan Stanley (​down $​13.​1B) and SSGA (​down $​10.​7B).

Our latest domestic U.​S. Money Fund Family Rankings show that Fidelity Investments remains the largest money fund manager with $​1.​522 trillion, or 20.​8% of all assets. Fidelity was up $​21.​7B in March, up $​55.​5 billion over 3 mos., and up $​205.​8B over 12 months. JPMorgan ranked second with $​774.​9 billion, or 10.​6% market share (​down $​11.​1B, up $​10.​1B and up $​131.​3B for the past 1-​month, 3-​mos. and 12-​mos., respectively). Vanguard ranked in third place with $​675.​9 billion, or 9.​2% of assets (​up $​16.​8B, up $​31.​2B and up $​77.​5B). Schwab ranked fourth with $​641.​5 billion, or 8.​8% market share (​up $​16.​5B, up $​45.​0B and up $​125.​9B), while BlackRock was the fifth largest MMF manager with $​609.​8 billion, or 8.​3% of assets (​down $​1.​8B, down $​5.​6B and up $​105.​8B for the past 1-​month, 3-​mos. and 12-​mos.).

Federated Hermes was in sixth place with $​483.​7 billion, or 6.​6% (​down $​1.​9B, up $​3.​5B and up $​34.​1B), while Goldman Sachs was in seventh place with $​446.​0 billion, or 6.​1% of assets (​down $​9.​1B, down $​17.​6B and up $​76.​8B). Morgan Stanley ($​294.​0B, or 4.​0%) was in eighth place (​down $​5.​7B, down $​13.​1B and up $​56.​2B), followed by Dreyfus ($​288.​6B, or 3.​9%; down $​5.​5B, down $​2.​2B and up $​12.​3B). SSGA was in 10th place ($​240.​8B, or 3.​3%; down $​14.​4B, down $​10.​7B and up $​24.​6B).

The 11th through 20th-​largest U.​S. money fund managers (​in order) include: Allspring (​formerly Wells Fargo) ($​213.​4B, or 2.​9%), Northern ($​179.​6B, or 2.​5%), Invesco ($​167.​7B, or 2.​3%), First American ($​163.​4B, or 2.​2%), American Funds ($​149.​1B, or 2.​0%), UBS ($​116.​8B, or 1.​6%), T. Rowe Price ($​51.​3B, or 0.​7%), HSBC ($​43.​9B, or 0.​6%), DWS ($​38.​2B, or 0.​5%) and Western ($​31.​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, Vanguard moves down to No. 4 and Schwab moves down to the No. 5 spot. Goldman Sachs moves up to the No. 6 spot, while 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 ($​1.​542 trillion), JP Morgan ($​1.​060 trillion), BlackRock ($​931.​9B), Vanguard ($​675.​9B) and Schwab ($​641.​5B). Goldman Sachs ($​597.​5B) was in sixth, Federated Hermes ($​494.​7B) was seventh, followed by Morgan Stanley ($​396.​6B), Dreyfus/​BNY ($​313.​8B) and SSGA ($​292.​3B), 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 April issue of our Money Fund Intelligence and MFI XLS, with data as of 3/​31/​25, shows that yields were lower in March across all the Crane Money Fund Indexes. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds covered by Crane Data (​currently 728), was 4.​04% (​down 1 bp) for the 7-​Day Yield (​annualized, net) Average, the 30-​Day Yield was down 2 bps to 4.​04%. The MFA'​s Gross 7-​Day Yield was at 4.​41% (​down 1 bps), and the Gross 30-​Day Yield was down 2 bps at 4.​41%. (Gross yields will be revised once we download the SEC'​s Form N-​MFP data for 3/​31/​25 on Tuesday.)

Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index shows an average 7-​Day (​Net) Yield of 4.​15% (​down 1 bps) and an average 30-​Day Yield at 4.​14% (​down 3 bps). The Crane 100 shows a Gross 7-​Day Yield of 4.​41% (​down 2 bps), and a Gross 30-​Day Yield of 4.​41% (​down 3 bps). Our Prime Institutional MF Index (​7-​day) yielded 4.​26% (​down 3 bps) as of March 31. The Crane Govt Inst Index was at 4.​15% (​down 1 bp) and the Treasury Inst Index was at 4.​09% (​down 2 bps). Thus, the spread between Prime funds and Treasury funds is 17 basis points, and the spread between Prime funds and Govt funds is 11 basis points. The Crane Prime Retail Index yielded 4.​01% (​down 2 bps), while the Govt Retail Index was 3.​86% (​unchanged), the Treasury Retail Index was 3.​85% (​down 2 bps from the month prior). The Crane Tax Exempt MF Index yielded 2.​68% (​up 67 bps) at the end of March.

Gross 7-​Day Yields for these indexes to end March were: Prime Inst 4.​49% (​down 2 bps), Govt Inst 4.​40% (​down 1 bps), Treasury Inst 4.​38% (​down 2 bps), Prime Retail 4.​51% (​down 2 bps), Govt Retail 4.​41% (​unchanged) and Treasury Retail 4.​38% (​down 2 bps). The Crane Tax Exempt Index rose to 3.​07% (​up 67 bps). The Crane 100 MF Index returned on average 0.​35% over 1-​month, 1.​04% over 3-​months, 1.​04% YTD, 4.​84% over the past 1-​year, 4.​11% over 3-​years annualized), 2.​47% over 5-​years, and 1.​72% over 10-​years.

The total number of funds, including taxable and tax-​exempt, was up 1 in March to 841. There are currently 728 taxable funds, up 1 from the previous month, and 113 tax-​exempt money funds (​unchanged from last month). (Contact us if you'​d like to see our latest MFI XLS, Crane Indexes or Market Share report.)

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The April issue of our flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which was sent to subscribers Monday morning, features the articles: "Money Market ETFs Now a Thing: Schwab Joins BlackRock," which discusses the recent launches of and news in the MM ETF space; "Bond Fund Symposium '​25 Focus on Ultra-​Shorts, ETFs," which looks at our recent conference in Newport Beach; and, "Worldwide MMFs Rise in Q4 to Record $​11.​6 Tril.; US, Lux" which reviews ICI'​s Worldwide fund totals. We also sent out our MFI XLS spreadsheet Monday a.​m., and we'​ve updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with 3/​31/​24 data. Our April Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to ship on Wednesday, April 9, and our April Bond Fund Intelligence is scheduled to go out on Monday, April 14.

MFI'​s "Money Market ETF" article says, "It looks like we'​ll soon have a fourth '​money market' ETF offering. A Form N-​1A Registration filing for the Schwab Government Money Market ETF (​SGVT) tells us, 'The fund intends to operate as a government money market fund under the regulations governing money market funds. The fund will invest at least 99.​5% of its total assets in cash, government securities and/​or repurchase agreements.'"

The filing explains, "Although the fund intends to operate as a '​government money market fund,' it will not seek to maintain a stable net asset value ('​NAV') per share nor will it use amortized cost.... Instead, the fund will calculate its NAV ... based on the market value of its investments. In addition, unlike a traditional money fund, the fund operates as an exchange traded fund ('​ETF'). As an ETF, the fund'​s shares will be traded on the [​NYSE] exchange and will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of, and demand for, shares on the [​NYSE]. You could lose money by investing."

We write in our BFS '​25 article, "Crane Data recently hosted its latest Bond Fund Symposium in Newport Beach, Calif. The keynote talk, 'Ultra‐​Short Bond Funds: Surf'​s Finally Up,' featured J.​P. Morgan Securities' Teresa Ho, PIMCO'​s Jerome Schneider and J.​P. Morgan Asset Management'​s Dave Martucci. Ho explains, 'What we'​re going to do ... is just give a high-​level review of the short-​term bond fund space from a performance perspective, flows, asset allocation. I'​ll ask Jerome and Dave to weigh in on some of these topics and ... give a sense of some of the things that they'​re seeing, and after that I'​ll follow up with a brief comment on other ultra-​short investors.' (Note: Thanks again to those who supported BFS! Attendees and Crane Data subscribers may access the binder, PPTs and recordings via our 'Bond Fund Symposium 2025 Download Center.')"

It states, "​She continues, 'So just to set the scene ... 2024 was certainly a great year for ultra-​short bond funds. They generated returns greater than 5% for all of 2024.... They outperformed the longer-​duration strategies, and they also outperformed money market funds.... But with that being said, it certainly wasn'​t without its volatility.... So clearly, a lot of the flow movement is driven by returns -- performance does drive flows in this particular space. But through it all ... it was still a positive year for the short-​term fixed income space."

Our "Worldwide" piece says, "​The Investment Company Institute published, 'Worldwide Regulated Open-​Fund Assets and Flows, Fourth Quarter 2024,' which shows that money fund assets globally rose by $​382.​8 billion, or 3.​4%, in Q4'​24 to a record $​11.​598 trillion. (​The totals would have been $​11.​871 trillion if Australia and New Zealand had been included.) Increases were led by a sharp jump in money funds in U.​S. and Luxembourg, while Ireland and China also rose. Meanwhile, money funds in France and Korea were lower. MMF assets worldwide increased by $​1.​157 trillion, or 11.​1%, in the 12 months through 12/​31/​24, and money funds in the U.​S. now represent 59.​1% of worldwide assets."

The piece continues, "​ICI'​s release says, 'Worldwide regulated open-​end fund assets, excluding assets in funds of funds, decreased 1.​5% to $​73.​86 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024. Worldwide net cash inflows to all funds were $​1.​3 trillion in the fourth quarter, compared with $​912 billion of net inflows in the third 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.'"

MFI also includes the News brief, "Assets Flat in March, Return to Records in Early April. Crane Data'​s MFI Daily and ICI'​s latest weekly 'Money Market Mutual Fund Assets' show money fund assets jumping to record levels in early April, while our MFI XLS monthly shows a tiny asset dip in March. MFI XLS shows assets down $​4.​6 billion to $​7.​327 trillion in March, while our MFI Daily shows assets jumping $​60.​2 billion in April (​through 4/​3) to a record $​7.​384 billion.”

Another News brief, "Returns on Cash Remain Compelling," says, "​The Boston Globe asks in a brief titled, 'Cash on the barrelhead,' '​Is there a sliver of a silver lining to this five-​week stock market slide? Yes -- if you'​re sitting on extra cash and would like a safe place to stash it at a decent interest rate. Thanks to a cautious Fed ... returns on cash-​like holdings remain compelling. Though rates on savings accounts, money market funds, and short-​term Treasuries have dipped from their 2023 highs, they'​re still hanging in around 4 to 4.​5%.'"

A third News brief, "State Street Global Advisors' (​SSGA) asks, 'Why Is Cash Piling Up?'" states, "Will Goldthwait explains, '​As we move through a period of extreme uncertainty in Washington, it is no surprise that the markets are showing signs of anxiety.'"

A sidebar, "Tokenization Crazy Chain," says, "New press releases and product announcements in the tokenization and stablecoin world are coming out fast and furious. One, titled, 'ICE and Circle Sign MOU to Explore Product Innovation Based on Circle’​s USDC and USYC Digital Assets,' tells us, 'Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (​ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, and Circle Internet Group, Inc., a global financial technology company and stablecoin market leader, ... announced an agreement whereby ICE plans to explore using Circle'​s stablecoin USDC, as well as tokenized money market offering US Yield Coin (​USYC), to develop new products and solutions for its customers.'"

Our April MFI XLS, with March 31 data, shows total assets decreased $​4.​6 billion to $​7.​327 trillion, after increasing $​90.​4 billion in February, $​47.​9 billion in January, $​113.​0 billion in December, $​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 last April and $​66.​7 billion in March 2024.

Our broad Crane Money Fund Average 7-​Day Yield was down 1 bp to 4.​04%, and our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (​the 100 largest taxable funds) was down 1 bp to 4.​15% in February. On a Gross Yield Basis (​7-​Day) (​before expenses are taken out), the Crane MFA and the Crane 100 averaged 4.​41% and 4.​41%. Charged Expenses averaged 0.​37% 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 3/​31/​25 on Tuesday, 4/​8.) The average WAM (​weighted average maturity) for the Crane MFA was 34 days (​down 1 day) and the Crane 100 WAM was down 1 day from the previous month at 36 days. (​See our Crane Index or craneindexes.​xlsx history file for more on our averages.)

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The Investment Company Institute'​s weekly and Crane Data'​s daily money fund asset series both hit new records as of Wednesday, April 2. ICI'​s latest "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets rising $​17.​6 billion to $​7.​032 trillion, after rising $​11.​8 billion the week prior and falling $​21.​8 billion two weeks ago. Money fund assets have risen in 24 of the last 35, and 35 of the last 50 weeks, increasing by $​728.​1 billion (​or 11.​6%) since the Fed cut on 9/​18/​24 and increasing by $​1.​054 trillion (​or 17.​6%) since 4/​24/​24. MMF assets are up by $​920 billion, or 15.​1%, in the past 52 weeks (​through 4/​2/​25), with Institutional MMFs up $​465 billion, or 12.​6% and Retail MMFs up $​455 billion, or 18.​7%. Year-​to-​date, MMF assets are up by $​181 billion, or 2.​6%, with Institutional MMFs up $​32 billion, or 0.​8% and Retail MMFs up $​149 billion, or 5.​5%.

ICI'​s weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $​17.​60 billion to $​7.​03 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, April 2... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $​10.​44 billion and prime funds increased by $​5.​17 billion. Tax-​exempt money market funds increased by $​1.​99 billion.” ICI'​s stats show Institutional MMFs decreasing $​0.​1 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $​17.​7 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $​5.​752 trillion (​81.​8% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $​1.​142 trillion (​16.​2%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $​137.​4 billion (​2.​0%).

It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $​17.​70 billion to $​2.​88 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $​10.​01 billion to $​1.​83 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $​6.​23 billion to $​929.​84 billion, and tax-​exempt fund assets increased by $​1.​46 billion to $​125.​59 billion." Retail assets account for well over a third of total assets, or 41.​0%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.​4% of all Retail MMFs.

They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $​101 million to $​4.​15 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $​429 million to $​3.​92 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $​1.​06 billion to $​212.​51 billion, and tax-​exempt fund assets increased by $​529 million to $​11.​83 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 59.​0% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.​6% of all institutional MMF totals.

According to Crane Data'​s separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have risen by $​54.​6 billion in April through 4/​2/​25, hitting a record high of $​7.​378 trillion on April 2. Assets rose by $​2.​8 trillion in March, $​94.​2 billion in February, $​52.​8 billion in January, $​110.​9 billion in December, $​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 2024. Note that ICI'​s asset totals don'​t include a number of funds tracked by the SEC and Crane Data, so they'​re over $​330 billion lower than Crane'​s asset series.

In other news, online money market trading portal ICD published a "2025 ICD Client Survey," recently, which explains, "Since 2018, ICD has annually surveyed hundreds of treasury and finance professionals around the world to better understand their liquidity and investment strategies, priorities, and perspectives.... This year'​s results highlight key trends in cash management and investment planning, with treasury professionals focused heavily on adapting to market fluctuations and enhancing operational efficiency. Additionally, the findings reveal emerging opportunities and ongoing concerns that will shape organizations' financial strategies in the coming months, offering ICD a clear roadmap for refining products and services to better meet client needs."

The survey'​s "Key Findings At-​a-​Glance," include: "​1. Geopolitical & Interest Rate Concerns. Corporate treasury'​s main economic concerns center around geopolitical conflicts, uncertain interest rates, and the possibility of a recession. There'​s also continued worry regarding counterparty exposure, due in part to the recent collapse of major banks in the U.​S. and Europe.... 2. Increased Diversification of Liquid Investment Holdings. There are over 12 types of investment products that 20%+ of U.​S. respondents are either actively leveraging or planning to leverage in 2025. While mainstream products like Money Market Funds, Demand Deposits, and T-​Bills continue to see significant usage, there is also increased interest in other products such as commercial paper and repos."

They also list: "​3. Larger Cash Positions & Elevated MMF Deposits. Across the board, respondents plan to hold more cash in 2025 compared to prior years, and there was broad consensus in diversifying this cash across MMFs and other liquid investment products. In total, 82% of respondents plan to maintain or increase cash balances during 2025, which represents an 8% increase from the prior year. In addition, 91% plan to maintain or increase their level of MMF investments. 4.) Technology Projects & AI Evaluations Are in Full Swing. This year, treasury professionals believe that financial reporting, cash forecasting, and data aggregation are the key areas where AI solutions can have the greatest impact. Additionally, 42% of respondents are currently working on a treasury technology project, and nearly 1 in 5 (​18%) are implementing a new TMS within the next 12 months."

The survey lists the "Top Survey Stats of 2025," writing, "Our 2025 survey has provided a number of compelling insights to highlight. A collection of the most noteworthy statistics are summarized below. Among these are the fact that nearly 4x more companies will increase their MMF allocations vs decrease them in 2025, with 82% of respondents also planning to maintain or increase their cash balances during the year ahead." They also cite the statistics: "90% of U.​S. companies are actively investing in U.​S. Govt/​Treasury Money Market Funds," "​36% of U.​S. companies plan to be invested in T-​Bills by the year'​s end," and "<​5% of treasury groups are actively invested in crypto or digital assets."

A section on "Treasury'​s Investment Plans (​Americas)," says, "In the U.​S., 9 out of every 10 respondents will invest in government/​treasury money market funds during 2025. In total, there were seven categories of products -- including T-​Bills, Bank Deposits, and various MMF options -– where more than 1/​3rd of respondents plan to invest this year. There are also nearly 12 categories where 10%+ of respondents who are not currently invested, plan to do so by the year'​s end. Among the top risers in this regard are Short Duration Bond Funds, Commercial Paper, and Time Deposits. Alternatively, despite continued mainstream media attention, very few organizations are planning to invest in cryptocurrencies or digital assets. U.​S. companies' use of European Commercial Paper (​ECP) and EU/​UK/​APAC Government Bonds is also very low, with 10% or less planning to invest in these products during 2025."

ICD'​s update states, "Internationally, the dominance of MMF products is less pronounced, but still significant. In total, offshore prime MMF funds comprised the largest share of use at 60%, followed closely by Time Deposits at 56%. Looking at the largest gains, short duration bond funds, ESG products, Repos, and EU government bills -– all categories with limited traction in the past -- have seen a dramatic rise in interest from practitioners for 2025. Although U.​S. investment products understandably see less traction overseas, there is still a fair degree of interest in U.​S. Government MMFs and Prime MMFs. U.​S. T-​Bills and Commercial Paper are also seeing rising engagement. On the low end of the spectrum, cryptocurrency and federally insured CDs continue to see very little adoption internationally, as do FDIC-​insured CDs and Deposit Accounts."

Finally, under a "Money Market Funds" section, they tell us, "In-​line with respondents' intent to maintain or increase their cash balances during 2025, there was also broad consensus in maintaining or increasing MMF holdings as well. In total, 91% plan to maintain or increase their level of MMF investments this year, versus just 9% who plan on decreasing their position or not investing in MMFs at all. Compared to 2024, these percentages are almost identical, as 90% planned to increase or maintain their MMF holdings and 10% were decreasing or not investing."

​

Today, we continue to quote from our recent Bond Fund Symposium conference, which was held late last week in Newport Beach, Calif. The "Senior Portfolio Manager Perspectives" featured Crane Data'​s Peter Crane moderating a session with BlackRock'​s Richard Mejzak, UBS Asset Management'​s Dave Rothweiler and Federated Hermes' Nicholas Tripodes. We first asked Mejzak about BlackRock'​s recent launch of Money Market ETFs. He tells us, "​They'​re on the smaller side. However, the growth has, I think, exceeded expectations thus far.... This is not your father'​s money market business.... Clearly, the market'​s evolving in this space." (Note: Attendees and Crane Data subscribers may access the conference binder, Powerpoints and recordings via our "Bond Fund Symposium 2025 Download Center.")

Mejak explains, "​I think several things led us to this. I mean, first off, it seems that cash, we would expect, is going to remain an asset class, right? Yields, they'​re 4% now. But if you look back historically, like 3.​0, 3.​5% seems to be the magic number as far as absolute level of yields. And if you can maintain that allocation to cash, we would expect to maintain, kind of balance, as to where they are. So that was one driver of it."

He continues, "Two, the ETF wrapper, without question, is becoming, the wrapper of investor preference. So, we felt getting a product into an ETF wrapper would be an incredibly effective tool. Then lastly, what we saw with money market fund reform, specifically around prime money market funds and ... how they were going to implement discretionary and mandatory fee structures. We thought an ETF would help the marketplace in that ... a lot of the liquidity in and out of an ETF is done on an exchange and not within the fund itself. So, we thought that would actually improve the kind of the operational aspects of those two types of fees."

Mejzak adds, "I mean, it'​s no surprise ... in the marketplace now there'​s tons and tons of models that are comprised exclusively of ETFs. So, if you want to have a cash allocation within that, this is a product that fits very well in there."

Discussing supply in the ultra-​short space, Tripodes comments, "Last year, I think there was over $​300 billion in U.​S. issuance of ABS, which was pretty much a new record. And we think this year should be kind of similar from a new issues standpoint. And like I said, in looking at subprime, we'​re kind of sticking to the higher quality subprime names."

He says, "​Because when you do see a spike in unemployment, like some of the smaller subprime issuers that maybe are private equity-​backed and don'​t have sources of financing, like a GM, in the corporate market or the equity market or bank lines of credit, they could experience issues, some of these smaller companies. And if they do have servicing issues, then, that causes all types of problems. So you have to be careful."

The Federated PM comments, "But overall, we really like the ABS market. And we think it'​s a really nice asset class, especially for short-​duration securities. Because you'​re getting your amortization every month, for the most part, once your bond starts paying down in autos and equipment. And it'​s just the short-​weighted average life is a nice fit for, one- or two-​year short-​term bond product."

Rothweiler weighs in, "In terms of what I'​m buying, I mean, we'​re an IG strategy. And, like yourself, we'​re focusing more and more with an up-​and-​quality focus. You focus on ABS. And for us, we'​re staying away from subprime. We'​re in the prime space, more nominally like AA3 or better. And from introducing another asset to the sector, you'​re definitely, on that northwest efficient part of the frontier, from a risk-​return standpoint."

He states, "But, within the corporate space, focusing on financials, we think credit overall is still pretty good. But like it was mentioned this morning, you look at stuff like the autos, you have some pockets of volatility. But for us, it depends where the maturity is for that kind of paper. In terms of what we'​re not buying, as I said, we can'​t do high-​yield or split-​rated. But we'​re also staying away from the lower BBB realm."

Mejzak also tells us, "If you look ... just from a pure valuation perspective, especially when you talk about credit spreads, which look kind of beyond the tighter end of the range, especially when you think about where we are in the economic cycle. However, just the overall carry of, I'​ll call it one to five-​year kind of fixed-​income assets is incredibly compelling. But the amount of movement you need in yields to actually lose money at these absolute levels of interest rates and carry is massive, right?"

He explains, "So, I'​d say consistently the folks that we talk to, or let'​s say our separate account clients and big corporations that we run money for, really are just comfortable adding carry here, high-​quality carry, that is, and being comfortable clipping the coupon, knowing that that coupon is going to be able to endure a pretty severe movement in interest rates. I mean, what we heard from the Fed a couple weeks back was, they had two options. They'​re either going to stay put or they'​re going to cut rates. I didn'​t hear anything about raising rates, right? So, in that environment, I think carry is the game."

Asked what he'​s buying, Tripodes comments, "​It depends on the strategy. So, on our Micro-​Short strategy, that'​s really a combination of liquidity, securities, and bonds, about 50-​50. So, in that portfolio, we don'​t buy anything past two and a half years for fixed rate, three years for floater. We have a 15% BBB limit and no high yield. Now, as we move to the Ultra Short Fund and Short-​Term Income Fund, `​we have the capability to buy high yield. I know there'​s discussions on CLOs. We have a pretty deep high yield team. So instead of buying CLOs, I mean, yeah, you can buy the AAA rated CLOs, but the underlying collateral is, BB or high yield loans."

Finally, Rothweiler adds, "Credit for us is a much easier bet right now. I have an old saying, '​You can'​t model fraud, and you can'​t model politics,' right? That'​s just the reality of it. So, I feel like in a way, whether it'​s tariffs, fiscal policy, a lot of things up in the air, and you look at how [​volatile] even the two years have been.... For us, from a duration standpoint, we'​re staying close to home. It'​s just a more difficult bet, and we'​d rather spend our risk budget on credit versus duration. So how we play that right now is staying close to an index and limiting any kind of major bet either way. Because one headline, and it goes against you. So, we'​d rather just stay out of it."

​

Late last week, we hosted our latest Crane'​s Bond Fund Symposium in Newport Beach, Calif. The keynote talk, "Ultra‐​Short Bond Funds: Surf'​s Finally Up," featured J.​P. Morgan Securities' Teresa Ho, PIMCO'​s Jerome Schneider and J.​P. Morgan Asset Management'​s Dave Martucci. Ho explains, "What we'​re going to do ... is just give a high-​level review of the short-​term bond fund space from a performance perspective, flows, asset allocation. I'​ll ask Jerome and Dave to weigh in on some of these topics and for them to give a sense of some of the things that they'​re seeing and what they'​re thinking about, and after that I'​ll follow up with a brief comment on other ultra-​short investors." (Note: Thanks again to those who supported BFS! Attendees and Crane Data subscribers may access the conference binder, Powerpoints and recordings via our "Bond Fund Symposium 2025 Download Center.")

She continues, "So just to set the scene ... 2024 was certainly a great year for ultra-​short bond funds. They generated returns greater than 5% for all of 2024.... They outperformed the longer-​duration strategies, and they also outperformed money market funds.... But with that being said, it certainly wasn'​t without its volatility.... So clearly, a lot of the flows movement is driven by returns -- performance does drive flows in this particular space. But through it all ... it was still a positive year for the short-​term fixed income space. We'​re already seeing meaningful flows in January, and I think February is also going to be another positive month."

Ho says, "But what is really interesting is that while certainly we saw inflows into ultra-​short and short-​term bond funds, the flows into money funds were even more sustainable. In fact, as you can see on the slide, money funds saw pretty much record returns over the course of 2024. And this is a year that wasn'​t even marked by a crisis. The only other time that we saw more inflows into money market funds was 2020, that was COVID, and 2023, and that was the regional banking crisis."

She asks, "Is it still kind of an attractive space for people to be in, given the current environment that we'​re in right now?" Schneider responds, "​Yes, it is an attractive environment. Context is important here, and we have to rationalize. One of the worst calls that has been made over the past 18 months has been the notion that all the money is moving from the money market fund $​7.​3 trillion to the equity market. Clearly [​that'​s] not going to happen. But it'​s important to recognize a few things. One, the inertia of money market funds is huge, both from a safety perspective, i.​e. looking to avoid volatility, as well as just the compounding effect of just earning, you know, 4% on an ongoing basis in terms of asset growth."

He comments, "Our job collectively at PIMCO'​s short-​term team is to try to incentivize, and educate investors to the merits of being in that ultra-​short space. It'​s basically proposing that you can have a high degree of quality portfolios, liquidity management over an intermediate horizon, and combine that to earn additional returns. There are a lot of folks who can appreciate that. That'​s where our combined businesses do really well. But there are even more people, clearly, who don'​t necessarily buy into that notion. That'​s always a challenge in terms of that educational process. But there will always be money in money market funds, and that'​s a good thing, because that'​s the foundational liquidity."

Schneider states, "But what we'​re finding ourselves in is a unique environment where that step out of cash, so to speak, is incredibly powerful, probably to the tune of hundreds of basis points or more at this point in time. So, from a practical point of view, yes, it makes sense to at least evaluate the ultra-​short landscape and even short-​term landscape, that one to three-​year space in its totality as an opportunity set to earn additional premiums. And then the second thing is, we'​re beginning to see a more bifurcated landscape of those money market options."

He explains, "Timing is important, and not just from a duration call. We can go back to views of the market in a bit. But I think it'​s important to recognize that the '​T-​bill and chill' era really had people lock up cash for three months, six months, a year, two years. Now all those maturities are coming due. People are engaging to have practical conversations about how to think about putting that money back to work. And it may not be in risk assets."

He adds, "The most exciting part about what has gone on in our universe is that growth of the ETF segment, since MINT was created as an actively managed strategy 15 years ago. It'​s taken a long time, accompanied by great products like JPST and the cohort of people in the ultra-​short landscape. It'​s now a pretty diverse subset. So, people are finding their way in one way, shape, or form to that universe."

Martucci then tells us, "The great part of the ultra-​short space throughout my career is there'​s always been a way to talk about it and spin it. I mean ... whether rates were at zero, it was like, '​You'​re going to sit at zero, and you can get 30 to 50 base points.' Then in 2022, in '​21, rates were going up, and you had inflation. You'​re like, '​Okay, then we went after the long-​term fixed income investors and say, oh, I want you to come down the curve.' We'​ll give you an opportunity to get a little more of the cash, and you don'​t have to take that interest rate risk. Now, we'​re again at that point where basically the Fed has acknowledged that their base case is that inflation is going up and growth is coming down. I think that leads to really a tailwind for all of our products in the front end."

He then says, "If you could build a portfolio that is out-​yielding ... a money market fund, which you can now, and you also have the ability to capture some duration and not take too much risk out the curve, it really does seem to be a sweet spot for us, and we expect that to continue. But to echo Jerome'​s comment, that T-​bill and chill mentality was definitely where a lot of our conversations on the institutional side are happening, where there'​s a lot of, you know, large institutions or family offices or what have you that were just rolling bills, and now all of a sudden, you know, the curve is inverted. So it'​s not necessarily the highest point along the curve."

Finally, Martucci tells us, "You can produce a competitive yield. You can show attractive returns over the past year from rolling that strategy. So I think that is where most of our discussions are, and then we are starting to see more retail-​type investors. I think that'​s [​driven by] the acceptance of the ETF, which has been great for us as a platform across the board in the ultra-​short space as an investment tool for clients, and mostly that'​s been on the retail segment is where the ETFs has had the most success."

​

Federated Hermes' Deborah Cunningham writes on "The New Magnificent Seven" in her latest monthly commentary. Subtitled, "Total US money fund assets push past $​7 trillion again," the piece states, "The growth of money market mutual funds since the Federal Reserve first hiked rates in 2022 has been something to behold. Not as thrilling as Akira Kurasawa'​s 'Seven Samurai' and John Sturges' beloved adaptation, 'The Magnificent Seven,' or as trendy as the Mag 7 tech behemoths. But with total US assets under management (​AUM) again topping $​7 trillion, just as spectacular." (Note: Thanks once more to those who supported our Bond Fund Symposium last week in Newport Beach! Watch for coverage in coming days and in our upcoming Money Fund Intelligence and Bond Fund Intelligence. Attendees and Crane Data subscribers may access the conference binder, Powerpoints and recordings via our "Bond Fund Symposium 2025 Download Center.")

Federated'​s Money Market CIO tells us, "According to the Investment Company Institute (​ICI), AUM in US products passed that mark in March for the first time. We do not think this growth is substantially due to the recent up, then down again, trajectory of the stock market. The argument that investors are placing cash in liquidity products to weather the storm is belied by the nature of the flows."

She states, "In March, when you might expect most investors would have been concerned that the tariff-​influenced stock market correction might become a crash, institutions pulled their money from the relative safety of money funds. Some expected these sophisticated and active clients to run for cover to liquidity, yet they did the opposite. Many who did pull assets seemed -- or actually revealed -- that they were motivated by other reasons, and some of that money is likely to eventually return."

Cunningham asks, "​But didn'​t retail clients invest more in March? Yes, but at a growth rate consistent with the extensive migration to money funds seen over the last several quarters. We can'​t pinpoint from where those assets came. But the steady nature of the inflows supports the hypothesis that people are fed up with low interest rates of other products."

She adds, "​It'​s not just US money funds. To our knowledge, assets in many non-​money fund (​rule 2a-​7) products, such as investment pools and private funds, have risen; and the ICI reports that total global money fund AUM have also reached record highs. Cue the famous heroic '​Magnificent Seven' theme."

In other news, with now less than 3 months to go until Crane'​s Money Fund Symposium, which will be held in Boston, June 23-​25, we are also starting preparations for our 11th Annual European Money Fund Symposium. The preliminary agenda has been released and registrations are now being taken for this year'​s European event, which will take place Sept. 25-​26 at the Hilton Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. We provide more details on both shows below, and feel free to contact us for more information.

Our 2024 European Symposium event in London attracted a record 210 money fund professionals, sponsors and speakers. Given higher for longer rates and the potential for another round of regulatory changes in Europe, we expect our show in Dublin to again be the largest gathering of money market professionals outside the U.​S. "European Money Fund Symposium offers European, global and '​offshore' money market portfolio managers, investors, issuers, dealers and service providers a concentrated and affordable educational experience, and an excellent and informal networking venue," says Crane Data President Peter Crane. "Our mission is to deliver the best possible conference content at an affordable price to money market fund professionals," he adds.

Registration for European Money Fund Symposium is $​1,​000 USD. EMFS will be held at the Hilton Dublin. Hotel rooms must be booked before August 21 to receive our discounted rate of E269. Visit www.​craneeurosymposium.​com to register, and contact us to request the PDF brochure. (​Let us know too if you'​d like information on speaking or sponsorships.)

Also, with less than three months to go, Crane Data is ramping up preparations for our `​big show, Money Fund Symposium, which is June 23-​25 at The Renaissance Boston Seaport. The latest agenda is out and registrations are now being taken.

Money Fund Symposium attracts money fund managers, marketers and servicers, cash investors, money market securities dealers, issuers, and regulators. Visit the Money Fund Symposium website for more information. Registration is $​1,​000, and discounted hotel reservations are available. (​E-​mail us at info@​cranedata.​com to request the full brochure.)

Finally, mark your calendars for our next Money Fund University "​basic training" event, scheduled for Dec. 18-​19, 2025, in Pittsburgh, Pa, and for next year'​s Bond Fund Symposium, which will be March 27-​28, 2025 in Boston, Mass. Let us know if you'​d like more details on any of our events, and we hope to see you in Boston in June, in Dublin in September or in Pittsburgh in December!"

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