Press Releases Archives: October, 2009

Crane Data's Peter Crane, Fidelity's Michael Morin, and SSgA's Jeff St. Peters will present "The New Frontier in Money Market Funds & An Update on Current Conditions in the Money Markets" at a Nov. 18 meeting of the Treasury Management Association of New England (TMANE) at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The session description says, "Money fund expert Peter Crane will ... give an overview of developments in money market mutual funds. He will discuss money fund asset trends, pending regulatory changes, and a number of other issues impacting the $3.5 trillion money fund marketplace. Crane will also provide a wealth of statistics on the money fund sector. This will be followed by a panel of money fund portfolio managers, including Michael Morin from Fidelity and Jeff St. Peters from SSgA.... These senior PMs will discuss their money market investing strategies and will analyze the latest market conditions. Panelists will talk about what they're buying and what they're avoiding, and how they're adjusting to new regulations and the ultra-low yield environment." In other event and conference news, IIR and iMoneyNet's Money Fund Forum takes place today in New York, and Eurofinance's "International Cash & Treasury Management" takes place later this week in Copenhagen, Denmark. Crane Data won't be participating in either, but we are beginning the planning for our next Crane's Money Fund Symposium. MFS will be held July 26-28, 2010, at the InterContinental Hotel in Boston. (The website, at http://www.kinsleymeetings.com/crane should be ready for early registrations in the near future.) Contact Pete for information on speaking or sponsoring.

Investment News writes "Money funds caught between staying safe and staying around", which says, "These days, money market funds are investing only the safest securities. But rather than trust the industry to continue doing right by investors on its own, regulators are considering new policing guidelines that may result in safer money funds and fewer fund managers." It adds, "Evidence of the squeeze on money funds can be seen in the number of fund consolidations that have occurred recently. In July, Aston Asset Management LLC, formerly ABN Amro Asset Management Holdings Inc., liquidated its funds, becoming the sixth firm in two years to leave the money fund business according to consulting firm Crane Data LLC. Also closing their funds were Calamos Advisors LLC, Credit Suisse Asset Management LLC, Munder Capital Management, Utendahl Capital Management LP and Monarch Investment Advisors LLC."