​

This week, we heard another batch of second-​quarter earnings calls for brokerages, and there still are some analyst questions and comments on cash sweeps and money markets. Raymond James Financial CFO Jonathan Oorlog says, "Client domestic cash suite and enhanced savings program balances ended the quarter at $​55.​2 billion, down 4% compared to the preceding quarter and representing 3.​8% of domestic ... client assets. Program balances increased by nearly $​1 billion in the month of June after seasonal declines for client tax payments and fee billings resulted in decreases early in the quarter. In July, domestic cash sweep and enhanced savings program balances have declined to date, in line with July'​s record quarterly fee billings of approximately $​1.​7 billion." (​See the earnings call transcript here.) (Note: For those attending our European Money Fund Symposium, Sept. 22-​23 in Dublin, our discounted hotel rate expires August 1.)

He explains, "Combined net interest income and RJBDP fees from third-​party banks increased 1% to $​656 million as the decline in RJBDP third-​party fees was more than offset by higher net interest income. Net interest margin in the bank segment grew 7 basis points to 2.​74% for the quarter, the result of the factors I described earlier. The average yield on RJBDP balances with third-​party banks decreased 4 basis points to 2.​96% primarily due to deployment of incremental cash suite program balances from third-​party banks on to the bank segment balance sheet."

Oorlog continues, "Based on current interest rates and quarter end balances, net of fourth quarter fee billings, we would expect the aggregate of NII in RJBDP third-​party fees to decline approximately 2% in the fourth quarter, largely the result of the lower beginning of the quarter sweep balances held by third-​party banks. Keep in mind, there are many variables which will influence actual results, including any interest rate actions during the upcoming quarter and factors affecting our balance sheet, including changes in our loan and deposit balances."

During the Question-​and-​Answer Session, Dan Fannon from Jefferies asks, "​Just within brokerage, can you talk about the fixed income outlook?" CEO Paul Shoukry replies, "​Our biggest business in fixed income brokerage, and this is an important distinction from the bigger bulge bracket banks and wire houses who'​ve had really strong quarters on the much higher volatility that you get with commodities and currencies and interest rates, especially in the environment we saw last quarter. We'​re really not heavily engaged in those higher volatility segments within fixed income. I mean we'​re really serving our biggest client base in the fixed income business, our depositories, banks and credit unions, helping them manage their securities portfolio. So in an environment where they'​re deposit-​rich, and there'​s a lack of loan demand and opportunity to earn more by investing in securities out on the curve is an environment that'​s most conducive for us in fixed income."

Devin Ryan of Citizens JMP comments, "​First question, just here on for cash balances, the decline was maybe a bit more than we had expected, and I know there'​s a lot that goes into that with taxes and advisory fees and investors leaning to the market. But it'​s a bit difficult from the outside to parse through ... what'​s cash sorting versus other trends. So just be good to get an update on what you'​re seeing around your client behavior there, what you'​ve seen through July, if you can share that? And then also what you'​re expecting in the back half of the year just given what you talked about with kind of accelerating organic growth. So how much that could help for kind of rebuilding some of that transactional cash."

Shoukry replies, "​Yes. I'​ll let Butch speak to the cash movements, particularly in the quarter. What I would say is you'​re right, the pipeline as it converts as new advisers bring on new clients with new assets that should be, all else being equal, a tailwind to our cash balances. And before turning it over to Butch to talk about the quarterly change in cash balances, what I would do is kind of step back first and look at the year-​over-​year change in sweep balances, which have been pretty resilient. It'​s been almost flat year-​over-​year at right around $​42 billion for the sweep balances. So as we said maybe a year, 1.​5 years ago, we feel like cash balances are relatively stable. We'​re not ready to declare victory on that until we actually start seeing growth in those balances. And to your point, as Butch will talk about, that wasn'​t the case this quarter."

Oorlog adds, "​As we talked about on last quarter'​s call ... there'​s a seasonal element to cash balances in this quarter. Client tax payments in -- especially in the month of April, typically having the adverse effect on client balances in the short run. So we certainly experienced that as well as the industry at large.... We'​re encouraged by the month of June, ... we'​ve seen ... $​1 billion of growth in the balances ... as those seasonal factors kind of reverse. So we'​re hopeful that, that portends a positive trend for the balance is upcoming in the fourth quarter. But as Paul mentioned, when you look at those balance levels on a year-​over-​year basis, I mean there -- continues to be relative stability in those balances year-​over-​year."

During their Q2 earnings call, Ameriprise Financial CEO Jim Cracchiolo tells us, "​Reflecting externally, equity markets moved around quite a bit in the quarter and investors paused and kept more cash on the sidelines.... Client total cash holdings increased in the quarter and remained very high as we would expect based on the market situation and near-​term rates and these assets on the sideline represent a future growth opportunity."

He states, "As we'​ve shared, we'​re launching new products like our new CD that came out in the second quarter. And in the coming months, we'​ll be bringing out HELOCs and checking accounts to add to our product offering. And I would highlight that our wealth business consistently delivers best-​in-​class margin. It was 29% for the quarter. As part of our larger solution set, our retirement income and protection products helped serve clients' full financial picture."

CFO Walter Berman explains, "Cash sweep balances were in line with expectations at $​27.​4 billion compared to $​28.​6 billion in the prior quarter, reflecting normal seasonal tax payments. We are seeing nice momentum in our experience adviser recruiting.... Cash earnings saw a high single-​digit decline from the impact of the Fed funds effective rate reduction since the latter part of 2024. Our strategy leveraging Ameriprise Bank has been important in minimizing the impact from Fed funds effective rate reductions on our AWM business. In fact, we continue to see a modest increase in net investment income in the bank this quarter."

Finally, Invesco briefly touched on cash in its Q&​A. (​See transcript here.) Ken Worthington from JPMorgan says, "So first, you'​re a big cash manager through money funds and stable value. There'​s been a lot of talk about digital dollars, including stablecoins and digital money market funds. Do you think digital dollars change cash management? And how might Invesco fit into cash management and increasingly a digital dollar world?"

CEO Andrew Schlossberg answers, "​Yes, thanks for the question. You'​re right. We'​re a big cash player, a big money market player, a big short-​term fixed income and stable value manager. I think we'​ve also proven to be a good innovator. So we'​re looking at many of the things that you mentioned, getting to a place where there could be a tokenized money market fund, for example, or other kind of single assets around the payment stream.... Cash management [​is] very much on our operating agenda. But there'​s a lot that needs to happen for that to occur. But we'​re very focused on keeping pace in the digital asset space."

​

With less than 2 months to go, we'​re ramping up preparations for the 11th Annual Crane'​s European Money Fund Symposium, which will take place Sept. 22-​23 at the Hilton Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. The latest agenda is now available and registrations are still being taken for our European money market mutual fund event. We provide more details on the show below, and feel free to contact us for more information. Our 2024 European Symposium event in London attracted over 210 money fund professionals, sponsors and speakers. Given the continued growth in money fund assets, trends like tokenization and expectations for another round of regulatory changes in Europe, we expect our show in Dublin to once again be the largest gathering of money market professionals outside the U.​S. (Note: For those attending, please make your hotel reservations ASAP. Our discounted rate expires August 1 and we expect our block of rooms to sell out shortly.)

"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 1 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 sponsorships or speaking in future years too.)

The EMFS agenda features sessions conducted by many of the leading authorities on money funds in Europe and worldwide. The Day One Agenda for Crane'​s European Money Fund Symposium includes: "Welcome to European Money Fund Symposium" with Peter Crane of Crane Data; followed by an "Irish Funds Update: MMFs in Ireland & the EU" with Pat Lardner of Irish Funds; "Tokenized Money Funds & Tech Issues" with Brenden Carroll of Dechert LLP and Cristiano Ventricelli of Moody'​s Ratings; and, "Senior Portfolio Manager Perspectives," featuring Ketan Shah of Legal & General Inv. Mgmt., Joe McConnell of ` J.​P. Morgan Asset Mgmt <​b:>`​_. and Dan Singer of J.​P. Morgan Securities.

The afternoon will consist of: "Sterling & U.​K. Money Fund Issues" with Harm Carstens of DWS Investment, Douglas McPhail of Morgan Stanley I.​M. and Michelle Randall of Invesco; "Euro, ESG & French Standard Money Funds" with David Callahan of Lombard Odier I.​M., Marc Fleury of BNP Paribas A.​M. and Vanessa Robert of Moody'​s; "U.​S. Money Fund & USD Market Update," with Peter Crane of Crane Data, Deborah Cunningham of Federated Hermes and Pia McCusker of State Street Investment Mgmt.; and lastly, "Asian & Continental European Money Markets" with Minyue Wang of Fitch Ratings, Michael Mango of S&​P Global Ratings a and Rudolf Siebel of BVI.

The Day Two Agenda includes: "IMMFA Update: The State of MMFs in Europe" with Veronica Iommi of IMMFA and Alastair Sewell of Aviva Investors (​and Chair of IMMFA); "Repo, Alternative Repo & Trading Platforms" with David Skingle of Barclays, Cassandra Jones of State Street and Joseph Russo of GLMX; and, "Money Fund Reforms in Europe & The UK" with Dennis Gepp of Federated, John Hunt of Sullivan & Worcester LLP and Barry O'​Connor of Matheson LLP.

The afternoon of day 2 will include: "Dealer & Issuer Supply Roundtable" with Stewart Cutler of Barclays, Kieran Davis of TD Securities and Marianne Medora of Groupe BPCE/​Natixis; "Fund Servicers in Ireland & Strategist Update" with Rachel Thornton of Northern Trust and Ronald Man of BofA Securities; "Ultra-​Short Bond Funds, ETF MMFs & Alt-​Cash" with Valerio Lupini of Fitch Ratings and Rustam Muradov of J.​P. Morgan A.​M.; and, a "Recap & European Money Fund Data Update" with Peter Crane of Crane Data.

Also, we'​re making plans for our next Crane'​s Money Fund University, which will be held in Pittsburgh, Pa., Dec. 18-​19, 2025. Money Fund University covers the history of money funds, interest rates, regulations (​Rule 2a-​7), ratings, rankings, money market instruments such as commercial paper, CDs and Treasuries, and portfolio construction and credit analysis. We also include segments on offshore money funds and ultra-​short bond funds. Money Fund University'​s comprehensive program is good for both beginners and experienced professionals looking for a refresher.

Mark your calendars too for our next Bond Fund Symposium, which will be held in Boston, Mass., on March 19-​20, 2026. (​Click here to see last year'​s agenda.) Bond Fund Symposium is the only conference devoted entirely to bond mutual funds, bringing together bond fund managers, marketers, and professionals with fixed-​income issuers, investors and service providers. The majority of the content is aimed at the growing ultra-​short and conservative ultra-​short bond fund marketplace.

Finally, Crane Data is making preliminary preparations for our next big show, Money Fund Symposium, which is scheduled for June 24-​26, 2026 in Jersey City, N.​J. The agenda will be released late this fall and registrations will open soon.

Money Fund Symposium attracts money fund managers, marketers and servicers, cash investors, money market securities dealers, issuers, and regulators for 2 1/​2 days of sessions, socializing and networking. Visit the MF Symposium website at www.​moneyfundsymposium.​com for more details. Registration is $​1000, and discounted hotel reservations will be available. We hope you'​ll join us next summer in Jersey City! (​E-​mail us at info@​cranedata.​com to request the full brochure.)

Let us know if you'​d like more details on any of our events, and we hope to see you in Dublin in September, in Pittsburgh in December, in Boston in March 2026 or in Jersey City in June 2026. Thanks to all of our speakers and sponsors and for your support!

​

International Monetary Fund Economist Kleopatra Nikolaou published a Working Paper titled, "Money Market Fund Growth During Hiking Cycles: A Global Analysis," which tells us, "This paper examines the drivers of money market funds (​MMFs) growth during monetary policy hiking cycles. Analyzing data from nine countries with notable MMF sectors post-​pandemic, it examines three main drivers: yield differentials between MMFs and bank deposits, banking turmoils that affect perceptions of relative safety for traditional cash options, and structural characteristics (​types) of MMFs. The findings indicate that MMFs attract capital during rising interest rates driven primarily by yield-​seeking behavior. This pattern persisted following the 2023 banking turmoil, particularly in the U.​S., where yield remained the dominant driver. After accounting for yield differentials, MMF growth was not unusually high compared to previous hiking cycles, suggesting limited evidence of widespread flight-​to-​safety flows. Moreover, when MMF yields rise, investors in the US and the euro area increasingly favor private debt MMFs, likely due to their higher yields. The study underscores the trade-​off between safety and yield in investor behaviour, providing insights for policymakers on enhancing financial stability." (Note: Crane Data'​s Peter Crane will join AFP'​s Tom Hunt, Invesco'​s Laurie Brignac and Masco'​s Marcel Santiz on a webinar Tuesday (​7/​29) from 3-​4pm ET titled, "Liquidity in Flux: Insights from the 2025 AFP Liquidity Survey.")

It states, "This paper investigates the dynamics behind the growth of money market funds (​MMFs) during the global monetary policy tightening cycle of 2022–​2024. While past studies have focused on MMF vulnerabilities during systemic crises, recent developments—​particularly rising interest rates, widening yield differentials, and the 2023 banking sector stress—​have shifted the focus toward MMF inflows. The increase in MMF investments, especially in the U.​S., highlighted the dual role MMFs play as yield-​enhancing and liquid cash alternatives."

The paper says, "We examine MMF flows across nine countries with significant MMF sectors, focusing on three drivers: (​1) the MMF yield advantage over bank deposits, (​2) the impact of the 2023 banking turmoil, and (​3) the structural composition of MMFs, particularly the split between public and private debt holdings. Our analysis is novel in its international scope and in its focus on MMF behavior during inflow periods."

It explains, "​The motivation for these drivers is supported by previous literature and recent experiences. MMFs typically offer higher yields to their investors compared to what banks can offer to depositors during periods of monetary policy tightening. Greater yield differentials between MMFs and bank deposits can enhance MMF growth, as yield oriented investors shift their funds towards MMFs. Additionally, a loss of confidence in banks, resulting from banking turmoil such as that experienced in March 2023, can redirect capital towards MMFs, highlighting the importance of safety in cash management. Finally, MMFs are structured in various ways to accommodate different investor preferences regarding safety versus returns, while still maintaining their role as short-​term safe assets."

Nikolaou writes, "Our findings show that the MMF yield advantage is a central factor behind MMF growth, particularly during periods of monetary tightening. Investors respond strongly to yield differentials, reallocating from bank deposits to MMFs when the return gap widens. This pattern was evident across countries in our sample, although the scale of response varied by region. Moreover, we find little evidence for a panic-​induced inflow into MMFs in the wake of the 2023 banking turmoil. While in some jurisdictions (​i.​e. Europe) the effect was overall muted, in others, including the US, MMF inflows were driven more by return-​seeking behavior than by panic or risk aversion. Finally, a rise in MMF yields can influence the allocation between public vs private MMFs, in different ways across countries."

She tells us, "Overall, the paper shows that MMFs play a growing role in global cash management, with implications for financial stability and monetary policy. The sensitivity of MMF flows to interest rate changes suggests that monetary tightening can accelerate deposit outflows from banks, complicating policy transmission. At the same time, the limited response to non-​systemic banking shocks implies that MMFs primarily serve as instruments of yield optimization in the current financial environment. These findings underscore the importance of MMF design and regulation in managing liquidity risks in an evolving macro-​financial landscape."

The IMF piece then says, "In recent years, the dynamics of money market fund (​MMFs) flows have returned to the spotlight. While past scrutiny largely focused on MMF outflows during systemic crises, recent attention has shifted toward their inflows -- particularly during episodes of monetary policy tightening. This shift became especially relevant as central banks globally embarked on aggressive rate hikes in 2022–​2024 following the pandemic."

It continues, "The tightening cycle revealed growing fragilities in the banking sector, as demonstrated during the 2023 turmoil involving the collapse of U.​S. regional banks and Credit Suisse in Europe (​Copestake et al., 2023; Jiang et al., 2024). Moreover, a significant yield differential emerged between MMFs and traditional bank deposits, likely prompting many investors—​especially yield-​sensitive ones -- to reallocate capital away from bank deposits and into MMFs. The surge in MMF inflows, especially in the U.​S., raised concerns over deposit stability and underscored the attractiveness of MMFs as both yield-​enhancing and liquid cash alternatives."

The report then tells us, "This evolving landscape highlights two fundamental drivers of MMF flows: the search for yield and the desire of safety. Different MMF types have evolved to cater to different combinations of these preferences, yet the behavior of investors during inflow phases -- particularly outside the U.​S. -- remains underexplored. We note, however, that these motivations are not always aligned. During periods of outflows, MMF investors may prioritize capital preservation, while during inflow periods, the relative return on MMFs becomes a stronger draw."

It states, "This paper presents evidence of the latter motivation. This paper analyzes MMF growth across a panel of nine countries with sizable MMF sectors that experienced post-​pandemic rate hikes. It focused on three main drivers: First, the MMF yield advantage -- the yield gap between MMFs and alternative cash investments such as bank deposits -- as a proxy for investors' desire for higher yields (​the return incentive). `​Second, the effect of the 2023 banking turmoil, which can undermine confidence in the banking system and redirect flows towards perceived relative safety, in our case MMFs. Third, the structural characteristics of MMFs across jurisdictions, particularly the public vs. private debt composition, which may condition investor sensitivity to risk and return. To our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically examine these three elements in an international context."

The IMF paper continues, "While existing literature supports the idea that yield advantages can drive flows into MMFs, this has not yet been tested. Work by Dreschler et al. (​2017) and Xiao (​2020) indicates that deposit outflows from banks into MMFs increase during tightening cycles. A key mechanism driving this shift is the opportunity cost of holding bank deposits, which tends to rise during monetary policy tightening periods. This opportunity cost arises as banks are typically slower to pass on higher rates and results in a yield differential—​what we term the 'MMF yield advantage' or 'MMF spread.' Rather than attempting to explain this gap, we take it as a given and construct a proxy for the MMF spread across a global panel of MMFs to examine its effect on MMF growth across countries."

It says, "Second, our results do not suggest a flight of investors to MMF safety following the US banking turmoil. Although the 2023 turmoil coincided with heightened financial stress, we find that MMF dynamics were shaped more by MMF superior returns than by pure risk aversion: With few exceptions (​notably the Americas region, excluding the US), MMFs did not experience larger growth post turmoil compared to previous hiking cycles, once the role of spreads and macro/​fund controls are accounted for. However, our results reveal that investors in certain regions, notably the US, '​woke up' to the higher interest rates offered by MMFs. In those jurisdictions investors moved to MMFs when they became more attractive on a yield basis. Results also reveal regional differences, with the euro area showing little change post pandemic in both average inflows and sensitivity to the MMF spread. The differences are indicative of different investor dynamics and fund structures."

The paper adds, "The MMF sector is present in a relatively limited number of countries, notably AEs, with the US having the largest sector. In December 2023, Advanced Economies, held the more than 75 percent of the total MMF value globally, while China made up the vast majority of MMFs in Emerging market economies.... In terms of nominal size, the US has by far the largest MMF sector globally with just short of $​6 trillion assets under management at the end of 2023. At that time MMFs in Europe and in China were less than half the size of US MMFs, around $​1.​5tr in each region. Beyond Europe, China and the US, countries with notable MMF sectors include Australia, Korea and Brazil."

They state, "In conclusion, our analysis highlights the MMF yield advantage as a primary driver of MMF growth. This advantage typically emerges during monetary policy tightening cycles and has supported MMF inflows following the 2023 banking turmoil. While the 2023 banking turmoil itself did not appear to catalyze MMFs flows, we provide evidence that rising MMF spreads were driving growth at the same period in certain jurisdictions including the US. We also find that a rising MMF yield advantage can determine allocations to different fund types. In the US and the euro area investors shift towards private debt MMFs notably when MMF spreads rise, while outside these two areas the preference is for public MMFs. We also demonstrate a preference for USD-​denominated MMFs in several jurisdictions outside the US, which underscores the importance of USD as a safe-​haven currency in international finance. These findings provide valuable insights into the factors influencing MMF growth and investor behavior in different MMF jurisdictions during hiking cycles."

Finally, Nikolaou writes, "The findings of this paper carry policy implications for regulators and central banks as they navigate the complexities of money market fund (​MMF) dynamics in a shifting economic landscape. The sensitivity of MMF flows to interest rate changes suggests that monetary tightening can accelerate deposit outflows from banks, complicating policy transmission and financial stability. Our paper suggests that, in major countries, large and private debt MMFs will grow further in size and can impact the monetary policy transmission mechanism, which traditionally works through bank deposits. At the same time, the limited response to non-​systemic banking shocks implies that MMFs primarily serve as instruments of yield optimization in the current financial environment. These findings underscore the importance of MMF design and regulation in managing liquidity risks in an evolving macro-​financial landscape. Regulatory frameworks should ensure that MMFs maintain adequate liquidity and risk management practices. In addition, more transparency regarding MMF yields compared to banks and the inherent risks associated with different fund types may help investors to make more informed decisions, thus supporting financial stability. As the landscape of cash alternatives continues to evolve, ongoing monitoring and adaptive regulation will be essential to safeguard the integrity of both MMF markets and the broader financial system."

​

Late last month, Money Fund Symposium'​s keynote session, "The Future of Cash," featured State Street Investment Management CEO Yie-​Hsin Hung. She says, "It'​s fantastic to be here with all of you. I want to thank Peter first and foremost for everything that he does for the money fund industry. No one tracks cash better than you. And everyone here relies on your insights, your data, your wisdom in one way or another. So I'​m really glad to be here with all of you. And yes, even with my competitors, it'​s rare to have so many asset managers and industry experts all in one place. But when we do come together, there’​s a very good reason. Events like these give us a chance to take a big picture look where we'​ve been, where we are, where we'​re headed. And I'​d like to give my thoughts on that today, especially with respect to the future of cash. We think about this a lot at State Street." (Note: This article is reprinted from the July issue of Money Fund Intelligence, which was published on July 8. Contact us at info@​cranedata.​com to request the full issue or to subscribe.)

Hung comments, "If I had to sum up my thoughts as to where cash is headed, I'​d use a single word -- and that'​s bullish. Pete, I know you share that point of view. And at State Street, our belief in the attractiveness of cash dictates a lot of our actions. Between 10 and 15 percent of our assets under management at State Street [​Investment Management] are in cash at any given time. `​Right now, that amounts to about $​550 billion in total.... Frankly, I just don'​t see a change in trends that have made cash king. The past five years have seen a unique combination of global economic uncertainty, COVID and all the knock-​on impacts of that, and a global wealth phenomenon. Inflation, central bank actions, stimulus funding have all caused investors to turn to cash like never before. Over the past five years, money market funds have rose an astonishing 87 percent, and that figure keeps rising. At the end of the year, investors had a record $​6.​75 trillion parked in these funds. No one predicted this, but that’​s the point. Uncertainty takes you by surprise, and when it does, cash is the obvious choice. And it looks like uncertainty is here to stay."

She tells the MFS, "Investors, both institutional and individual, will likely continue to look to cash as a safe haven. The bottom line is that uncertainty is here to stay. And as a result, cash is going to keep being king. But that'​s not to say that cash itself isn'​t changing. To the contrary, we are on the cusp of plenty of change, and it will affect the attractiveness of cash." Hung discusses rates then says, "Yet we believe the demand for money market funds and bank deposits will be largely dependent on numerous factors and not just the absolute level of rates. There'​s also the shape of the yield curve, the general health of the economy, and the other uncertainties that I mentioned earlier. Given our expectations of a soft landing and rates likely heading back to a neutral place, we do not forecast significant redemptions from either money market funds or bank deposits in the near term."

She states, "​Talking of the Treasury market, I want to digress for a moment. I know this audience is well aware of the expanded U.​S. Treasury clearing requirements where cash and repos need to be cleared. Pete has estimated that there is over a trillion dollars in uncleared UST repos that need to transition to clearing. State Street offers one of the largest cleared repo programs in the market and continues to lead and innovate with valuable alternatives to traditional uncleared trading, including new cleared and guaranteed structures. Now, back to the bigger cash picture. The final two questions we'​re asking revolve around technology."

Hung asks, "Number one, how will the rise of stablecoins and digital cash affect the Treasury market and monetary policy? And then, will tokenization enable a broader use case for money market funds? On the stablecoin front, we see growth as very supportive of dollar assets and particularly Treasuries. Stablecoins are drawing significant foreign demand for the Treasury market, and all told, 80% of the stablecoin market is invested in either T-​bills or repos. The total amount is modest, just about $​200 billion, which accounts to less than 2% of the overall T-​bill market. But stablecoins are growing fast, and most likely, they'​ll outpace the growth of Treasury supply."

She comments, "​This new technology actually reminds me of an older story from our industry. In the late 1970'​s and 80'​s, banks were limited in the interest rates that they could pay to depositors. That opened the door to money market funds, which passed on better returns to investors. As a result, billions of dollars flowed from the banks into money market funds. Nearly 50 years later, the rise of stablecoins presents a similar opportunity for the money market fund industry. Stablecoins can'​t pay interest to their holders ..., and this opens the door for tokenized cash funds. They combine the benefits of holding cash on-​chain and allowing investors to benefit from a return that a money market fund can generate. Frankly, this combination can fill a massive market void."

Hung says, "Tokenized funds may very well be the future of cash, creating a truly 24-​by-​7 liquidity option.... Tokenized funds are a tremendous opportunity. And at State Street, we see championing tokenization as just the next chapter in our long history of democratizing investing. Tokenization is already transforming investing by leveraging distributed ledger technology for instant settlement, real-​time pricing, and programmable ownership. These features reduce costs and enhance transparency. Just as ETFs disrupted the mutual fund industry, tokenized funds have the potential to disrupt traditional wrappers, offering better liquidity, lower costs, and more automation."

She states, "And in the case of money market funds, a tokenized wrapper enables collateral mobility where it didn'​t exist in the past. We'​re investing in this space, not just as a custodian, but also as an asset manager and an infrastructure provider. Our goal is to lead the industry into a future where cash is not only king, but it is also digital, dynamic, and increasingly democratized, and provides broader access to retail investors and enables fractional ownership, reducing barriers to institutional-​grade products."

Hung then comments on ETFs, saying, "​ETFs have taken off because they generally offer investors better transparency, liquidity, efficiency, and greater tax benefits. But ETFs really haven'​t made the jump to this industry ... in large part because their product attributes don'​t necessarily translate to cash products. Cash held in mutual funds have already offered intraday liquidity, T-​plus zero access to cash, and cash and cash equivalent accounting treatment, all usually at a stable price of a dollar. But with tokenization comes greater benefits. It will allow money funds to really be available 24-​by-​7 and give unprecedented utility to investors who can use the tokenized units for better collateral management."

She adds, "Our business is very much focused on this space and will be driving product innovation and regulatory change for both our asset management business and custody clients. Ultimately, we think tokenization can positively disrupt the money fund business in the way the ETF wrapper has disrupted mutual funds. And in all likelihood, they will continue to want cash for the foreseeable future, given all the uncertainty in the economy and the world. Our job is to meet that demand while pushing the boundaries of innovation."

Hung concludes, "For the first time in my career, money market funds are on the cutting edge.... The money market fund was one of the first products to launch under the '​40 Act, and in all that time ... it hasn'​t changed all that much. But now, the somewhat dated mutual fund wrapper needs to change. And asset managers need to change how we make these funds available to all investors, especially in the retail space. Honestly, I think this is really very exciting.... Even in the times when cash has been king, it'​s been a boring king."

Finally, she says, "We should seize this opportunity as soon as possible while cash is king. Now is the time to gauge and stoke their interest in tokenized funds and other innovations. If we wait too long, cash will lose its crown and we'​ll have missed our chance. Another will come, as it always does.... If we act now, we won'​t have to wait. And we'​ll reap the rewards by giving investors more and better options. It'​s the transformation of cash, both how we offer it and who we offer it to. Our business is committed to driving that transformation. And I know that many of yours are too. Together, we'​ll shape the future of cash. And, yes, we'​ll have plenty of healthy competition along the way. I wish you all success, but not too much. May the best company named State Street win. Thank you."

​

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 $​4.​3 billion in June 2025 to a record high $​7.​473 trillion, after hitting a record $​7.​468 trillion the month prior. The SEC shows Prime MMFs increased $​9.​8 billion in June to $​1.​280 trillion, Govt & Treasury funds decreased $​0.​7 billion to $​6.​051 trillion and Tax Exempt funds decreased $​4.​7 billion to $​142.​6 billion. Taxable yields were mixed in June after previous decreases in May, April, March, 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 increasing $​4.​7 billion in June 2025 to a record of $​7.​419 trillion. In July month-​to-​date through 7/​23, total money fund assets have increased by $​42.​8 billion to $​7.​449 trillion, according to Crane Data'​s separate, and slightly smaller, MFI Daily series.)

June'​s asset increase follows an increase of $​94.​4 billion in May, a decrease of $​17.​0 billion in April, a rise of $​2.​8 billion in March, $​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, and $​21.​3 billion last June. Over the 12 months through 6/​30/​25, total MMF assets have increased by $​922.​5 billion, or 14.​1%, according to the SEC'​s series.

The SEC'​s stats show that of the $​7.​473 trillion in assets, $​1.​280 trillion was in Prime funds, up $​9.​8 billion in June. Prime assets were up $​11.​7 billion in May, $​2.​4 billion in April, $​22.​1 billion in March, $​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 last June. Prime funds represented 17.​1% of total assets at the end of June. They'​ve increased by $​80.​0 billion, or 6.​7%, 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 $​6.​050 trillion, or 81.​0% of assets. They decreased $​0.​7 billion in June, increased $​82.​3 billion in May, decreased $​24.​7 billion in April, $​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 billion in July, and $​229.​2 billion last June. Govt & Treasury MMFs are up $​832.​4 billion over 12 months, or 16.​0%. Tax Exempt Funds decreased $​4.​7 billion to $​142.​6 billion, or 1.​9% of all assets. The number of money funds was 277 in June, up 1 from the previous month and down 12 funds from a year earlier.

Yields for Taxable MMFs were mixed in June, while Tax Exempt MMFs yields were higher. The Weighted Average Gross 7-​Day Yield for Prime Institutional Funds on June 30 was 4.​46%, unchanged from the prior month. The Weighted Average Gross 7-​Day Yield for Prime Retail MMFs was 4.​49%, up 2 bps from the previous month. Gross yields were 4.​38% for Government Funds, up 2 bps from last month. Gross yields for Treasury Funds were down 1 bp at 4.​33%. Gross Yields for Tax Exempt Institutional MMFs were up 22 basis points to 2.​60% in June. Gross Yields for Tax Exempt Retail funds were up 4 bps to 2.​55%.

The Weighted Average 7-​Day Net Yield for Prime Institutional MMFs was 4.​36%, unchanged from the previous month and down 100 bps from 6/​30/​24. The Average Net Yield for Prime Retail Funds was 4.​22%, up 2 bps from the previous month and down 99 bps since 6/​30/​24. Net yields were 4.​17% for Government Funds, up 2 bps from last month. Net yields for Treasury Funds were down 1 bp from the previous month at 4.​12%. Net Yields for Tax Exempt Institutional MMFs were up 19 bps from May to 2.​47%. Net Yields for Tax Exempt Retail funds were up 4 bps at 2.​32% in June. (​Note: These averages are asset-​weighted.)

WALs and WAMs were mostly lower in June. The average Weighted Average Life, or WAL, was 49.​0 days (​down 4.​9 days) for Prime Institutional funds, and 43.​5 days for Prime Retail funds (​down 3.​2 days). Government fund WALs averaged 88.​6 days (​down 2.​5 days) while Treasury fund WALs averaged 96.​9 days (​down 0.​7 days). Tax Exempt Institutional fund WALs were 4.​6 days (​down 0.​4 days), and Tax Exempt Retail MMF WALs averaged 32.​5 days (​up 4.​3 days).

The Weighted Average Maturity, or WAM, was 25.​5 days (​down 3.​2 days from the previous month) for Prime Institutional funds, 22.​7 days (​down 2.​5 days from the previous month) for Prime Retail funds, 36.​4 days (​down 2.​4 days from previous month) for Government funds, and 44.​1 days (​down 0.​5 days from previous month) for Treasury funds. Tax Exempt Inst WAMs were down 0.​4 days at 4.​6 days, while Tax Exempt Retail WAMs were up 4.​5 days from previous month at 31.​8 days.

Total Daily Liquid Assets for Prime Institutional funds were 54.​8% in June (​up 1.​8% from the previous month), and DLA for Prime Retail funds was 47.​8% (​up 2.​7% from previous month) as a percent of total assets. The average DLA was 62.​9% for Govt MMFs and 94.​2% for Treasury MMFs. Total Weekly Liquid Assets was 66.​4% (​up 1.​2% from the previous month) for Prime Institutional MMFs, and 61.​6% (​up 0.​2% from the previous month) for Prime Retail funds. Average WLA was 77.​1% for Govt MMFs and 99.​2% for Treasury MMFs.

Note that the SEC made a number of changes to their monthly release several months ago, so we'​re no longer publishing a number of 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."

​

A press release titled, "BNY and Goldman Sachs Launch Tokenized Money Market Funds Solution" explains, "The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation ('​BNY') (​BK), a global financial services company, and the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (​GS) today announced a collaborative initiative by which BNY will employ blockchain technology developed by Goldman Sachs to maintain a record of customers' ownership of select Money Market Funds (​MMFs), in a significant step towards enhancing the utility and transferability of existing MMF shares. This combined solution marks the first time in the U.​S. that fund managers have enabled subscription for shares of their MMFs via BNY'​s LiquidityDirect and Digital Asset platforms, the corresponding value of which will be represented through mirrored record tokenization utilizing GS DAP. BlackRock, BNY Investments Dreyfus, Federated Hermes, Fidelity Investments, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management will participate in the initial launch." (​See the info sheet on LiquidityDirect here.)

It continues, "Investors can subscribe and redeem MMF shares through BNY'​s market-​leading LiquidityDirect platform, which offers connectivity to GS DAP via integration with BNY'​s Digital Assets platform. Mirror tokens of the MMF shares are created utilizing GS DAP, an award-​winning technology platform developed by Goldman Sachs Digital Assets, which leverages solutions developed by Digital Asset."

Laide Majiyagbe, Global Head of Liquidity, Financing and Collateral at BNY, comments, "​As the financial system transitions toward a more digital, real-​time architecture, BNY is committed to enabling scalable and secure solutions that shape the future of finance. Mirrored tokenization of MMF shares is a first step in this transition, and we are proud to be at the forefront of this first-​of-​its-​kind initiative. Our collaboration with Goldman Sachs Digital Assets highlights our role as a trusted bridge between traditional finance and emerging technologies -- empowering clients to navigate this transformation with confidence."

The release says, "BNY will continue to maintain the official books, records, and settlements for the funds within currently approved guidelines while also enabling mirror tokens on GS DAP with the aim of creating future opportunities globally."

Goldman Sachs' Global Head of Digital Assets Mathew McDermott adds, "Using tokens representing the value of shares of Money Market Funds on GS DAP would enable us to unlock their utility as a form of collateral and open up more seamless transferability in the future. We are excited about this strategic collaboration with BNY in our journey towards the longer-​term vision for GS DAP and as we continue to lead and innovate in the digital assets space."

The Wall Street Journal writes on the news in its article, "Goldman and BNY Team Up to Tokenize Money-​Market Funds." They state, "Goldman Sachs and Bank of New York Mellon are bringing the technology that underpins crypto to an investing stalwart: the humble money-​market fund. The two banking giants said Wednesday they are partnering to launch digital tokens that confer ownership of money-​market funds managed by many of the biggest investment firms, including BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and Federated Hermes, as well as their own asset-​management arms."

The piece tells us, "BNY, the world'​s largest provider of administrative services to money managers, will offer the tokenized funds to its investment-​firm and corporate clients over its LiquidityDirect cash-​management platform. Goldman will in turn record and track the ownership of the tokens on its private blockchain, with BNY keeping the funds' books."

They quote, Peter Crane, president of Crane Data, "It'​s a big deal because they are all major players. This is a substantial slice of the whole money-​fund marketplace. There'​s no turning back from tokenization from here."

The Journal says, "The Genius Act, the landmark measure that creates a regulatory framework for tokenized dollars known as stablecoins and signed into law by President Trump last week, is unleashing a wave of efforts to tokenize everything from individual stocks to funds and real assets."

They explain, "Money-​market funds, an investing staple popular with both institutions and individual investors, hold baskets of relatively safe short-​term debt securities and typically offer a higher yield than bank deposits. Tokenization can help the managers of these funds cut costs and reduce the time it takes to settle transactions. And proponents say the tokens may make it easier for investors to pledge their fund holdings as collateral, or buy fractional shares of the fund. Skeptics argue that it could bring crypto'​s volatility and cybersecurity risks to the traditional financial world."

The Journal states, "The total assets in U.​S. money-​market funds stood at approximately $​7.​1 trillion as of mid-​July, compared with about $​6.​9 trillion at the start of the year, according to the Investment Company Institute. Tokenized money funds have been a hit with crypto traders, who have been in search of higher-​yielding places to store their cash. Stablecoins don'​t pass on interest income to its holders."

Finally, they write, "JPMorgan was the first global bank to build a blockchain-​based platform that can tokenize and transact assets. Goldman launched a tokenization platform in late 2022 to help clients issue bonds. And some money managers, including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, have launched tokenized money funds on public blockchains."

For more on Tokenized Money Market Funds, see these recent Crane Data News stories: "Circle on Tokenized Money Fund (​​USYC); BNP Paribas on Tokenized MMFs" (​7/​23/​25), "BNY, State Street Talk Stablecoins, Tokenized MMFs on Q2 Calls; Schwab" (​7/​21/​25), "Bank of France on Tokenized Money Market Funds, Financial Stability" (​7/​3/​25), "Stradley Podcast Talks Tokenization and Stablecoins for Fund Managers" (​6/​26/​25) and "Circle Says Firms Will Move from Stablecoins to Tokenized Money Funds" (​6/​12/​25). See too: CNBC'​s "Goldman Sachs and BNY join forces to transform $​7.​1 trillion money market industry with digital tokens."

​

A blog posting from Circle Internet, titled, "Real-​Time Collateral with Tokenized Money Market Funds Has Arrived," tells us, "​Financial markets have evolved. The infrastructure supporting them -- built for an age of limited banking hours and multi-​day settlement -- has struggled to keep pace. This is especially evident in the world of collateral and liquidity management, where demand for 24/​7/​365 markets runs headfirst into the limitations of legacy financial infrastructure. That'​s a problem. Delayed settlements, overnight liquidity buffers, credit risk, manual processing, and opaque-​risk exposures pose challenges to capital efficiency and resiliency -- especially during periods of volatility. As the issuer of USYC, a tokenized money market fund with onchain settlement, and USDC, the world'​s largest regulated stablecoin, we see these challenges firsthand. Thankfully, we also see a path forward." (Note: We'​ll be featuring a session on "Tokenized Money Funds & Tech Issues" at our European Money Fund Symposium, which will be held Sept. 22-​23, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland.)

It explains, "In traditional capital markets, collateral flows and margin processes are slowed by operational bottlenecks. They'​re also restricted to banking hours. That can cause delays, which in turn can lead to: Needing excess capital buffers to cover overnight and weekend risk An inefficient deployment of capital, reducing trading velocity; An inability to respond to volatility outside of market hours; and, Slow and unreliable margin movement. As markets shift toward continuous operation, these inefficiencies become more pronounced. USYC -- a tokenized money market fund that enables nearly instant, around-​the-​clock redemptions into USDC -- offers a solution."

Circle says, "Tokenized money market funds like USYC offer a breakthrough in collateral management. By leveraging blockchain infrastructure, these assets can be: Transferred nearly instantly, 24/​7/​365; Called and liquidated with higher frequency; Integrated directly into smart contracts, automating margin and risk workflows; and, Verified and settled onchain, reducing reconciliation overhead; and, Continuously generating yield. This model is ahead of traditional financial systems in terms of agility and capital efficiency, and USYC delivers this vision in a regulated package."

They state, "And when USYC is paired with USDC, it seamlessly combines the yield of a tokenized money market fund with the liquidity of a stablecoin -- all within Circle'​s infrastructure. It'​s a powerful combination of flexibility and efficiency. With this one-​two punch, USYC resolves a long-​standing dilemma: liquidity has typically come at the expense of yield, requiring firms to hold large, non-​productive cash buffers. However, tokenized money market funds like USYC help firms keep capital productive up until the moment it'​s needed -- redeeming, transferring, or rehypothecating assets in real time. Blockchain technology, which underpins USYC, is unique in its ability to bring these at-​scale efficiencies to capital markets. USYC raises the bar even further, making near-​instant redemptions for yield-​bearing collateral the new table stakes for the financial industry."

Finally, they write, "The convergence of tokenized money market funds and stablecoins unlocks tangible benefits for institutions. It powers reduced collateral drag, faster risk response, and improved liquidity access. With tokenized money market funds and stablecoins: Capital can earn yield until the moment it'​s needed; On-​chain settlement all but eliminates clearing risk; Smart contracts enable conditional logic for margin calls, liquidation triggers, and collateral top-​ups; Margin calls can be met nearly instantly, even outside of business hours; and, Firms can mobilize assets across geographies and platforms without friction. Taken together, these onchain pillars can help to drive a more efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial system -- one that meets the demands of a global economy that never sleeps."

A footnote says, "​USYC is a digital asset token. Each USYC token serves as a digital representation of a share of the Hashnote International Short Duration Fund Ltd., a Cayman Islands registered mutual fund. The Fund has appointed Circle International Bermuda Limited ('​CIBL'), a Bermuda Monetary Authority licensed digital asset business, as its token administrator, responsible for the management of USYC on behalf of the Fund. Shares of the Fund and USYC are only available to non-​U.​S. Persons."

In related news, BNP Paribas posted an article titled, "Tokenisation of Money Market Funds (​MMFs) – a new landmark for digital securities?" It tells us, "In this interview with Asset Servicing Times, Stefan Brinaru, Head of Digital Assets at BNP Paribas Asset Management, and Carole Michel, Senior Global Product Manager – Fund Distribution, Securities Services, at BNP Paribas, take a look at tokenised money market fund shares." Brinaru explains, "Tokenisation is simply the latest stage in the digitisation of securities. The tokens are held and traded through a digital ledger or blockchain -- with all the security and efficiency that that implies. In theory, any securities can be tokenised. In practice, in the financial industry, most of the focus to date has been on the tokenisation of private assets and money market funds (​MMFs). However, the cash leg currently remains off-​chain. And for tokenised securities, including tokenised MMFs, to thrive in the long term, there needs to be cash directly on the digital ledgers."

Michel comments, "From a general point of view, beyond our MMF tokenisation initiative, for the investor, the main advantage of tokenisation is the potential for lower transaction costs. We notably see that benefit in France, where direct investors are recorded in the fund'​s register, meaning they can deal directly with the digital ledger technology (​DLT) Transfer Agent without appointing or going through other intermediaries -- who may usually feature in the traditional value chain.... Tokenised funds also recognise the needs and expectations of the new generation of investors who use their wallets to trade markets on a 24/​7 basis."

She continues, "There are also clear advantages for the manager of the MMF. The tokenised shares represent a new distribution channel that can reach both individuals and institutions. Notably, the fact that all transactions through the digital ledger could be settled instantly in the future, reducing the settlement cycle -- on an atomic cash versus delivery basis to reduce the counterparty risk. The information about flows into or out of the MMF would also be available instantly, and around the clock, as transactions occur."

Brinaru also tells us, "The tokenisation of MMF shares is the latest step in a journey that began some years ago. BNP has been looking at opportunities from blockchain since 2018-​2019. In 2022, BNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Banking (​CIB) issued a tokenised bond through AssetFoundry, one of its tokenisation platforms. Specifically on tokenised funds, BNP Paribas Asset Management and the BNP Paribas’ Securities Services business have been working together on them for the last year."

Michel then states, "To date, they are really a phenomenon in Europe, or rather parts of Europe. This is thanks to innovative regulations. Among much else, in France, the regulatory framework -- notably an ordinance of 2017 and a decree of 2018 -- allows for the registration of financial securities in a distributed ledger and specifies the characteristics of the distributed ledger technology used for their registration."

She adds, "Luxembourg is another country where the regulations have been updated to take account of digital securities. As you noted, our new tokenised MMF shares involve parties in both countries. In other parts of the world, we are monitoring changes in regulations to cater for digital securities and digital assets, especially in Asia Pacific."

Finally, Brinaru adds, "​We are still very much on a learning curve. The benefits and risks of tokenised funds will become clearer over the next year or so. Nevertheless, the launch of our tokenised MMF is a major landmark. Currently, the tokenised MMF'​s share was only available for one investor, a French BNP Paribas Asset Management fund. In the coming future, we may move from experimentation and proofs of concept to a real product for investors and asset managers. We expect that there will be a lot more progress with tokenised MMFs in the coming months." (​See also Crane Data'​s May 27 Link of the Day, "BNP Paribas AM Debuts Tokenised MMF.")

​

EFAMA, the European Fund and Asset Management Association, recently published its annual "Fact Book," which includes a wealth of statistics on European-​domiciled funds and a section on European money market funds. The press release titled, "EFAMA'​s 2025 Fact Book shows consistently declining fund costs and a steady shift towards larger funds," tells us, "EFAMA ... published its 2025 industry Fact Book. This year'​s edition includes an in-​depth analysis of trends in the European investment fund industry (​for 2024 and over the longer term) and an extensive overview of regulatory developments across 29 European countries. It also contains a series of info-​boxes addressing some important regulatory topics EFAMA is actively working on, including retail investment, sustainability reporting, securitisation, financial data access, DEBRA, AI and tokenisation." See the full EFAMA 2025 Fact Book here. (Note: Please join us for our European Money Fund Symposium, which is Sept. 22-​23, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. Registrations are still being accepted and our discounted hotel rate expires July 28.)

EFAMA Director General Tanguy van de Werve comments, "Each year, the EFAMA research team expands its analysis of the European investment fund industry in the Fact Book. Amid the wealth of data and insights it offers, some emerging trends that might otherwise fly under the radar deserve attention. These include the strong growth of closed-​ended AIFs in recent years, the waning popularity of sector-​specific equity funds and inflation-​linked bond UCITS, and the steady increase in cross-​border fund ownership among European households, to name just a few."

The section on "Money Market Fund UCITS," explains, "Net assets of money market funds (​MMFs) ended the year above EUR 2 tn. In 2024, net sales rose to an absolute record (​EUR 226 bn), beating the previous record of pandemic year 2020 (​EUR 215 bn). The surge was largely driven by an inverted yield curve, which persisted for much of 2024. An inverted yield curve indicates that short-​term interest rates are generally higher than long-​term rates, resulting in a higher yield for funds that invest primarily in short-​term products -- such as MMFs -- hence their appeal to investors in 2024. Additionally, these strong inflows suggest that some investors opted for MMFs as a cash alternative, maintaining a wait-​and-​see approach to weather geopolitical uncertainties."

It continues, "Net asset growth of MMFs amounted to 19% in 2024.... Fluctuations in short-​term interest rates have a significant impact on demand for MMFs. MMFs mainly invest in very short-​term debt, often with a maturity of less than one year. When short-​term interest rates rise, MMF yields typically follow, making them more attractive to investors.... Demand for MMFs is also shaped by other factors, particularly their role as a '​safe haven' during periods of market uncertainty. This was clearly demonstrated in 2020, when despite short-​term rates remaining largely unchanged, uncertainty surrounding the COVID-​19 pandemic drove high net inflows into MMFs."

EFAMA writes, "The average annual costs of MMFs decreased from 0.​14% in 2020 to 0.​10% in 2021, before rising to 0.​17% in 2024. These rising costs in recent years may be attributable to exchange rate fluctuations. Despite the increases, ongoing charges remain very low in comparison to most long-​term funds.... The average annual net performance of MMF UCITS was exceptionally high in 2024, reaching 7.​8%, the highest in the past five years. Moreover, they performed well in 2022, with MMF returns remaining positive at 1.​6% while all long-​term UCITS experienced negative returns."

Their Fact Book continues, "The MMF market is highly concentrated in three key domiciles. Ireland holds the largest share of UCITS MMF net assets at 43%, followed by Luxembourg at 29% and France at 21%. Together, these three countries accounted for 93% of the European total at end 2024."

It says, "The EU MMFR ('​Money Market Fund Regulation') was adopted in 2016 and came into full effect in January 2019. The MMFR distinguishes between three main categories of MMFs: Public Debt Constant Asset Value (​PDCNAV) MMFs; Low Volatility Net Asset Value (​LVNAV) MMFs; and, Variable Net Asset Value (​VNAV) MMFs. These categories aside, the MMFR also distinguishes between Short-​term and Standard MMFs. Short-​term MMFs must adhere to tighter investment rules than Standard MMFs. All three types can be categorised as Short-​term MMFs; Public Debt CNAV, LVNAV and Short term VNAV. Standard MMFs must be variably priced. Thus only VNAV can be Standard MMFs."

EFAMA explains, "PDCNAV and LVNAV MMFs use amortised cost accounting -- provided certain conditions are met -- to value all their assets and to maintain a net asset value (​NAV) or value of a share of the fund, at EUR1/​GBP1/​USD1. Public Debt CNAV MMFs must invest a minimum of 99.​5% of their assets in public debt. Units/​shares in an LVNAV MMF can be purchased or redeemed at a constant price, as long as the value of the assets in the fund does not deviate by more than 0.​2% from par. Public Debt CNAV and LVNAV can only be short-​term MMFs. VNAV MMFs refer to funds that use mark-​to-​market accounting to value some of their assets. The NAV of these funds will vary with the changing value of the assets and - in the case of an accumulating fund -- by the level of income received. VNAV can be either short-​term or standard MMFs."

Discussing "Asset allocation -- Currency Breakdown," they write, "MMFs net assets can be broken down by base currency. Collectively, three primary base currencies accounted for 99.​5% of UCITS net assets at end 2024. The EUR held the predominant position with 43.​8% of net assets, followed by USD at 37.​4% and GBP at 18.​3%. The proportion of EUR MMFs declined from above 45% in 2014 to 40.​5% in 2022, as the demand for USD and GBP MMFs increased over the same period. This was influenced by generally higher interest rates in those currencies. In 2023, the market share of GBP MMF declined from 23.​6% to 19.​4%, while the shares of EUR MMFs and USD MMFs increased. This trend continued in 2024."

EFAMA says, "In 2024, investors demonstrated a strong preference for short-​term USD and EUR MMFs, each attracting EUR 72 bn in net inflows. Short-​term GBP MMFs saw more modest inflows (​EUR 25 bn). As in previous years, short-​term MMFs represented the majority of total MMF sales.... `​Net sales of Standard MMFs were relatively flat over the year, with the exception of standard EUR MMFs, which attracted EUR 37 bn in net new money. These standard EUR VNAV MMFs are predominantly used in France, where they serve as a key cash management tool for many French corporations."

On "Asset Allocation," the piece tells us, "At end 2024, an overview of MMFs holdings by geographical region shows that 38% of the short-​term paper held by UCITS MMFs was issued in Europe. The US accounted for 32%, with Asia-​Pacific region 17%. Another 13% was issued in other countries, predominantly Canada in this case.... US issuers of short-​term paper accounted for the largest share of MMF assets at 32%, followed by short-​term securities issued in France (​20%) and Australia (​14%). Canada (​12%) and the UK (​5%) complete the top five."

Finally, EFAMA comments, "European MMFs have experienced significant shifts in the maturity composition of their asset holdings over the past decade. Given that most MMF fixed-​income investments usually have a maturity of less than one year, the maturity breakdown can change entirely from one year to the next. By end 2024, just over 40% of MMF fixed-​income assets had maturities of between three and six months, while a slightly smaller proportion fell within the six-​to twelve-​month range. Over the past decade, the share of bonds with maturities exceeding one year has generally declined, although it did increase again during 2023. Conversely, although generally quite small, the proportion of fixed-​income holdings maturing in under three months has grown recently, rising from 4.​1% in 2023 to 8% in 2024."

​

BNY and State Street released earnings earlier this week, and both custodial banks discussed money markets, stablecoins and tokenized money markets. BNY says in their Q2 2025 Earnings about "Digital Assets and Stablecoin Developments," "The company was selected as reserve custodian for Societe Generale'​s first USD stablecoin in Europe in June 2025, and as primary custodian for Ripple'​s US stablecoin reserves (​as announced in July 2025).... Today, BNY is a leader in servicing the growing stablecoin market, enabling companies to create and use stablecoins by providing wide-​ranging services from issuance to ongoing operations. Our advancements in the digital assets ecosystem are just one example of continual innovation, but there are many others."

President & CEO Robin Vince comments during the earnings call Q&​A, "Look, net, we see these advancements providing more opportunities than risks, but ... there are things on both sides of the ledger. If you just go back and just think about industries and big changes in technology that happen over time, they create disruption. And what disruption does is it allows for a little bit of a reorganization sometimes of the ecosystem. And it'​s our observation that companies that have a lot of forward-​thinking innovation that push forward take advantage of that as opposed to sticking their heads in the sand, tend to be winners."

He says, "Now we have many specific valuable attributes that help us make us a great partner to these digital assets firms. And that'​s one of the reasons why we'​ve been so engaged in the space for several years because initially, it had been about providing our traditional banking services to those digital asset companies. We serve many of them with our traditional banking services. Then it'​s been about helping with the on ramps, off ramps between that traditional banking world and the on-​chain world, and in the future, we think it'​s also going to be about more activity on-​chain. We are live with Bitcoin custody today."

Vince continues, "​We do it natively, and we can help clients.... We'​re in the business of looking after stuff as one of our businesses, and we'​re happy to do that. But we'​re also in the payments business. Again, there'​s synergy between our platforms. We'​re also in the issuer services corporate trustee business. They'​re synergy. We'​re in the NAV business. That'​s relevant. Synergy. Distribution business, relevant. Money market fund business, relevant. And so when you take all of these things together, we'​re a terrific partner for some of these clients because we can do a lot of different things with a trusted brand that actually helps them to feel to feel good."

He adds, "So, look, [​with] stablecoins particularly, it'​s obviously one of the topics of the day, and we'​re very active in that space. And that'​s the reason why we mentioned a couple of those recent examples, but there are many more in our prepared remarks."

Last week, a press release titled, "Ripple Selects BNY to Custody Ripple USD Reserves," explains, "Ripple, the leading provider of digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, announced it has selected The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation ('​BNY') (​BK), a global financial services company, for the primary custody of Ripple USD (​RLUSD) reserves. Ripple and BNY are jointly committed to paving the way for digital asset adoption at institutional scale and together are bridging the gap between the traditional finance and crypto ecosystems."

It states, "Ripple USD is a trusted, enterprise-​grade stablecoin, designed with regulatory compliance, utility, and transparency at its core.... Unlike stablecoins geared primarily toward retail users, RLUSD has been purpose-​built for enterprise utility, particularly in improving the speed, cost and efficiency of cross-​border payments. BNY will serve as the primary reserve custodian of RLUSD, leveraging its deep technology stack and expertise enabling the digital assets ecosystem.... This builds upon BNY’​s proven track record of providing end-​to-​end services across stablecoin infrastructure and furthers BNY’​s efforts for future interoperability between stablecoins and traditional assets."

In other earnings news, State Street CEO Ron O'​Hanley comments on the company'​s Q2 2025 Earnings Call, "​So we think about it in 2 ways. One, as a bank ourselves, but maybe more importantly, as an important servicer to other asset managers, we do see tokenization has been slower than I think anybody anticipated if you go back 3, 4 years. But I think with the current administration and the regulatory frameworks really in most parts of the world starting to emerge, we think that the pace on that will continue to accelerate."

He explains, "​The opportunities for tokenization are really broad. I mean -- it'​s not just the tokenization deposits, [​but] tokenization of money market funds enables uses of ... these kinds of assets in a different way than originally anticipated. It could be, in some cases, used for collateral better than it could be in other cases, for example."

He adds, "So we think this will -- as regulatory frameworks are developed -- accelerate. I think the questions that the regulators, particularly the bank regulators, need to deal with [​in] all of these things is -- how do they think about core deposits? And how do they think about banks as the transmitters of monetary policy. And to the extent to which any of this causes more deposits to leave the banking system, I mean, remember, money market funds seemed like a passing fad 4 years ago, and now $​6 trillion is out of the banking system."

Finally, Charles Schwab also released Q@'​25 earnings and hosted its 2025 Summer Business Update on Friday. CFO Mike Verdeschi tells us, "​We delivered record financial results during the second quarter.... Transactional cash levels continue to reflect normal cash behaviors, inclusive of organic growth, typical 2Q tax seasonality and client engagement, albeit with an investor sentiment remaining somewhat cautious. At the same time, we made further progress in reducing higher cost funding at the banks, bringing the level down to approximately $​28 billion."

He says, "​Bank deposit account fees moved higher due to an improved net yield as a growing percentage of the balances continue to convert to the floating rate bucket.... And as anticipated, we saw seasonal tax-​related outflows in client transactional sweep cash during April and after another slight reduction in May, transactional sweep cash built during the month of June bringing the quarter-​over-​quarter increase to approximately $​4.​3 billion. With a continuation of normal client cash trends, we were able to utilize a combination of cash flows coming off of the securities portfolio as well as excess cash on hand to further reduce high-​cost funding at the banks."

Finally, Verdeschi adds, "Looking ahead, we believe trends will continue to reflect normal client activity, and we plan to keep a close eye in a range of macro factors as shift in market sentiment tend to influence client cash allocations. As I'​ve noted previously, we are focused on maintaining flexibility in managing the balance sheet in a manner that keeps us well positioned to negate a wide range of potential environments."

​

Earlier this week, we learned of the pending launch of yet another (​the 6th) Money Market Fund ETF, the second launch from a virtually unknown company. A press release titled, "Introducing the Simplify Government Money Market ETF (​SBIL)," tells us, "Simplify Asset Management ('​Simplify') ... announced a further expansion of its lineup of income-​focused ETFs with the launch of the Simplify Government Money Market ETF (​SBIL). SBIL seeks current income consistent with liquidity and stability of principal by investing at least 99.​5% of its assets in cash, U.​S. Government securities, and repurchase agreements fully collateralized by such obligations or cash. The fund maintains a portfolio dollar-​weighted average maturity of 60 days or less and a dollar-​weighted average life of 120 days or less. The fund is a true money market fund, in an ETF wrapper, and can be considered a '​cash' position of particular use for those investors seeking the stability of a money market fund." (​See our July 10 Link of the Day, "JPMorgan Files for Money Market ETF," on the pending launch of the 5th Money Market ETF.)

David Berns, CIO and Co-​Founder of Simplify, comments, "We'​re excited to expand our product lineup with a cash-​equivalent solution that aligns with the marketplace'​s ongoing demand for income and stability of principal. We'​re also excited about how we have constructed SBIL as a Rule 2a-​7 compliant holding, making this ETF potentially appealing for institutional investors as well, who may find utility in holding a low-​cost government money market fund in the convenient ETF format."

The release explains, "As alluded to above, SBIL operates as a government money market fund pursuant to Rule 2a-​7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Although SBIL is a money market fund, it will have a floating net asset value and share price. For more information on the Simplify Government Money Market ETF (​SBIL), visit https://​www.​simplify.​us/."

As we wrote last week, the registration statement for the pending JPMorgan 100% U.​S. Treasury Securities Money Market ETF asks, "What are the Fund'​s main investment strategies?" It tells us, "Under normal conditions, the Fund invests its assets exclusively in obligations of the U.​S. Treasury, including Treasury bills, bonds, and notes. These investments carry different interest rates, maturities and issue dates. The interest on these securities is generally exempt from state and local income taxes. Ordinarily, the Fund does not buy securities issued or guaranteed by agencies of the U.​S. Government."

JPM explains, "The Fund is a money market fund managed in the following manner: The dollar-​weighted average maturity of the Fund will be 60 days or less and the dollar-​weighted average life to maturity will be 120 days or less. The Fund will only buy securities that have remaining maturities of 397 days or less or securities otherwise permitted to be purchased because of maturity shortening provisions under applicable regulation. The Fund seeks to invest in securities that present minimal credit risk. The Fund will generally hold a portion of its assets in cash, primarily to meet redemptions."

It states, "Although the Fund will seek to qualify as a '​government money market fund' (​described below), it will not seek to maintain a stable net asset value (​NAV) per Share using the amortized cost method of valuation. Instead, the Fund will calculate its NAV per Share based on the market value of its investments. In addition, unlike a traditional money market fund, the Fund operates as an exchange-​traded fund (​ETF). As an ETF, Shares of the Fund will be traded on the Exchange (​as defined below) and will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of, and demand for, Shares on the Exchange. You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Because the Share price and NAV of the Fund will fluctuate, when Shares are sold on the Exchange (​or redeemed, in the case of an authorized participant), they may be worth more or less than what was originally paid for them."

JPM'​s filing says, "The Fund intends to qualify as a '​government money market fund,' as such term is defined in or interpreted under Rule 2a-​7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ('​Investment Company Act'). '​Government money market funds' are required to invest at least 99.​5% of their assets in (​i) cash, (​ii) securities issued or guaranteed by the United States or certain U.​S. Government agencies or instrumentalities and/​or (​iii) repurchase agreements that are collateralized fully and are exempt from requirements that permit money market funds to impose a liquidity fee. While the J.​P. Morgan Funds' Board of Trustees may elect to subject the Fund to liquidity fee requirements in the future, the Board has not elected to do so at this time."

It continues, "A government money market fund may also include investments in other government money market funds as an eligible investment for purposes of the 99.​5% requirement above. The Fund'​s adviser seeks to develop an appropriate portfolio by considering the differences in yields among securities of different maturities and issue dates."

JPM'​s filing adds, "You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Because the share price and NAV of the Fund will fluctuate, when shares are sold (​or redeemed, in the case of an Authorized Participant), they may be worth more or less than what was originally paid for them. An investment in the Fund is not a bank account and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Fund'​s sponsor is not required to reimburse the Fund for losses, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Fund at any time, including during periods of market stress."

Discussing "Transactions Risk," they comment, "The Fund could experience a loss and its liquidity may be negatively impacted when selling securities to meet redemption requests. The risk of loss increases if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent or occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices. Similarly, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the Fund'​s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would."

Under "ETF Shares Trading Risk," JPM says, "Shares are listed for trading on [​blank but we assume it will be the NYSE] and are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of Shares are expected to fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the Fund'​s NAV, the intraday value of the Fund'​s holdings and supply and demand for Shares. The adviser cannot predict whether Shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of significant market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for the Shares (​including through a trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in the Shares trading significantly above (​at a premium) or below (​at a discount) to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund'​s holdings. During such periods, you may incur significant losses if you sell your Shares."

Finally, under "Authorized Participant Concentration Risk," they state, "Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as authorized participants and none of these authorized participants is or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as authorized participants on an agency basis (​i.​e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these intermediaries exit the business or are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/​or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant creates or redeems, Shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/​or delisting. Authorized participant concentration risk may be heightened for ETFs that invest in securities issued by non-​U.​S. issuers."

For more on Money Market ETFs, see these Crane Data News articles, "Schwab Files for Govt Money Mkt ETF" (​3/​17/​25), "BlackRock Money Market ETFs Go Live; Ondo Finance on Tokenized MMFs" (​2/​6/​25), "VettaFi Discusses Money Market ETFs" (​12/​11/​24), "Dec. MFI: Assets Break $​7.​0 Tril; Top 10 of 2024; BlackRock MM ETFs" (​12/​6/​24), "BlackRock Debuts First Euro MM ETF" (​12/​5/​24), "FT on BlackRock Money Market ETFs" (​11/​18/​24), "November BFI: Bond Funds Hit by Election; ETF Trends MM Substitutes" (​11/​15/​24), "BlackRock Files for Money Market ETFs" (​11/​12/​24) and "Texas Capital Launches Govt MM ETF" (​9/​26/​24). (​See our latest Money Fund Intelligence XLS at the bottom for listings and performance of MM ETFs.)

​

BlackRock released its Q2'​25 earnings and hosted its earnings call Monday, and made several comments on cash, fixed-​income and its relationship with stablecoin provider Circle. Chairman & CEO Larry Fink says, "​From category innovation and iShares to new ventures across the world, the investments we made across our platform are paying off. Many of the categories that are leading our growth barely existed 2 years ago, categories like active ETFs, digital assets and our scaled private markets franchise. Just as importantly, BlackRock'​s core businesses like ETFs, Aladdin and cash management continue to be a growth engine for the firm and are cornerstones of many client relationships."

He comments, "A lot of firms got out of the cash business after the financial crisis when fee waivers were in place during a sustained period of low rates. But we recognize a simple thing. Every client needs to hold cash. Cash management has been the first entry point for many of our clients, who have gone on to build large mandates with BlackRock. Our cash AUM is nearly $​1 trillion, and I think it'​s remarkable considering we'​re not a direct retail business or a DTC bank."

Fink explains, "At BlackRock, we think of cash as another avenue for innovation. We see a great untapped opportunity for cash and liquidity, where people want to use the technologies of digital assets to access traditional instruments, like Treasuries. Our tokenized liquidity fund [​BUIDL] now has $​3 billion in AUM, and what started as a small corporate investment and asset management relationship with Circle in 2022 has grown meaningfully. We delivered a significant gain to shareholders this quarter in connection with the IPO and subsequent trading activity, and we now manage more than $​50 billion for Circle stablecoin cash reserves."

He adds, "We'​re entering our seasonally strongest back half of the year with considerable momentum and a robust pipeline." During the Q&​A, Patrick Davitt from Autonomous Research says, "​You touched on this briefly, but stablecoin is obviously top of mind for many investors on the back of Circle'​s IPO, and you'​re managing that money has been a strong boost to those flows for you. So through that lens, could you speak to how you see what looks like a fairly significant emerging opportunity for asset managers to manage these reserves? Is there a pipeline of other potential mandates, like the Circle one?"

Fink responds, "Yes, in my world tour, working with central banks and regulators, conversation about stablecoin is vibrant right now. And so what we are going to see is more competitive type of stablecoins. They may have some role in diversifying away from dollar as we digitize more and more currency. But the opportunity for BlackRock in our world in both stablecoin or all the entire role of tokenization of financial assets, tokenization of real assets like real estate is going to be the future. And we believe more than ever before that we are as well positioned as any organization in the world to be part of the conversations as stable coins are going to be growing and developing."

He tells the earnings call, "Related to buying money market funds or buying -- having a role, playing a role as a manager, those conversations are broad. But if you'​re going to show that a stablecoin truly is a substitute for a currency, it must be invested in those currencies' bonds. So I would hope that that will remain as a consistent feature of each and every stablecoin. And I believe that is going to be one of the big issues. There are questions remaining with some other stablecoins as to what is the collateral backing some of that. And if we'​re going to put our name associated with it, we believe each and every stable coin should be invested in short-​term government bonds that backs that stablecoin."

Fink adds, "We want to make sure it'​s legitimatized, but it'​s also safe and it'​s a great digital substitution for each and every country'​s cash as a cash substitute. And I think that is going to be moving very rapidly. But it is surprising, even to me, the dialogues that we'​re having with central banks and how they are looking to now use their own digitized currency or using stablecoins to digitize their currency. So we believe this is just the beginning, and we will be playing a significant role as stablecoins are developed in each and every country. They believe it will fit the needs of their own monetary policy, and there are policies related to their capital markets."

In other news, ICI released its latest monthly "Money Market Fund Holdings" summary recently, which reviews the aggregate daily and weekly liquid assets, regional exposure, and maturities (​WAM and WAL) for Prime and Government money market funds. It tells us, "The Investment Company Institute (​ICI) reports that, as of the final Friday in June, prime money market funds held 45.​8 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid assets and 61.​2 percent in weekly liquid assets, while government money market funds held 75.​2 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid assets and 86.​5 percent in weekly liquid assets." Prime DLA was up from 43.​7% in May, and Prime WLA was up from 60.​3%. Govt MMFs' DLA rose from 74.​8% and Govt WLA was down from 85.​9% for the previous month.

ICI explains, "At the end of June, prime funds had a weighted average maturity (​WAM) of 28 days and a weighted average life (​WAL) of 51 days. Average WAMs and WALs are asset-​weighted. Government money market funds had a WAM of 41 days and a WAL of 95 days." Prime WAMs and WALs were 3 days shorter from the previous month. Govt WAMs and WALs were both 2 days shorter.

Regarding Holdings by Region of Issuer, the release tells us, "Prime money market funds' holdings attributable to the Americas rose from $​614.​34 billion in May to $​674.​00 billion in June. Government money market funds' holdings attributable to the Americas rose from $​5,​152.​47 billion in May to $​5,​308.​11 billion in June."

The Prime Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas-​related holdings at $​674.​0 billion, or 58.​8%; Asia and Pacific at $​176.​1 billion, or 15.​4%; Europe at $​271.​0 billion, or 23.​6%; and, Other (​including Supranational) at $​26.​0 billion, or 2.​3%. The Government Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas at $​5.​308 trillion, or 91.​6%; Asia and Pacific at $​126.​4 or 2.​2%; Europe at $​333.​5 billion, 5.​8%, and Other (​Including Supranational) at $​27.​3 billion, or 0.​5%.

​

Crane Data'​s latest Money Fund Intelligence International shows that assets in European or "​offshore" money market mutual funds inched higher over the past 30 days to $​1.​504 trillion, after hitting a record high $​1.​518 trillion three months prior, while yields were lower. Assets for USD MMFs rose while EUR and GBP MMFs fell over the past month. Like U.​S. money fund assets, European MMFs repeatedly hit record highs in 2023, 2024 and early in 2025 but have paused in recent weeks. These U.​S.-​style money funds, domiciled in Ireland or Luxembourg and denominated in US Dollars, Pound Sterling and Euros, increased by $​2.​2 billion over the 30 days through 7/​14. The totals are up $​71.​5 billion (​5.​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.) (Note too: We'​re gearing up for our European Money Fund Symposium, which is Sept. 22-​23, 2025 in Dublin. Register and make hotel reservations soon!)

Offshore US Dollar money funds increased $​13.​4 billion over the last 30 days and are up $​55.​7 billion YTD to $​799.​3 billion; they increased $​94.​1 billion in 2024. Euro funds decreased E9.​5 billion over the past month. YTD, they'​re up E8.​2 billion to E325.​9 billion, for 2024, they increased by E82.​9 billion. GBP money funds decreased L643 million over 30 days, and they'​re up L13.​9 billion YTD at L268.​5B, for 2024, they rose L19.​3 billion. U.​S. Dollar (​USD) money funds (​260) account for over half (​53.​1%) of the "​European" money fund total, while Euro (​EUR) money funds (​181) make up 23.​6% and Pound Sterling (​GBP) funds (​172) total 23.​2%. We summarize our latest "​offshore" money fund statistics and our Money Fund Intelligence International Portfolio Holdings (​which went out to subscribers Tuesday), below.

Offshore USD MMFs yield 4.​22% (​7-​Day) on average (​as of 7/​14/​25), unchanged 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 1.​94% on average, down 15 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 23 months ago, but they broke back below 5.​0% 12 months ago. They now yield 4.​19%, down 2 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 June MFI International Portfolio Holdings, with data as of 6/​30/​25, show that European-​domiciled US Dollar MMFs, on average, consist of 29% in Commercial Paper (​CP), 16% in Certificates of Deposit (​CDs), 26% in Repo, 16% in Treasury securities, 11% in Other securities (​primarily Time Deposits) and 2% in Government Agency securities. USD funds have on average 49.​5% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 5.​7% maturing in 2-​7 Days, 7.​9% maturing in 8-​30 Days, 7.​0% maturing in 31-​60 Days, 7.​3% maturing in 61-​90 Days, 14.​5% maturing in 91-​180 Days and 8.​0% maturing beyond 181 Days. USD holdings are affiliated with the following countries: the US (​38.​7%), Canada (​11.​2%), France (​10.​3%), Japan (​8.​2%), Australia (​5.​2%), Germany (​4.​3%), the Netherlands (​4.​2%), the U.​K. (​3.​5%), Sweden (​3.​4%) and Finland (​2.​8%).

The 10 Largest Issuers to "​offshore" USD money funds include: the US Treasury with $​132.​5 billion (​16.​3% of total assets), Fixed Income Clearing Corp with $​59.​0B (​7.​2%), RBC with $​27.​3B (​3.​4%), JP Morgan with $​21.​3B (​2.​6%), Nordea Bank with $​21.​0B (​2.​6%), Credit Agricole with $​19.​1B (​2.​3%), BNP Paribas with $​17.​0B (​2.​1%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce with $​16.​8B (​2.​1%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd with $​16.​3B (​2.​0%) and Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd with $​15.​7B (​1.​9%).

Euro MMFs tracked by Crane Data contain, on average 38% in CP, 24% in CDs, 15% in Other (​primarily Time Deposits), 20% in Repo, 3% in Treasuries and 0% in Agency securities. EUR funds have on average 40.​7% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 7.​2% maturing in 2-​7 Days, 9.​7% maturing in 8-​30 Days, 10.​5% maturing in 31-​60 Days, 8.​5% maturing in 61-​90 Days, 14.​5% maturing in 91-​180 Days and 9.​1% maturing beyond 181 Days. EUR MMF holdings are affiliated with the following countries: France (​29.​4%), Japan (​11.​1%), Canada (​9.​8%), the U.​S. (​9.​3%), Germany (​5.​9%), the Netherlands (​5.​6%), the U.​K. (​5.​5%), Australia (​3.​9%), Sweden (​3.​4%) and Spain (​3.​0%).

The 10 Largest Issuers to "​offshore" EUR money funds include: Credit Agricole with E15.​7B (​5.​5%), BNP Paribas with E14.​0B (​4.​9%), JP Morgan with E12.​0B (​4.​2%), Societe Generale with E11.​3B (​4.​0%), Republic of France with E10.​3B (​3.​6%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp with E10.​2B (​3.​6%), Agence Central de Organismes de Securite Sociale with E8.​1B (​2.​8%), ING Bank with E7.​9B (​2.​8%), BPCE SA with E7.​4B (​2.​6%) and Bank of Nova Scotia with E7.​1B (​2.​5%).

The GBP funds tracked by MFI International contain, on average (​as of 6/​30/​25): 39% in CDs, 17% in CP, 21% in Other (​Time Deposits), 20% in Repo, 3% in Treasury and 0% in Agency. Sterling funds have on average 36.​3% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 7.​7% maturing in 2-​7 Days, 8.​9% maturing in 8-​30 Days, 14.​3% maturing in 31-​60 Days, 8.​9% maturing in 61-​90 Days, 15.​6% maturing in 91-​180 Days and 8.​3% maturing beyond 181 Days. GBP MMF holdings are affiliated with the following countries: France (​16.​3%), Japan (​15.​7%), the U.​K. (​11.​9%), Canada (​11.​8%), the U.​S. (​10.​3%), Australia (​9.​6%), Singapore (​3.​8%), the Netherlands (​3.​7%), Abu Dhabi (​2.​7%) and Germany (​2.​7%).

The 10 Largest Issuers to "​offshore" GBP money funds include: UK Treasury with L16.​4B (​6.​6%), BNP Paribas with L13.​1B (​5.​3%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd with L12.​3 (​5.​0%), RBC with L10.​1B (​4.​1%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp with L8.​8B (​3.​6%), JP Morgan with L8.​7B (​3.​5%), National Australia Bank Ltd with L7.​9B (​3.​2%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc with L7.​5B (​3.​0%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank with L7.​3B (​3.​0%) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia with L7.​2B (​2.​9%).

​

The July issue of our Bond Fund Intelligence, which as sent to subscribers Tuesday morning, features the stories, "Worldwide BF Assets Jump to $​14.​3 Trillion, Led by US, Brazil," which covers ICI'​s latest data on global bond fund markets; and "Vanguard Asks, '​Is the Agg Enough?' Q&​A w/'​Mr. Agg'," which looks at a recent discussion of bond market benchmarks. BFI also recaps the latest Bond Fund News and includes our Crane BFI Indexes, which show that bond fund returns were up in June while yields were lower. 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 increased in the latest quarter to $​14.​302 trillion, led higher by the U.​S., Brazil, Luxembourg and Ireland. We review the ICI’​s 'Worldwide Regulated Open-​End Fund Assets and Flows, First Quarter 2025' release and statistics below."

It continues, "​ICI'​s report says, 'Worldwide regulated open-​end fund assets, excluding assets in funds of funds, increased 0.​8% to $​74.​45 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2025.... The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide regulated open-​end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association (​IIFA).'"

Our "Agg" article states, "Vanguard posted an article which asks, 'Is the Agg enough for your fixed income portfolio?' They reply, 'Some advisors believe that the Bloomberg U.​S. Aggregate Index, or the Agg, is the definitive proxy for the U.​S. taxable bond market, just as the Standard & Poor'​s 500 Index serves as a proxy for U.​S. stocks. However, unlike the stock indexes, the Agg ... only offers partial exposure to the U.​S. bond market. And remember that the U.​S. bond market makes up less than 40% of the global fixed income market, which means that clients who track the Agg in their fixed income allocations miss out on a wider playing field.'"

We write, "​The piece continues, '​A simple solution: Active products that can invest beyond the Agg, like the Core-​Plus Bond ETF (​VPLS). Vanguard Core Bond ETF (​VCRB) can invest beyond the Agg, but with a more conservative mandate than Core-​Plus products. Both VPLS and VCRB launched late in 2023. More narrowly focused index-​based ETFs can target areas such as mortgage-​backed securities, inflation-​protected securities, or corporates. Additionally, international bond ETFs can access the investment-​grade non-​U.​S. sovereign, corporate, and emerging markets.'"

Our first News brief, "Returns Jump, Yields Lower in June," says, "Bond fund returns were higher in June after being mixed in May. Our BFI Total Index rose 1.​13% over 1-​month and rose 5.​69% over 12 months. (​Money funds rose 4.​66% over 1-​year as measured by our Crane 100 Index.) The BFI 100 increased 1.​31% in June and rose 6.​53% over 12 mos. Our BFI Conservative Ultra-​Short Index was up 0.​46% over 1-​month and 5.​13% for 1-​year; Ultra-​Shorts rose 0.​50% and 5.​54%. Short-​Term returned 0.​82% and 6.​58%, and Intm-​Term rose 1.​48% in June and 6.​41% over 12 mos. BFI'​s Long-​Term Index was up 1.​83% and up 6.​16%. High Yield returned 1.​45% in June and 8.​18% over 12 mos."

A second News brief, "MarketWatch Says, 'Bond-​ETF Inflows Surge as Demand Returns for Treasurys.' They write, 'Demand for bonds has surged in the past week in the exchange-​traded-​fund market, as U.​S. government debt reversed outflows. Net inflows into fixed-​income ETFs soared 70% in the week through Wednesday to $​5.​3 billion..., according to a CreditSights note Thursday. U.​S. Treasury ETFs attracted $​2 billion after losing $​2.​1 billion the week before — with the inflow coming in at almost 50% more than the 13-​week average, the note shows.'"

Our next News brief, "Morningstar on 'How the Largest Bond Funds Did in Q2 2025' They comment, 'The largest active bond funds were generally strong in the second quarter, as much of the bond market registered positive returns amid widespread volatility. Out of the 10 most-​widely held active bond funds, three landed in the top quarter of their categories during the quarter. The $​52.​5 billion Vanguard Short-​Term Investment Grade Fund (​VFSIX) ranked in the 11th percentile with a 1.​9% return. Four of the largest active bond funds placed in the bottom half of their categories in the second quarter, with the worst-​performing being the $​44 billion PIMCO Total Return Fund (​PTTRX).'"

A BFI sidebar, "ETF.​com on Ultra-​Short ETFs," tells us, "ETF.​com writes 'Seeking Safety: Ultra Short-​Term Bond ETFs Quietly Surge.' The brief tells us, 'Ultra-​short-​term bond ETFs are quietly having a breakout year. Two of the largest—​the iShares 0-​3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (​SGOV) and the SPDR Bloomberg 1-​3 Month T-​Bill ETF (​BIL)—rank among the top U.​S.-​listed ETFs by year-​to-​date inflows, as investors flock to safe havens amid economic uncertainty and volatile markets.'"

Finally, another sidebar, "More Vanguard ETFs Go Live," says, "​A press release titled, 'Vanguard Launches Three New ETFs Focused on U.​S. Government Bonds,' tells us, 'Vanguard ... launched Vanguard Government Securities Active ETF (​VGVT), an actively managed ETF, and two index ETFs, Vanguard Total Treasury ETF (​VTG) and Vanguard Total Inflation-​Protected Securities ETF (​VTP), all managed by Vanguard Fixed Income Group.'"

​

BlackRock. published a brief titled, "Why money market funds play a vital role in private markets," which tells us, "Research shows that the total value of private-​market assets -- including debt and equity investments in private businesses as well as infrastructure and real-​estate holdings -- is on course to rise from US$​10 trillion in 2021 to more than US$​18 trillion by 2027. In 2024, meanwhile, there was a sharp rise in distributions from private equity investments, along with a rebound in deal-​making and exit activity. It is clear this is a sector that has recently experienced solid growth, and we expect this sector to continue at pace over the next few years as the market is increasingly democratized to an ever-​wider investor base."

The article, targeted to "​offshore" institutional investors, continues, "​The significant inflation that emerged after the pandemic, further intensified by rising geopolitical tensions, prompted central banks in Europe and North America to swiftly raise interest rates in 2022 and 2023. This has transformed cash into an important asset class once again after years of very low, or even negative, returns."

It says, "​For firms in private markets, a higher-​rate environment is not just an issue in terms of raising capital or discounting long- term investment returns. There is also an important operational element related to the cost of holding cash -- whether this is in the form of money awaiting distribution to limited partners (​LPs), capital calls from investors or management carry."

BlackRock tells us, "At the same time, the last few years have been synonymous with periods of heightened volatility and market risk. Events such as the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and subsequent concerns regarding the creditworthiness of some European banks, combined with geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, have led many institutions, including those within the private markets space, to re-​evaluate how and where they are holding cash. The importance of diversification and avoiding the cash concentration risk that comes when holding cash on balance sheet with a bank, for example, has become more of a focus for many private market firms."

They state, "While this cash may not be sitting in the business for long periods of time, there is still likely to be a cost of holding such cash, especially given the large sums involved. Money that is held on deposit in a non-​interest-​bearing account will have a negative impact on the firm’​s bottom line since, in real terms, it is constantly losing value. This is why firms in private markets are increasingly turning to money market funds to help them manage short-​term cash, and to generate higher yields alongside '​operational alpha' -- the bottom-​line improvements linked to higher levels of operational efficiency."

Finally, they tell discuss, "Why MMFs and private market firms are a perfect fit." They explain, "​The specific requirements of private equity and private credit managers mean that MMFs are ideally suited to addressing their cash management needs. Short-​term holdings: although private market firms tend not to hold onto cash for periods much longer than a few weeks, MMFs welcome short-​term holdings -- even if they are just for a few days." Factors also include: High liquidity, Wide diversification, Operational efficiency and technology, and Broad availability.

In other news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York'​s "Liberty Street Economic" blog recently featured an update on "The Rise in Deposit Flightiness and Its Implications for Financial Stability," which took a look at recent runs on uninsured bank deposits. It says, "​Deposits are often perceived as a stable funding source for banks. However, the risk of deposits rapidly leaving banks -- known as deposit flightiness -- has come under increased scrutiny following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and other regional banks in March 2023. In a new paper, we show that deposit flightiness is not constant over time."

The blog explains, "In particular, flightiness reached historic highs after expansions in bank reserves associated with rounds of quantitative easing (​QE). We argue that this elevated deposit flightiness may amplify the banking sector'​s response to subsequent monetary policy rate hikes, highlighting a link between the Federal Reserve'​s balance sheet and conventional monetary policy."

It tells us, "Existing research on deposit stability has focused on differences across deposit types. For example, wholesale and uninsured deposits have long been recognized as more prone to flight than retail and insured deposits. Our findings suggest that aggregate deposit flightiness also varies significantly over time."

The study states, "Depositors' flow sensitivity increased following the 2008 financial crisis, declined in the mid-​2010s, but rose sharply after the onset of the COVID-​19 crisis. By early 2022, deposit flow sensitivity had reached record highs, meaning deposits were more likely than ever to respond to changes in interest rates just before the Federal Reserve began its rate hiking cycle."

It adds, "This account-​level data also reveals that depositors who are more sensitive in moving deposits across their accounts at different banks also more readily transfer funds between their bank accounts and alternative investments, including nonbank financial institutions (​NBFIs) like money market funds."

Liberty Street also says, "We show that at any given time, the investors who choose to hold bank deposits are less sensitive to interest rates than those who opt for alternative investments, such as money market funds. We further show that, when deposits flow into the banking system, they tend to be more rate-​sensitive than the existing depositor base, making the overall deposit base more flighty."

Finally, they tell us, "Our findings indicate that deposit composition and flightiness are not static but instead evolve in response to central bank policies. In particular, we uncover a novel interdependence between conventional and unconventional monetary policy: if policy rate hikes occur during periods when reserves and deposits are higher following QE, then the risk of deposit flight may be enhanced -- how much depends on the way banks manage the risk and invest their assets. This interdependence between deposit flight risk and QE arises because the entities that provide much of the funds during QE-​related deposit expansions tend to be more rate sensitive, amplifying the risk that these new depositors leave en masse to seek higher returns in response to subsequent rate hikes."

​

Crane Data'​s July Money Fund Portfolio Holdings, with data as of June 30, 2025, show that holdings of Repo jumped last month while Treasuries declined. Money market securities held by Taxable U.​S. money funds (​tracked by Crane Data) increased by $​84.​0 billion to $​7.​355 trillion in June, after increasing $​72.​0 billion in May and decreasing by $​73.​8 billion in April. Assets rose by $​45.​6 billion in March, $​53.​7 billion in February, $​84.​1 billion in January, and $​88.​0 billion in December. Repo, the largest segment, increased $​194.​2 billion in June. Treasuries, the second largest portfolio composition segment, decreased by $​98.​4 billion. Agencies were the third largest segment, and 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 $​194.​2 billion (​6.​7%) to $​3.​100 trillion, or 42.​2% of holdings, in June, after increasing $​63.​3 billion in May, $​31.​4 billion in April, and $​92.​7 billion in March. Treasury securities decreased $​98.​4 billion (-​3.​6%) to $​2.​607 trillion, or 35.​4% of holdings, after decreasing $​2.​1 billion in May, $​168.​3 billion in April, and $​83.​3 billion in March. Government Agency Debt was up $​8.​8 billion, or 0.​9%, to $​985.​3 billion, or 13.​4% of holdings. Agencies increased $​4.​8 billion in May, $​75.​1 billion in April and $​16.​1 billion in March. Repo, Treasuries and Agency holdings now total $​6.​692 trillion, representing a massive 91.​0% of all taxable holdings.

Money fund holdings of CP, CDs and Other (​Time Deposits) all fell in June. Commercial Paper (​CP) decreased $​9.​7 billion (-​3.​1%) to $​301.​8 billion, or 4.​1% of holdings. CP holdings increased $​8.​7 billion in May, decreased $​9.​6 billion in April, but increased $​7.​6 billion in March. Certificates of Deposit (​CDs) decreased $​2.​1 billion (-​1.​1%) to $​200.​6 billion, or 2.​7% of taxable assets. CDs increased $​4.​2 billion in May, $​4.​0 billion in April and $​4.​1 billion in March. Other holdings, primarily Time Deposits, decreased $​8.​7 billion (-​5.​6%) to $​145.​2 billion, or 2.​0% of holdings, after decreasing $​6.​8 billion in May and $​6.​6 billion in April. Other increased $​8.​2 billion in March. VRDNs decreased to $​14.​6 billion, or 0.​2% of assets. (​Note: This total is VRDNs for taxable funds only. We will post our Tax Exempt MMF holdings separately Friday around noon.)

Prime money fund assets tracked by Crane Data increased to $​1.​260 trillion, or 17.​1% of taxable money funds' $​7.​355 trillion total. Among Prime money funds, CDs represent 15.​9% (​down from 16.​2% a month ago), while Commercial Paper accounted for 23.​9% (​down from 25.​0% a month ago). The CP totals are comprised of: Financial Company CP, which makes up 14.​5% of total holdings, Asset-​Backed CP, which accounts for 7.​8%, and Non-​Financial Company CP, which makes up 1.​6%. Prime funds also hold 0.​5% in US Govt Agency Debt, 2.​8% in US Treasury Debt, 25.​8% in US Treasury Repo, 1.​1% in Other Instruments, 8.​1% in Non-​Negotiable Time Deposits, 8.​2% in Other Repo, 12.​5% in US Government Agency Repo and 0.​9% in VRDNs.

Government money fund portfolios totaled $​3.​980 trillion (​54.​1% of all MMF assets), up from $​3.​920 trillion in May, while Treasury money fund assets totaled another $​2.​115 trillion (​28.​8%), up from $​2.​102 trillion the prior month. Government money fund portfolios were made up of 24.​6% US Govt Agency Debt, 19.​9% US Government Agency Repo, 25.​4% US Treasury Debt, 29.​4% in US Treasury Repo, 0.​5% in Other Instruments. Treasury money funds were comprised of 73.​9% US Treasury Debt and 26.​0% in US Treasury Repo. Government and Treasury funds combined now total $​6.​095 trillion, or 82.​9% of all taxable money fund assets.

European-​affiliated holdings (​including repo) decreased by $​105.​4 billion in June to $​659.​6 billion; their share of holdings fell to 9.​0% from last month'​s 10.​5%. Eurozone-​affiliated holdings decreased to $​456.​5 billion from last month'​s $​553.​6 billion; they account for 6.​2% of overall taxable money fund holdings. Asia & Pacific related holdings rose to $​343.​0 billion (​4.​7% of the total) from last month'​s $​300.​4 billion. Americas related holdings rose to $​6.​347 trillion from last month'​s $​6.​154 trillion; they now represent 86.​3% of holdings.

The overall taxable fund Repo totals were made up of: US Treasury Repurchase Agreements (​up $​155.​1 billion, or 8.​2%, to $​2.​045 trillion, or 27.​8% of assets); US Government Agency Repurchase Agreements (​up $​37.​0 billion, or 4.​1%, to $​951.​1 billion, or 12.​9% of total holdings), and Other Repurchase Agreements (​up $​2.​0 billion, or 2.​0%, from last month to $​103.​5 billion, or 1.​4% of holdings). The Commercial Paper totals were comprised of Financial Company Commercial Paper (​down $​6.​4 billion to $​183.​0 billion, or 2.​5% of assets), Asset Backed Commercial Paper (​up $​5.​4 billion at $​98.​4 billion, or 1.​3%), and Non-​Financial Company Commercial Paper (​down $​8.​6 billion to $​20.​4 billion, or 0.​3%).

The 20 largest Issuers to taxable money market funds as of June 30, 2025, include: the US Treasury ($​2.​607T, 35.​4%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($​1.​071T, 14.​6%), Federal Home Loan Bank ($​733.​5B, 10.​0%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($​389.​4B, 5.​3%), JP Morgan ($​293.​0B, 4.​0%), RBC ($​221.​1B, 3.​0%), Federal Farm Credit Bank ($​170.​7B, 2.​3%), BNP Paribas ($​168.​0B, 2.​3%), Citi ($​156.​6B, 2.​1%), Wells Fargo ($​122.​3B, 1.​7%), Bank of America ($​113.​1B, 1.​5%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($​92.​6B, 1.​3%), Barclays ($​80.​2B, 1.​1%), Goldman Sachs ($​76.​5B, 1.​0%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($​69.​9B, 0.​9%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ($​67.​7B, 0.​9%), Credit Agricole ($​60.​3B, 0.​8%), Bank of Montreal ($​50.​2B, 0.​7%), Societe Generale ($​49.​7B, 0.​7%) and Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​48.​5B, 0.​7%).

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 ($​1,​047.​8T, 33.​8%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($​389.​4B, 12.​6%), JP Morgan ($​279.​9B, 9.​0%), RBC ($​177.​9B, 5.​7%), BNP Paribas ($​155.​6B, 5.​0%), Citi ($​142.​9B, 4.​6%), Wells Fargo ($​121.​0B, 3.​9%), Bank of America ($​87.​9B, 2.​8%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($​76.​0B, 2.​5%) and Goldman Sachs ($​76.​0B, 2.​5%).

The largest users of the $​389.​4 billion in Fed RRP include: Vanguard Federal Money Mkt Fund ($​52.​2B), Fidelity Cash Central Fund ($​44.​7B), Fidelity Govt Money Market ($​27.​6B), Fidelity Sec Lending Cash Central Fund ($​26.​7B), Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund ($​26.​5B), Fidelity Inv MM: MM Port ($​21.​6B), Fidelity Money Market ($​18.​2B), Fidelity Inv MM: Treas Port ($​17.​2B), JPMorgan US Govt MM ($​16.​8B) and Vanguard Cash Reserves Federal MM ($​16.​7B).

The 10 largest issuers of "​credit" -- CDs, CP and Other securities (​including Time Deposits and Notes) combined -- include: RBC ($​43.​2B, 7.​4%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​29.​6B, 5.​1%), ING Bank ($​27.​3B, 4.​7%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($​25.​7B, 4.​4%), Bank of America ($​25.​2B, 4.​3%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($​23.​8B, 4.​1%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ($​23.​7B, 4.​0%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($​23.​3B, 4.​0%), Barclays PLC ($​20.​3B, 3.​5%) and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB ($​19.​7B, 3.​4%).

The 10 largest CD issuers include: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($​15.​4B, 7.​7%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($​15.​3B, 7.​7%), Bank of America ($​14.​4B, 7.​2%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank ($​14.​3B, 7.​2%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​13.​1B, 6.​5%), Credit Agricole ($​12.​2B, 6.​1%), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation ($​9.​1B, 4.​6%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($​8.​7B, 4.​3%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($​8.​6B, 4.​3%) and Truist Financial Corp. ($​8.​6B, 4.​3%).

The 10 largest CP issuers (​we include affiliated ABCP programs) include: RBC ($​27.​0B, 9.​7%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​15.​9B, 5.​7%), Bank of Montreal ($​14.​9B, 5.​3%), Barclays PLC ($​14.​1B, 5.​1%), JP Morgan ($​13.​1B, 4.​7%), National Bank of Canada ($​11.​2B, 4.​0%), BNP Paribas ($​8.​8B, 3.​2%), Northcross Capital Management ($​8.​5B, 3.​0%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($​8.​4B, 3.​0%) and ING Bank ($​8.​4B, 3.​0%).

The largest increases among Issuers include: Fixed Income Clearing Corp (​up $​135.​8B to $​1,​071.​1T), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (​up $​107.​5B to $​389.​4B), Wells Fargo (​up $​30.​5B to $​122.​3B), JP Morgan (​up $​27.​3B to $​293.​0B), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (​up $​15.​1B to $​92.​6B), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (​up $​11.​0B to $​69.​9B), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (​up $​5.​7B to $​48.​2B), Federal Farm Credit Bank (​up $​4.​5B to $​170.​7B), Bank of Montreal (​up $​3.​4B to $​50.​2B) and ING Bank (​up $​3.​2B to $​38.​5B).

The largest decreases among Issuers of money market securities (​including Repo) in May were shown by: The US Treasury (​down $​98.​4B to $​2.​607T), Barclays PLC (​down $​35.​7B to $​80.​2B), Citi (​down $​34.​3B to $​156.​6B), Credit Agricole (​down $​14.​7B to $​60.​3B), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (​down $​12.​3B to $​18.​8B), Standard Chartered Bank (​down $​6.​7B to $​14.​9B), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (​down $​6.​7B to $​6.​9B), Societe Generale (​down $​6.​1B to $​49.​7B), Landesbank Baden-​Wurttemberg (​down $​5.​4B to $​9.​1B) and Bank of America (​down $​4.​2B to $​113.​1B).

The United States remained the largest segment of country-​affiliations; it represents 80.​4% of holdings, or $​5.​909 trillion. Canada (​6.​0%, $​438.​2B) was in second place, while France (​4.​4%, $​321.​6B) was No. 3. Japan (​3.​7%, $​270.​8B) occupied fourth place. The United Kingdom (​2.​1%, $​155.​6B) remained in fifth place. Netherlands (​0.​8%, $​57.​2B) was in sixth place, followed by Australia (​0.​7%, $​53.​9B), Germany (​0.​6%, $​45.​1B), Sweden (​0.​4%, $​32.​0B), and Spain (​0.​4%, $​29.​3B). (​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 June 30, 2025, Taxable money funds held 54.​2% (​up from 50.​2%) of their assets in securities maturing Overnight, and another 9.​1% maturing in 2-​7 days (​down from 11.​5%). Thus, 63.​3% in total matures in 1-​7 days. Another 10.​3% matures in 8-​30 days, while 5.​7% matures in 31-​60 days. Note that over three-​quarters, or 79.​3% 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.​8% of taxable securities, while 10.​6% matures in 91-​180 days, and just 5.​4% matures beyond 181 days.

​

Crane Data'​s latest monthly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics will be sent out Thursday, and we'​ll be writing our regular monthly update on the new July data for Friday'​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 Wednesday. (​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 June 30, includes holdings information from 1,​003 money funds (​unchanged from last month), representing assets of $​7.​517 trillion (​up from $​7.​425 trillion a month ago). Prime MMFs rose to $​1.​150 trillion (​up from $​1.​139 trillion), or 15.​3% 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.​8 billion (​annualized) in June.

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.​614 trillion (​down from $​2.​699 trillion), or 34.​8% of all assets, while Repo holdings rose to $​3.​104 trillion (​up from $​2.​912 billion), or 41.​3% of all holdings. Government Agency securities total $​992.​5 billion (​up from $​982.​8 billion), or 13.​2%. Holdings of Treasuries, Government agencies and Repo (​almost all of which is backed by Treasuries and agencies) combined total $​6.​710 trillion, or a massive 89.​3% of all holdings.

The Other category (​primarily Time Deposits) totals $​153.​3 billion (​down from $​163.​1 billion), or 2.​0%, and Commercial paper (​CP) totals $​312.​1 billion (​down from $​321.​6 billion), or 4.​2% of all holdings. Certificates of Deposit (​CDs) total $​200.​4 billion (​up from $​202.​6 billion), 2.​7%, and VRDNs account for $​140.​7 billion (​down from $​143.​5 billion), or 1.​9% of money fund securities.

Broken out into the SEC'​s more detailed categories, the CP totals were comprised of: $​183.​0 billion, or 2.​4%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $​98.​4 billion or 1.​3%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and, $​30.​8 billion, or 0.​4%, in Non-​Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals were made up of: U.​S. Treasury Repo ($​2.​072 trillion, or 27.​6%), U.​S. Govt Agency Repo ($​926.​3B, or 12.​3%) and Other Repo ($​106.​2B, or 1.​4%).

The N-​MFP Holdings summary for the Prime Money Market Funds shows: CP holdings of $​272.​0 billion (​down from $​278.​5 billion), or 23.​6%; Repo holdings of $​549.​9 billion (​up from $​487.​2 billion), or 47.​8%; Treasury holdings of $​32.​8 billion (​down from $​65.​4 billion), or 2.​8%; CD holdings of $​173.​8 billion (​down from $​175.​5 billion), or 15.​1%; Other (​primarily Time Deposits) holdings of $​106.​0 billion (​down from $​116.​4 billion), or 9.​2%; Government Agency holdings of $​5.​5 billion (​up from $​5.​4 billion), or 0.​5% and VRDN holdings of $​10.​4 billion (​down from $​10.​7 billion), or 0.​9%.

The SEC'​s more detailed categories show CP in Prime MMFs made up of: $​165.​4 billion (​down from $​170.​6 billion), or 14.​4%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $​87.​5 billion (​up from $​82.​4 billion), or 7.​6%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and $​19.​1 billion (​down from $​25.​6 billion), or 1.​7%, in Non-​Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals include: U.​S. Treasury Repo ($​309.​2 billion, or 26.​9%), U.​S. Govt Agency Repo ($​148.​9 billion, or 12.​9%), and Other Repo ($​91.​8 billion, or 8.​0%).

In related news, money fund charged expense ratios (​Exp%) were mostly flat in June. Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index and Crane Money Fund Average were 0.​27% and 0.​37%, respectively, as of June 30, 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 Wednesday 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 June 30, 2025, unchanged 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% (​unchanged from last month). Prime Retail MF expenses averaged 0.​49% (​unchanged from last month). Tax-​exempt expenses were unchanged at 0.​40% on average.

Gross 7-​day yields were mixed during the month ended June 30, 2025. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (​currently 721), shows a 7-​day gross yield of 4.​38%, unchanged 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 up 1 bp, ending the month at 4.​39%.

According to our revised MFI XLS and Crane Index numbers, we now estimate that annualized revenue for all money funds is a record high $​19.​789 billion (​as of 6/​30/​25). Our estimated annualized revenue totals decreased from $​19.​854B last month but were higher than $​19.​551B 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 slightly higher among the largest U.​S. money fund complexes in June after being mostly higher in May. Assets have increased in 11 of the past 12 months (​only April 2025 saw a decline). Money market fund assets rose by $​6.​9 billion, or 0.​1%, last month to a record $​7.​421 trillion. Total MMF assets have increased by $​88.​4 billion, or 1.​2%, over the past 3 months, and they'​ve increased by $​928.​0 billion, or 14.​3%, over the past 12 months. The largest increases among the 25 largest managers last month were seen by Fidelity, Schwab, BlackRock, Dreyfus and Allspring, which grew assets by $​17.​2 billion, $​8.​1B, $​5.​4B, $​5.​2B and $​4.​3B, respectively. Declines in June were seen by American Funds, Goldman Sachs, Invesco, Morgan Stanley and SSIM (​formerly SSGA), which decreased by $​10.​2 billion, $​10.​1B, $​7.​8B, $​7.​1B and $​6.​6B, 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 flat to slightly lower in June.

Over the past year through June 30, 2025, Fidelity (​up $​229.​4B, or 17.​4%), BlackRock (​up $​121.​8B, or 23.​5%), Schwab (​up $​119.​9B, or 22.​5%), JPMorgan (​up $​114.​2B, or 17.​2%) and Vanguard (​up $​84.​0B, or 13.​7%) were the `​largest gainers. BlackRock, Fidelity, Vanguard, American Funds and Schwab had the largest asset increases over the past 3 months, rising by $​29.​8B, $​20.​8B, $​20.​5B, $​18.​1B and $​12.​0B, respectively. The largest declines over 12 months were seen by: Columbia (​down $​3.​7B) and PGIM (​down $​515M). The largest declines over 3 months included: Goldman Sachs (​down $​30.​1B), Morgan Stanley (​down $​19.​4B), Invesco (​down $​7.​1B) and Federated Hermes (​down $​1.​3B).

Our latest domestic U.​S. Money Fund Family Rankings show that Fidelity Investments remains the largest money fund manager with $​1.​548 trillion, or 20.​9% of all assets. Fidelity was up $​17.​2B in June, up $​20.​8 billion over 3 mos., and up $​229.​4B over 12 months. JPMorgan ranked second with $​776.​5 billion, or 10.​5% market share (​down $​1.​3B, up $​1.​6B and up $​114.​2B for the past 1-​month, 3-​mos. and 12-​mos., respectively). Vanguard ranked in third place with $​696.​3 billion, or 9.​4% of assets (​up $​1.​5B, up $​20.​5B and up $​84.​0B). Schwab ranked fourth with $​653.​5 billion, or 8.​8% market share (​up $​8.​1B, up $​12.​0B and up $​119.​9B), while BlackRock was the fifth largest MMF manager with $​639.​9 billion, or 8.​6% of assets (​up $​5.​4B, up $​29.​8B and up $​121.​8B for the past 1-​month, 3-​mos. and 12-​mos.).

Federated Hermes was in sixth place with $​482.​4 billion, or 6.​5% (​up $​1.​7B, down $​1.​3B and up $​29.​7B), while Goldman Sachs was in seventh place with $​415.​9 billion, or 5.​6% of assets (​down $​10.​1B, down $​30.​1B and up $​19.​2B). Dreyfus ($​297.​2B, or 4.​0%) was in eighth place (​up $​5.​2B, up $​8.​7B and up $​26.​8B), followed by Morgan Stanley ($​274.​6B, or 3.​7%; down $​7.​1B, down $​19.​4B and up $​30.​1B). SSIM was in 10th place ($​240.​9B, or 3.​2%; down $​6.​6B, up 60M and up $​29.​9B).

The 11th through 20th-​largest U.​S. money fund managers (​in order) include: Allspring ($​216.​4B, or 2.​9%), Northern ($​181.​3B, or 2.​4%), First American ($​174.​2B, or 2.​3%), American Funds ($​168.​2B, or 2.​3%), Invesco ($​160.​5B, or 2.​2%), UBS ($​116.​5B, or 1.​6%), T. Rowe Price ($​55.​6B, or 0.​7%), HSBC ($​45.​5B, or 0.​6%), DWS ($​44.​5B, or 0.​6%) and Western ($​35.​1B, or 0.​5%). 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 and Morgan Stanley moves up to the No. 8 spot, while Dreyfus moves down to the No. 9 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 ($​1.​568 trillion), JP Morgan ($​1.​069 trillion), BlackRock ($​966.​0B), Vanguard ($​696.​3B) and Schwab ($​653.​5B). Goldman Sachs ($​570.​8B) was in sixth, Federated Hermes ($​494.​7B) was seventh, followed by Morgan Stanley ($​371.​4B), Dreyfus/​BNY ($​323.​0B) and SSIM ($​294.​6B), 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 July issue of our Money Fund Intelligence and MFI XLS, with data as of 6/​30/​25, shows that yields were mixed in June across all the Crane Money Fund Indexes. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds covered by Crane Data (​currently 721), was 4.​01% (​unchanged) for the 7-​Day Yield (​annualized, net) Average, the 30-​Day Yield was down 1 bp to 4.​00%. The MFA'​s Gross 7-​Day Yield was at 4.​38% (​unchanged), and the Gross 30-​Day Yield was down 1 bp at 4.​37%. (Gross yields will be revised once we download the SEC'​s Form N-​MFP data for 6/​30/​25 on Wednesday.)

Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index shows an average 7-​Day (​Net) Yield of 4.​12% (​up 1 bp) and an average 30-​Day Yield at 4.​10% (​down 1 bp). The Crane 100 shows a Gross 7-​Day Yield of 4.​39% (​up 1 bp), and a Gross 30-​Day Yield of 4.​37% (​down 1 bp). Our Prime Institutional MF Index (​7-​day) yielded 4.​26% (​up 1 bp) as of June 30. The Crane Govt Inst Index was at 4.​13% (​up 1 bp) and the Treasury Inst Index was at 4.​07% (​unchanged). Thus, the spread between Prime funds and Treasury funds is 19 basis points, and the spread between Prime funds and Govt funds is 13 basis points. The Crane Prime Retail Index yielded 3.​99% (​up 1 bp), while the Govt Retail Index was 3.​83% (​up 1 bp), the Treasury Retail Index was 3.​82% (​down 1 bp from the month prior). The Crane Tax Exempt MF Index yielded 2.​21% (​up 7 bps) at the end of June.

Gross 7-​Day Yields for these indexes to end June were: Prime Inst 4.​49% (​up 1 bp), Govt Inst 4.​38% (​up 1 bp), Treasury Inst 4.​34% (​down 1 bp), Prime Retail 4.​49% (​up 1 bp), Govt Retail 4.​38% (​up 1 bp) and Treasury Retail 4.​34% (​down 1 bp). The Crane Tax Exempt Index rose to 2.​61% (​up 7 bps). The Crane 100 MF Index returned on average 0.​34% over 1-​month, 1.​03% over 3-​months, 1.​99% YTD, 4.​57% over the past 1-​year, 4.​43% over 3-​years annualized), 2.​67% over 5-​years, and 1.​82% over 10-​years.

The total number of funds, including taxable and tax-​exempt, was down 7 in June at 834. There are currently 721 taxable funds, down 7 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.)

​

The July issue of our flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which was sent to subscribers Tuesday morning, features the articles: "Money Fund Symposium '​25 Major Issues: Assets, Repo," which discusses highlights from our recent conference in Boston; "MFS Keynote: SSIM'​s Yie-​Hsin Hung on the Future of Cash," which excerpts from the State Street Inv. Mgmt. CEO'​s recent speech; and, "ICI Worldwide: MMFs Rise in Q1'​25 to Record $​11.​8 Tril." which reviews the latest figures on money fund markets outside the U.​S.' We also sent out our MFI XLS spreadsheet Tuesday a.​m., and we'​ve updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with 6/​30/​25 data. Our July Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to ship on Thursday, July 10, and our July Bond Fund Intelligence is scheduled to go out on Tuesday, July 15.

MFI'​s "Money Fund Symposium '​25" article says, "Crane Data recently hosted its big Money Fund Symposium conference in Boston, where 680 money market professionals discussed rates, tokenization, asset inflows and a number of other hot topics in cash. We quote from some sessions below, and excerpt from the keynote speech at right. (Note: Recordings and conference materials are available in our 'Money Fund Symposium 2025 Download Center.')"

It continues, "​In the 'Major Money Fund Issues' segment, Fidelity'​s Kevin Gaffney comments, '​To comment on the previous panel on tokenization, I think it is an extremely interesting area. And, as we'​ve talked about all day long, money funds are supposed to be this kind of quiet industry that, no one really paid attention to until the last decade or so.... But one of the things I think that'​s come out of that is that there is new technology that, might hit our market first. I think when you look at, tokenization, it could potentially be a new horizon for money market funds. I think the blockchain technology has the possibility of adding efficiencies, lowering transactional costs, potentially adding new features to money market funds. [​But] I don'​t know that it fundamentally changes what we do from a portfolio management standpoint.'"

We write in our "MFS Keynote article, "Money Fund Symposium'​s keynote session, 'The Future of Cash,' featured State Street Investment Management CEO Yie-​Hsin Hung. She says, 'It'​s fantastic to be here with all of you. `​I want to thank Peter first and foremost for everything that he does for the money fund industry. No one tracks cash better than you. And everyone here relies on your insights, your data, your wisdom in one way or another.'"

It states, "​Hung continues, '​So I'​m really glad to be here with all of you. And yes, even with my competitors, it'​s rare to have so many asset managers and industry experts all in one place. But when we do come together, there'​s a very good reason. Events like these give us a chance to take a big picture look where we'​ve been, where we are, where we'​re headed. And I'​d like to give my thoughts on that today, especially with respect to the future of cash. We think about this a lot at State Street.'"

Our "Worldwide" piece says, "ICI'​s latest, 'Worldwide Regulated Open-​Fund Assets and Flows, First Quarter 2025,' shows that money fund assets globally rose by $​246.​3 billion, or 2.​1%, in Q1'​25 to a record $​11.​845 trillion. Increases were led by a sharp jump in money funds in U.​S. and Luxembourg, while Ireland and Brazil also rose. Meanwhile, money funds in China and Turkey were lower. MMF assets worldwide increased by $​1.​404 trillion, or 13.​4%, in the 12 months through 3/​31/​25, and money funds in the U.​S. now represent 60.​1% of worldwide assets. European money fund asset totals surpassed Asian MMF totals for the first time since Q4'​17."

The article continues, "​ICI'​s release says, '​Globally, equity fund assets decreased, on a US dollar-​denominated basis, by 1.​7% to $​35.​09 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2025. At the same time, bond fund assets increased by 3.​8% to $​14.​30 trillion; balanced fund assets increased by 1.​9% to $​7.​43T, and money market fund assets increased by 2.​1% to $​11.​84 trillion.'"

MFI also includes the News brief, "Assets Set New Record in Early July," which says, "Our MFI Daily asset series hit a record $​7.​406 trillion on July 3 (​then dipped 6/​4-​5), its first new high since April 2. Our MFI XLS monthly series also eked out a record $​7.​425 trillion in June. ICI'​s smaller weekly series shows assets hitting a record $​7.​078 trillion in the latest week (​ended 7/​3)."

Another News brief, "SSGA Changes to SSIM," says, "​A statement says, 'State Street’​s global asset management business has been rebranded from '​State Street Global Advisors' to '​State Street Investment Mgmt.'"

A third News brief titled, "Circle Says Firms Will Move from Stablecoins to Tokenized Money Funds," tells us, "​The Registration Statement for Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, warns, 'Circle Tokenized Funds are regulated yield-​bearing investments for collateral use in capital markets. We believe that certain major trading firms have moved, and will increasingly move away from, using stablecoins as collateral in favor of TMMFs.'"

A sidebar, "AFP'​s 2025 Liquidity Survey," says, "​The recently released '2025 AFP Liquidity Survey' discusses 'Current Allocations of Short-​Term Investments.' AFP says, '​Companies maintain their investments in relatively few vehicles. Organizations invest in an average 2.​57 vehicles for their cash and short-​term investments -- slightly lower than the 2.​7 average reported in 2024. Most organizations continue to allocate a large share of their short-​term investment balances -- an average of 80% -- in safe and liquid investment vehicles: bank deposits, money market funds (​MMFs) and Treasury securities.'"

Our July MFI XLS, with June 30 data, shows total assets rose $​10.​1 billion to a record high $​7.​425 trillion, after jumping $​90.​3 billion in May, decreasing $​26.​6 billion in April and $​4.​6 billion in March. Assets increased $​90.​4 billion in February, $​47.​9 billion in January and $​113.​0 billion in December. Assets jumped $​196.​1 billion in November, $​89.​9 billion in October, $​155.​2 billion in September, $​105.​6 billion in August, and $​19.​7 billion last July.

Our broad Crane Money Fund Average 7-​Day Yield was unchanged at 4.​01%, and our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (​the 100 largest taxable funds) was up 1 bp to 4.​12% in June. On a Gross Yield Basis (​7-​Day) (​before expenses are taken out), the Crane MFA and the Crane 100 averaged 4.​38% and 4.​39%. 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 6/​30/​25 on Wednesday, 7/​9.) The average WAM (​weighted average maturity) for the Crane MFA was 38 days (​up 1 day) and the Crane 100 WAM was down 1 day from the previous month at 38 days. (​See our Crane Index or craneindexes.​xlsx history file for more on our averages.)

​

ICI published its latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" report on Thursday. The weekly series shows money fund assets jumping $​55.​6 billion to a record $​7.​078 trillion, after rising $​7.​6 billion the week prior. Money fund assets have increased by `$​774.​7 billion (​or 12.​3%) since the Fed last cut rates on 9/​18/​24 and have increased by $​1.​101 trillion (​or 18.​4%) since 4/​24/​24. MMF assets are up by $​924 billion, or 15.​0%, over the past 52 weeks (​through 7/​2/​25), with Institutional MMFs up $​489 billion, or 13.​3% and Retail MMFs up $​435 billion, or 17.​6%. Year-​to-​date, MMF assets are up by just $​228 billion, or 3.​3%, with Institutional MMFs up $​55 billion, or 1.​3% and Retail MMFs up $​173 billion, or 6.​3%.

ICI'​s weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $​55.​56 billion to $​7.​08 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, July 2, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $​49.​96 billion and prime funds increased by $​6.​60 billion. Tax-​exempt money market funds decreased by $​1.​00 billion." ICI'​s stats show Institutional MMFs increasing $​43.​8 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $​11.​8 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $​5.​769 trillion (​81.​5% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $​1.​170 trillion (​16.​5%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $​139.​0 billion (​2.​0%).

It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $​11.​78 billion to $​2.​91 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $​8.​58 billion to $​1.​83 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $​4.​83 billion to $​951.​02 billion, and tax-​exempt fund assets decreased by $​1.​63 billion to $​126.​18 billion." Retail assets account for well over a third of total assets, or 41.​1%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.​0% of all Retail MMFs.

They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $​43.​78 billion to $​4.​17 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $​41.​38 billion to $​3.​94 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $​1.​77 billion to $​218.​93 billion, and tax-​exempt fund assets increased by $​625 million to $​12.​80 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 58.​9% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.​4% of all institutional MMF totals.

According to Crane Data'​s separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have increased by $​40.​6 billion in July (​through 7/​2/​25) to $​7.​447 trillion; assets hit a record high of $​7.​463 trillion on July 1 but dipped on 7/​2. Assets increased by $​6.​7 billion in June and jumped by $​100.​9 billion in May, but fell by $​24.​4 billion in April. They rose $​2.​8 trillion in March, $​94.​2 billion in February and $​52.​8 billion in January. They jumped $​110.​9 billion in December, $​200.​5 trillion in November, $​97.​5 billion in October, $​149.​8 billion in September and $​109.​7 billion in August. 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 SEC filing for the SSGA Funds says, "Effective June 30, 2025, the brand name of the global asset management business of State Street Corporation is changing from '​State Street Global Advisors' to '​State Street Investment Management.' Accordingly, effective immediately, 'SSIM' replaces 'SSGA as a defined term and '​SSIM' is defined as 'State Street Investment Management' in each Prospectus and SAI. The brand name change will not result in any changes to the management of the Funds." (​See Crane Data'​s July 1 News, "SSGA Changes Name to State Street Inv. Mgmt.; Cunningham on Fed, MFS.")

Another filing for the UBS Series Funds tells us, a "Supplement to the prospectuses relating to UBS RMA Government Money Market Fund, UBS Select Government Preferred Fund, UBS Select Treasury Preferred Fund, and UBS Select 100% US Treasury Preferred Fund, UBS Select Government Institutional Fund, UBS Select Treasury Institutional Fund, and UBS Select 100% US Treasury Institutional Fund, UBS Prime Preferred Fund, and UBS Prime Reserves Fund, each dated August 28, 2024, as supplemented."

It continues, "Dear Investor, The purpose of this supplement is to update certain information regarding additional compensation received by financial advisors at UBS Financial Services Inc. for the above-​named series, series of UBS Series Funds. Effective immediately, the Prospectuses are hereby revised as follows: The section captioned '​Managing your fund account' and sub-​captioned '​Additional compensation to affiliated dealer' of the RMA Government Prospectus is revised by replacing the third paragraph of that section in its entirety with the following."

The filing says, "In addition, financial advisors at UBS Financial Services Inc. ('​Financial Advisors') receive monthly production credits on all eligible average daily cash balances in sweep programs, money market funds, and UBS Bank USA Core Savings. These production credits are taken into account in the calculation of the applicable Financial Advisors' grid rate schedule (​which is used to determine a Financial Advisor'​s compensation)."

It says, "Only balances in eligible accounts, such as a UBS Resource Management Account and UBS Business Services Account BSA, within the relationship will be aggregated towards calculating the cash balances. All advisory accounts, retirement accounts, and qualified plans are ineligible. Other financial intermediaries through which a fund may be purchased/​held may have other compensation arrangements with their staff, and an investor should consult with such other firm regarding questions about such arrangements, if any."

UBS writes, "The section captioned '​Managing your fund account' and sub-​captioned '​Additional information about your account' of the Select Preferred Prospectus, Select Institutional Prospectus, Prime Preferred Prospectus, and Prime Reserves Prospectus are revised by replacing the sixth paragraph of that section in its entirety with the following."

It says, "In addition, financial advisors at UBS Financial Services Inc. ('​Financial Advisors') receive monthly production credits on all eligible average daily cash balances in sweep programs, money market funds, and UBS Bank USA Core Savings. These production credits are taken into account in the calculation of the applicable Financial Advisors' grid rate schedule (​which is used to determine a Financial Advisor'​s compensation). Only balances in eligible accounts, such as a UBS Resource Management Account and UBS Business Services Account BSA, within the relationship will be aggregated towards calculating the cash balances. All advisory accounts, retirement accounts, and qualified plans are ineligible. Other financial intermediaries through which a fund may be purchased/​held may have other compensation arrangements with their staff, and an investor should consult with such other firm regarding questions about such arrangements, if any."

Finally, they comment, "The section captioned '​Managing your fund account' and sub-​captioned '​UBS Financial Services Inc.: automated purchasing accounts' and sub-​sub-​captioned '​Additional information about your account' of the Select Preferred Prospectus, Select Institutional Prospectus, Prime Preferred Prospectus, and Prime Reserves Prospectus are revised by replacing the fifth paragraph of that section in its entirety with the following."

The filing says, "In addition, financial advisors at UBS Financial Services Inc. receive monthly production credits on all eligible average daily cash balances in sweep programs, money market funds, and UBS Bank USA Core Savings. These production credits are taken into account in the calculation of the applicable Financial Advisors' grid rate schedule (​which is used to determine a Financial Advisor'​s compensation). Only balances in eligible accounts, such as a UBS Resource Management Account and UBS Business Services Account BSA, within the relationship will be aggregated towards calculating the cash balances. All advisory accounts, retirement accounts, and qualified plans are ineligible. Other financial intermediaries through which a fund may be purchased/​held may have other compensation arrangements with their staff, and an investor should consult with such other firm regarding questions about such arrangements, if any."

​

The Bank of France published a report titled, "Tokenised money market funds: what are the implications for financial stability?" A section titled, "Tokenisation of money market funds: a new bridge between traditional and tokenised finance," states, "​Asset tokenisation refers to the process of issuing and recording an asset in digital form, using a database distributed within a community of users, known as distributed ledger technology (​DLT). Tokenised money market funds are similar to traditional money market funds, but differ in their modus operandi. Their legal nature and return remain identical to those of a traditional money market fund. The novelty lies in the recording of fund units in the form of tokens traded on distributed ledgers rather than with a central securities depository as is the case with traditional money market funds. This allows automated operations -- using computer programmes known as smart contracts -- to reduce costs and speed up transactions."

The brief tells us, "The tokenisation of money market funds holding US Treasuries is growing especially rapidly in the US market, with capitalisation of more than USD 7 billion in June 2025, compared with only USD 100 million at end-​2022.... Moreover, the US market has witnessed an increase in the number of tokenised fund managers since 2024, although it remains relatively concentrated, as the market is mainly shared by four major tokenised money market funds. In Europe, the market remains very small at present. Although, the tokenised money market fund market accounts for around 0.​1% of the traditional money market fund market, which is worth over USD 7 trillion."

It says, "The characteristics of a tokenised money market fund are comparable to those of a stablecoin in several respects: the short-​term assets in which tokenised money market funds are invested are similar to the highly liquid assets that comprise stablecoin reserves, including short-​term US Treasuries; just like stablecoins, tokenised money market fund units are easily transferable. However, there are also differences between these two types of assets. Unlike stablecoins, tokenised money market funds provide a return, generally the yield on US Treasuries ... through daily interest payments -- or even by the second for certain funds -- 365 days a year. However, tokenised money market funds may be less liquid than funds for stablecoins, depending on the type of tokenised fund, the liquidity of the assets themselves and the contractual terms and conditions."

Another section, "The tokenisation of money market funds could ultimately pose risks to financial stability," says, "The tokenisation of money market funds could create new contagion channels to financial markets, even though outstanding amounts remain low for the present. "​The tokenisation of money market funds creates new interconnections between the crypto asset ecosystem and the traditional financial system via tokenisation redemption mechanisms.... For example, during periods of high volatility in the crypto asset market, crypto asset holders are likely to buy stablecoins in order to stabilise the value of their portfolio. In the future, instead of buying stablecoins, they may prefer to buy into tokenised US money market funds, which have the advantage of providing a return while remaining within the tokenised sphere. When volatility declines, they could convert these fund units into legal tender, which could require the money market fund manager to sell off the underlying US Treasuries, thereby driving down the value of US Treasuries."

The Bank of France paper explains, "The permanent availability of tokenised asset trading platforms introduces a risk of asset prices' gap between the two markets as well as a potential risk of liquidity mismatch if it is possible to redeem tokenised money market funds 24/​7. In the event of a spike in redemption requests outside traditional market trading hours, the issuer would be unable to liquidate the underlying assets to meet demand. Because the smart contracts used for tokenised money market funds automatically activate triggers when certain parameters are reached, they could amplify contagion to traditional international markets in a similar way to stablecoins. Nevertheless, the risks appear to be contained for the moment as the tokenised money market fund market remains quite small."

They write, "In addition, tokenised money market funds are subject to technological risks specific to crypto assets, including stablecoins. The dispersion of tokenised fund units across different distributed ledgers with limited interoperability, fragments liquidity and complicates operations.... Moreover, the concentration of service providers can create vulnerabilities in the event of an incident and increase the risk of monopoly. Lastly, DLT can be vulnerable to cyberattacks that target smart contracts, as evidenced by the record amounts stolen in the cryptoasset sector since 2021."

The piece also comments, "Consequently, tokenised money market funds created in the EU -- which have the characteristics of and risks associated with money market funds -- are subject to the same specific rules as traditional money market funds set out in the Money Market Fund Regulation (​MMFR). The MMFR harmonises prudential requirements for European money market funds and imposes governance and transparency rules on fund managers to ensure investor protection. Moreover, units in tokenised money market funds, although issued in the form of tokens on DLT, are classified as financial instruments and are therefore not covered by the MiCA Regulation."

Finally, it adds, "​At the international level, efforts are continuing to assess whether existing regulatory frameworks adequately deal with the characteristics of different tokenised financial assets (​e.​g. the prudential framework, operational risk, cyber risk, third-​party management). For the Financial Stability Board (​FSB), the first task is to address the lack of data and information on the development of tokenisation and to facilitate the sharing of cross-​border regulatory and supervisory information on this technology. In this regard, access to open-​source data, particularly from DLT platforms, is essential for risk monitoring."

For more on Tokenized MMFs, see these Crane Data News stories: "VanEck Launches Tokenized MMF" (​5/​19/​25), "Moody’​s on Tokenization & Money Market ETFs; JPM on Drop in T-​Bills" (​4/​22/​25), "Global Treasurer on Tokenized MMFs" (​3/​13/​25), "Standard Chartered Tokenised MMF" (​2/​24/​25), "BlackRock Money Market ETFs Go Live; Ondo Finance on Tokenized MMFs" (​2/​6/​25), and "Northern Q4 Earnings Talk Liquidity, Deposits; Tokenized MMFs, BUIDL" (​1/​27/​25).

​

Allspring'​s Global Liquidity Solutions Team recently refreshed the publication, "The Debt Ceiling - Frequently Asked Questions." The piece states, "We preface our discussion of the debt ceiling with the belief that the likelihood of one or multiple technical defaults due to a protracted debt ceiling debate is remote. In the unlikely event of a technical default, we believe it will be short-​lived and that, upon resolution, funds are likely to be unaffected. We further believe that, given evidence of preplanning, the Federal Reserve (​Fed) would be prepared to act if necessary to calm government markets and ensure their smooth and orderly functioning. While no one knows what a government default situation would look like, we can offer opinions based on our research." (Note: Thanks once more to those who attended our Money Fund Symposium in Boston last week! Attendees and Crane Data Subscribers may access the recordings and MFS Conference Materials here.)

It explains, "Past experience demonstrates that, when push comes to shove, legislators raise the debt ceiling in order to avoid a default. It has not mattered how cordial or fractious the relations have been between the two parties in Congress or between the legislative and executive branches. While some debt ceiling episodes have gone smoothly and others have been used to try to gain a political advantage, eventually a resolution has been reached."

Allspring'​s "Frequently asked questions include: "Are the debt limit and a government shutdown the same thing?" They reply, "The debt limit and a government shutdown are completely unrelated. A partial government shutdown relates to the budget process and occurs when Congress fails to appropriate funds for operating the government, while the debt limit only constrains the government'​s total indebtedness. It'​s entirely possible to have a budget dispute resulting in a government shutdown when the debt ceiling is suspended or far from binding, just as it'​s possible to have debt ceiling issues in a fully appropriated government with no threat of a shutdown."

Allspring queries, "What impact, if any, does a prolonged debate on raising the limit have on the money markets?" They comment, "Prior to the debt ceiling suspension era, the money markets reacted to the debt ceiling once per episode -- when the debt outstanding approached the limit, cash approached zero, and extraordinary measures approached exhaustion. Leading up to that time, the Treasury typically reduced Treasury bill (​T-​bill) issuance, resulting in a relative shortage of T-​bills, driving their yields lower. At the same time, as the market assessed the likelihood of nonpayment on particular Treasury securities, those instruments generally sold off."

The brief continues, "The specific securities deemed at risk were generally T-​bills maturing in the several weeks after the drop-​dead date, as well as Treasury notes and bonds -- both those maturing in the same time period and those with interest payments due in that window. For example, if a payment late in October was considered questionable, investors might shun not only Treasury notes maturing then but also those maturing in April or October of future years, which would be due to receive interest payments that might be compromised. The rates on other money market instruments, including government-​sponsored enterprise (​GSE) discount notes, were generally little changed, as they would be unaffected by a payment delay on Treasury securities."

Allspring asks, "If the debt limit is not raised or suspended and all extraordinary measures have been exhausted by the Treasury, will the U.​S. government default?" They answer, "If we get to the point that the Treasury has exhausted all extraordinary measures, explored any further measures, and simply run out of cash to pay the government'​s bills, then it is likely it would have to default. But what is meant by 'default'? The most likely answer is that it would mean a temporary delay in payments that come due -- in this case, the payment of maturities and interest on Treasury securities. This is widely termed a technical default. The bottom line is that we have no reason to expect the government will default on its obligations in the traditional sense. The worst-​case scenario is that it may have to delay a payment or two for a very short period, but the payment likely will be made."

The article also questions, "What would a default look like?" They respond, "Answers to this question fall in the realm of pure speculation because we have very little concrete evidence upon which to base our opinions. Based on past experience, when push comes to shove, legislators act as quickly as possible to raise or suspend the debt ceiling to allow the government to get back to business. `​For this reason, we think that, in the unlikely event the government does go into technical default (​that is, delaying payment on maturing securities), it would be for a very short period, affecting at most one or two payments. Neither side of the aisle wants to be the one that caused a government default."

The Q&​A says, "From a market perspective, we can only speculate. During previous crises, securities that matured shortly after the drop-​dead date experienced some stress, with investors by and large shunning their purchase and risk premia causing yields on those bills to gap out. Longer bills, however, were largely unaffected, and trading in those securities continued without discernible disruption. Under a default scenario, depending on whether the securities in question remain on the Fedwire (​and we think that will be the case), we could see something similar happen."

It adds, "How would a default affect the repo market? From an operational standpoint, defaulted Treasury securities, the specific issues that had suffered missed or delayed payments, would still be eligible for inclusion as collateral in repo transactions so long as they remained in Fedwire. As a practical matter, lenders might be reluctant to accept such tainted securities as collateral unless higher haircuts, or margins, were offered. In addition, it'​s possible that lenders also could refuse to accept Treasury securities at risk of default as collateral, even if the Treasury had not yet missed a payment on any security. Because there is no cross-​default provision for Treasury securities, the vast majority of Treasury securities could continue to be used to collateralize repo transactions, at least operationally."

Finally, they ask, "If the U.​S. government were to default, would money market funds be required to sell any of their defaulted securities holdings?" Allspring answers, "Not necessarily. Under SEC Rule 2a-​7, a fund is not automatically required to dispose of a security that is in default. A fund may continue to hold a defaulted security if the fund'​s board of trustees deems it would be in the best interest of the fund'​s shareholders.... [A] board may find it is not in the best interests of the fund or its shareholders to sell a delayed security, especially if such a forced sale would lead to a trading loss for the fund and adversely affect the fund'​s net asset value."

​

A statement from Yie-​Hsin Hung, President & CEO of State Street Investment Management, tells us, "I'​m excited to share that State Street'​s global asset management business has been rebranded from '​State Street Global Advisors' to '​State Street Investment Management' to better reflect the breadth of solutions and services we offer to investors. Along with our new brand, we have refreshed our logo and brand identity to align closer to our parent, State Street, to create a stronger, more unified presence in the marketplace. Today is just the latest step in our evolution as a firm. In the last year, we'​ve entered into new partnerships, expanded solutions through innovation, and entered new markets -- all to better serve you." (Note: Hung gave a keynote speech at our recent Money Fund Symposium titled, "The Future of Cash. Watch for quotes from this in our upcoming Money Fund Intelligence newsletter.)

She explains, "You will see our new branding appear in our communications and website starting today. While our brand may be evolving, our mission to create better outcomes for our clients and the world'​s investors won'​t change and how we partner with you every day won'​t either. Importantly, this rebrand does not involve any changes to the names, control, or ownership of our legal entities and therefore does not require any action on your part. Please feel free to visit our updated website to view our new look."

A press release explains, "State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corporation (​STT), today announced its new brand name: State Street Investment Management. The rebranding highlights the firm'​s focus on growth and engagement with clients and partners, and its commitment to product innovation, in service of creating better outcomes for the world'​s investors and the people they serve."

It states, "In developing the new brand identity, State Street conducted research and solicited input and feedback from clients, investors and employees around the world. The update puts a stronger focus on the firm'​s 'One State Street' approach that aims to enhance collaboration across State Street Corporation and expand offerings for the benefit of investors globally."

Chief Marketing Officer John Brockelman comments, "State Street Investment Management is an essential partner to investors, offering them unparalleled expertise, unique insights, and both innovative and cost-​effective solutions. We'​re excited to unveil a new brand that communicates that promise. These changes to our brand strengthen our value proposition, simplify the way we go to market, and improve our clients' experience across State Street."

In other news, Federated Hermes' Deborah Cunningham writes, "Not the time to lack '​conviction'." She tells us, "One of the numerous costs of President Trump'​s assault on Federal Reserve Chair Powell is casting monetary policy as black and white. It might have seemed that way decades ago. Before Chair Bernanke essentially opened it to the public, the Fed was a black box. It communicated primarily through the Federal Open Market Committee (​FOMC) statement and daily trading operations rather than through speeches, press conferences and Congressional testimony. But monetary policy is as gray as it gets in economics, involving as much opinion as data."

She explains, "Trump'​s tirades also drown out healthy discussions about the central bank. Had he not issued a screed after the FOMC held rates steady last month, the main story might have been a growing restlessness among officials. Actually, it should be. No participant dissented from the decision, but the June Statement of Economic Projections (​SEP) shifted subtly from March'​s, suggesting a potential divide. While the median '​dot' of the fed funds rate remained at 3.​9% -- implying two quarter-​point cuts this year -- seven voters indicated zero cuts compared to four in March."

Cunningham says, "Powell'​s response to the shift was to downplay the significance of the dot plot. '​No one holds these rate paths with a great deal of conviction ... and you can make a case for any of the rate paths that you see in the SEP.' One could ask why policymakers bother to produce the SEP if they do not have '​conviction.' Perhaps they actually don'​t, as there is speculation the Fed might alter the dot plot in its soon-​to-​be-​released updated policy framework. In any case, it seems we won'​t see a rate cut until September."

She adds, "In the face of withering criticism, it would have behooved Powell to be resolute in his opinion that increased tariffs and intensified geopolitical conflicts could put upward pressure on inflation. After all, his stance has been to avoid the policy mistakes of the 1970s, when the Fed lowered rates too soon and inflation reaccelerated. On this point, he has the backing of most of the FOMC; members raised the Core PCE levels they expect to see in the near future."

Cunningham comments, "One member who seems close to dissenting is Governor Christopher Waller. Citing the weakening labor market, he said he would support a rate cut at July'​s meeting. But he was appointed by Trump and might be auditioning to succeed Powell. Speaking of that, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump might take a path we knew was possible: naming the person he will appoint to succeed the Fed chair far earlier than is typical. The newspaper floated Waller, Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and former World Bank President David Malpass. That'​s a lot of names, though. By the time it is sorted out, it already might be time to announce the nominee."

Finally, she tells us, "​Whatever the exact placements of the dots, cash managers will be happy for rates to decline only slightly and gradually. At the annual Crane Data Money Fund Symposium, held in late June in Boston, optimism reigned. Many of the attendees and speakers professed confidence that industry money market fund assets will remain above $​7 trillion, with some expecting they will approach $​8 trillion. If rates do fall by 1 percentage point by the end of 2026, as the SEP also indicated, yields should still top 3%, likely remaining attractive to investors."

Cunningham also says, "​Innovation was a focus at the event. Discussions often touched on the digital future, primarily stablecoin and blockchain. The royal court'​s tech counselor has the ear of King Cash these days, and the sentiment in Boston was that digital liquidity products will grow in stature and number."

Money Market News Archive