Press Releases & Quotes
While Crane Data is gearing up for its next live event, European Money Fund Symposium, which will take place Sept. 27-28 in Paris, France, we're also starting to make plans for our next Money Fund University educational conference. Our 12th annual MFU will change slightly from its previous "basic training" format to a more advanced "Master's in Money Markets" program this year. It will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Boston, Mass., December 15-16, 2022. (We cancelled MFU last January and hosted a virtual event, but this year we'll be back live and in person.) Crane's Money Fund University is designed for those relatively new to the money market fund industry or those in need of a concentrated refresher on a broad core curriculum. The event also focuses on hot topics like money market fund regulations, money fund alternatives, offshore markets, and other recent industry trends. Our educational conference features a faculty of the money fund industry's top lawyers, strategists, and portfolio managers, and the Boston show will include an extended free training session (and lunch) for Crane Data clients, as well as a Holiday party where all are welcome. Money Fund University offers a 2-day crash course on money market mutual funds, educating attendees on the history of money funds, the Fed, interest rates, ratings, rankings, and money market instruments such as commercial paper, Treasury bills, CDs and repo. We also cover portfolio construction and credit analysis. Registrations ($750) are now being taken, and the latest agenda is available here. (E-mail us to request the latest brochure.) New portfolio managers, analysts, investors, issuers, service providers, and anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of "cash" investing should benefit from our comprehensive program. Even experienced professionals may enjoy a refresher course and the opportunity to interact with peers in an informal setting. Also, please join us for the 8th Annual Crane's European Money Fund Symposium. The latest agenda is available and registrations are still being taken for this year's European event, which will take place Sept. 27-28 at the Renaissance Paris La Defense in Paris, France. Registration for our 2022 Crane's European Money Fund Symposium is $1,000 USD. Please make your hotel reservations soon! Rooms must be booked before August 5 to receive the discounted rate of E259. Visit www.euromfs.com to register, and contact us to request the PDF brochure. (Let us know too if you'd like information on speaking or sponsorship pricing.) Mark your calendars for our next Bond Fund Symposium, which be held in Boston, Mass., on March 23-24, 2023. (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, mark your calendars too for our next big show, Crane's Money Fund Symposium, which will be held in Atlanta, Ga., June 21-23, 2023. 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. Let us know if you'd like more details on any of our events, and we hope to see you in Paris in September, Boston in December or in March 2023, and Atlanta in June 2023. Thanks to all of our speakers, sponsors and supporters for your patience and support over the past 2+ rough years!
With the coming of the New Year, Crane Data is ramping up preparations for its 2021 conference calendar. We'll be doing virtual events in January (Money Fund University on Jan. 21-22) and in March (Bond Fund Symposium, March 25-26). But we hope to return to live events by June. Crane's Money Fund Symposium, the largest gathering of money market fund managers and cash investors in the world, will take place June 23-25, 2021 at The Loews Philadelphia, in Philadelphia, Pa. The preliminary agenda is now available and registrations are now being taken. Money Fund Symposium attracts money fund managers, marketers and servicers, cash investors, money market securities dealers, issuers, and regulators. We review our preliminary agenda, as well as Crane Data's other 2021 conferences, below.
Our MF Symposium Agenda kicks off on Wednesday, June 23 with a keynote on "MMFs Adapting to Regulations, Tech & ESG" with Tom Callahan of BlackRock, Deborah Cunningham of Federated Investors and Peter Crane of Crane Data. The rest of the Day 1 Agenda includes: "Treasury Issuance & Repo Update," with Mark Cabana of BofA Securities, Dina Marchioni of Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Tom Katzenbach of the U.S. Treasury; a "Corporate Investor MF Discussion" with Tom Hunt of AFP; and, a "Major Money Fund Issues 2021" panel with moderator Ed Baldry of EPBComms, Tracy Hopkins of Dreyfus/BNY Mellon CIS, Rob Sabatino of UBS Asset Management, Jeff Weaver of Wells Fargo Asset Management. (The evening's reception is sponsored by Bank of America.)
Day 2 of Money Fund Symposium 2021 begins with "The State of the Money Fund Industry," which features Peter Crane, Michael Morin of Fidelity Investments and Peter Yi of Northern Trust Asset Management; followed by a "Senior Portfolio Manager Perspectives" panel, including Linda Klingman of Charles Schwab I.M. and Nafis Smith of Vanguard. Next up is "Government & Treasury Money Fund Issues," with Joseph Abate of Barclays as moderator, Adam Ackermann of J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Geoff Gibbs of DWS. The morning concludes with a "Muni & Tax Exempt Money Fund Update," featuring Colleen Meehan of Dreyfus, John Vetter of Fidelity and Sean Saroya of J.P. Morgan Securities.
The Afternoon of Day 2 (after a Dreyfus-sponsored lunch) features the segments: "Dealer's Choice: Supply, New Securities & CP" with moderator, Jeff Plotnik of U.S. Bancorp Asset Mgmt, Robe Crowe of Citi Global Markets, John Kodweis of J.P. Morgan and Stewart Cutler of Barclays; "Ratings Focus: Governance, Global & LGIPs" with Robert Callagy of Moody's Investors Service, Greg Fayvilevich of Fitch Ratings, and Michael Masih of S&P Global Ratings; "Ultra-Short, ETFs & Alt-Cash Update," with Alex Roever of JPM and Laurie Brignac of Invesco. The day's wrap-up presentation is "Brokerage Sweeps, Bank Deposits & Fin-Tech" involving Chris Melin of Ameriprise Financial and Kevin Bannerton of Total Bank Solutions. (The Day 2 reception is sponsored by Barclays.)
The third day of the Symposium features the sessions: "Strategists Speak '20: Fed & Rates, Repo & SOFR" with Priya Misra of TD Securities and Garret Sloan of Wells Fargo Securities; "European, ESG & ETF Issues," with Brenden Carroll of Dechert LLP and Jonathan Curry of HSBC Global A.M.; "FICC Repo & Agency Roundtable" with Kyle Lynch of FHLBanks Office of Finance. Peter Crane wraps up the conference with the session "Money Fund Statistics & Disclosures.
Visit the MF Symposium website at www.moneyfundsymposium.com) for more details. Registration is $750, and discounted hotel reservations are available. We hope you'll join us in Philadelphia this June! We'll of course be watching the coronavirus and vaccine rollout, and will adjust plans if travel bans are still in place come late spring. Note that some of our speakers have yet to confirm their participation, and the agenda is still in the process of being finalized, so watch for tweaks in coming weeks. E-mail us at info@cranedata.com to request the full brochure.)
We're also making final preparations for Crane's Money Fund University, which will be held online, January 21-22, 2021. Our Money Fund University (Online) will cover the history of money funds, interest rates, regulations (Rule 2a-7), ratings, rankings, money market instruments such as commercial paper, CDs and repo, 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. The latest agenda is available online and we are still accepting registrations ($250). (We're also willing to "comp" tickets for large Crane Data or sponsor clients, so let us know if you're interested.)
We're also getting ready for our next Crane's Bond Fund Symposium (Online), which will be held March 25-26. (Click here to see the 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.
Crane Data, which recently celebrated the sixth anniversary of its Bond Fund Intelligence publication and BFI XLS bond fund information service and benchmarks, continues to expand its fixed income fund offerings with the recent launch of Bond Fund Wisdom product and Bond Fund Portfolio Holdings dataset. Bond Fund Symposium offers attendees a concentrated and affordable educational experience, as well as an excellent networking venue. Registration for Bond Fund Symposium is $250. Our mission is to deliver the best possible conference content at an affordable price to bond fund professionals and investors.
Finally, we've also set the dates and location for our next European Money Fund Symposium. It is scheduled for Oct. 21-22, 2021, in Paris, France. Let us know if you'd like more details on any of our events, and we hope to see you virtually in Q1, and live in Philadelphia and Paris later in 2021. Happy New Year!
While the nationwide lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic continues, Crane Data remains hopeful that travel will resume later this summer and that we'll be able to host our annual Money Fund Symposium and European Money Fund Symposium. Crane's Money Fund Symposium has been shifted back from June to August 24-26, 2020, and the show remains at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. We'll of course continue to monitor events carefully in coming weeks, and we'll be prepared to move again (perhaps to Nov. 18-20), to cancel, and/or to webcast if our client base deems it unsafe. Meanwhile, we'll be preparing for the show and taking steps to spread out and make the event safer. The latest agenda is available, though we'll no doubt be tweaking this as we get closer to the summer, and registrations are being taken at www.moneyfundsymposium.com. (Note: We'll offer full refunds or credits for any cancellations.)
Our MF Symposium Agenda is scheduled to kick off on Monday, August 24 with a keynote on "Money Funds through the Decades" from Paul Schott Stevens of the Investment Company Institute. The rest of the Day 1 agenda includes: "Treasury Issuance & Repo Update," with Mark Cabana of Bank of America, Dina Marchioni of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Tom Katzenbach of the U.S. Department of the Treasury; a "Corporate Investor, Portal & ESG MMF Discussion" with Tom Callahan of BlackRock, Tom Hunt of AFP, and Mark Adamson of Wells Fargo Securities; and, a "Major Money Fund Issues 2020" panel with Tracy Hopkins of Dreyfus/BNY Mellon Cash Investment Strategies, Jeff Weaver of Wells Fargo Asset Management and Peter Yi of Northern Trust Asset Management. (The evening's reception is sponsored by BofA Securities.)
Day 2 of Money Fund Symposium 2020 will begin with "The State of the Money Fund Industry," which features Peter Crane, Deborah Cunningham of Federated Investors and Michael Morin of Fidelity Investments, followed by a "Senior Portfolio Manager Perspectives" panel, including Linda Klingman of Charles Schwab I.M., Nafis Smith of Vanguard and John Tobin of J.P. Morgan Asset Mgmt. Next up is "Government & Treasury Money Fund Issues," with Mike Bird of Wells Fargo Funds and Geoff Gibbs of DWS. The morning concludes with a "Muni & Tax Exempt Money Fund Update," featuring Colleen Meehan of Dreyfus, John Vetter of Fidelity and Sean Saroya of J.P. Morgan Securities.
The Afternoon of Day 2 (after a Dreyfus-sponsored lunch) features the segments: "Dealer's Choice: Supply, New Securities & CP" with moderator, Jeff Plotnik of U.S. Bancorp Asset Mgmt., Robe Crowe of Citi Global Markets, John Kodweis of JPM and Stewart Cutler of Barclays; "Fund Ratings Focus: Governance, Global & LGIPs" with Robert Callagy of Moody's Investors Service, Greg Fayvilevich of Fitch Ratings and Michael Masih of S&P Global Ratings; "Ultra-Short, ETFs & Alt-Cash Update," with Alex Roever of J.P. Morgan Securities and Laurie Brignac of Invesco. The day's wrap-up presentation is "Brokerage Sweeps, Bank Deposits & Fin-Tech" involving Chris Melin of Ameriprise Financial and Kevin Bannerton of Total Bank Solutions. (The Day 2 reception is sponsored by Barclays.)
The third day of the Symposium features the sessions: "Strategists Speak '20: Fed Rates, Repo & SOFR" with Priya Misra of TD Securities and Garret Sloan of Wells Fargo Securities; "Regulatory & Misc. Issues: ESG, ETF, European," with Brenden Carroll of Dechert LLP, Rob Sabatino of UBS Asset Mgmt and Jonathan Curry of HSBC Global A.M.; "FICC Repo & Agency Roundtable," with Owen Nichols of State Street Global Markets and Kyle Lynch of FHLBanks Office of Finance and, "Money Fund Statistics & Disclosures" with Peter Crane.
Visit the MF Symposium website at www.moneyfundsymposium.com for more details. Registration is $750, and discounted hotel reservations are available. We hope you'll it'll be safe to travel and you'll join us in Minneapolis this August! When and if you're ready, attendees, speakers and sponsors should register here and make hotel reservations here. We'll keep you posted on our plans, so watch for updates in coming months. E-mail us at info@cranedata.com to request the full brochure, or click here to see the latest.
We've also pushed back the dates for our next European Money Fund Symposium, which is now scheduled for Nov. 19-20, 2020 in Paris, France. (It had been scheduled for Sept. 17-18.) We'll be watching travel restrictions to Europe closely in coming months (and may have to shift or cancel this too). Again, we'll give full refunds or credits for any events that are cancelled or that registered attendees can't travel to or want to cancel.
"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. Last year's European Crane Symposium event in Dublin attracted 110 attendees, sponsors and speakers.
EMFS will be held at the Renaissance Paris La Defense. Hotel rooms must be booked before Thursday, October 1 to receive the discounted rate of E279 (single) or E289 (double). Registration for our 2020 Crane's European Money Fund Symposium is $1,000 USD. Visit www.euromfs.com to register, or contact us to request the PDF brochure or for Sponsorship pricing and info.
Also, mark your calendars for next year's Money Fund University, which is scheduled for Jan. 21-22, 2021, in Pittsburgh, Pa, and our next Bond Fund Symposium, which is scheduled for March 25-26, 2021 in Newport Beach, Calif. Watch for details in coming months, and let us know if you're interested in sponsoring or speaking. Contact us if you have any feedback or questions. Attendees to Crane Conferences and Crane Data subscribers may access the latest recordings, Powerpoints and binder materials at the bottom of our "Content page." Let us know if you'd like more details on any of our events, and we hope to see you in Minneapolis later this summer and Paris this fall!
Finally, we'll spending the next month or two upgrading our virtual event capabilities, just in case, and we'll be launching a series of Webinars and online events in coming weeks. Mark your calendars for our inaugural event, a "Money Fund Update & Product Training," which will take place on May 21 at 2pm Eastern. (MFI subscribers will be invited and we'll put a notice on the website.)
Please note that due to the coronavirus pandemic and widespread corporate travel bans, Crane Data has moved the dates for its "big show" Money Fund Symposium from June to August. Crane's Money Fund Symposium is now scheduled for August 24-26, 2020, at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. (It had been scheduled for June 24-26.) We'll continue to watch events carefully in coming weeks, and we'll be prepared to move again (perhaps to Nov. 18-20), to cancel, and/or to webcast if the pandemic persists. In the meantime, our planning goes on. The latest agenda is available and registrations are still being taken at: www.moneyfundsymposium.com. (Registrations for the June show will be transferred to the new August dates, and June hotel reservations will be cancelled if you've already made plans.) We've also set the dates and location for our next European Money Fund Symposium, which is scheduled for Sept. 17-18, 2020, in Paris, France. But we'll be watching travel restrictions to Europe closely in coming months (and may have to shift or cancel this too). (We'll give full refunds or credits for any events that are cancelled or that registered attendees can't make it to.) Let us know if you'd like more details on any of our events, and we hope to see you in Minneapolis later this summer! Finally, mark your calendars for next year's Money Fund University, which will be Jan. 21-22, 2021, in Pittsburgh, Pa, and our next Bond Fund Symposium, which is scheduled for March 25-26, 2021 in Newport Beach, Calif. Watch for details in coming months, and let us know if you're interested in sponsoring or speaking, and contact us if you have any feedback or questions. Attendees to MFU and Crane Data subscribers may access the latest recordings, Powerpoints and binder materials here: https://cranedata.com/publications/mfuniversity-2020.
Mutual fund publication ignites features a video brief with Crane Data's Peter Crane entitled, "'Frustrated' by Low Bank Deposit Yields, Investors Moving to Money Funds." The brief interview, which was posted last week, says, "The biggest competitors right now to money market funds are bank deposit accounts, which have lured significant market share from the funds, says Peter Crane, president and CEO of Crane Data. But some investors who are frustrated by bank products' near-zero yields are growing more sensitive to rising interest rates and starting to move into money funds, he adds." When asked about competition, Crane comments, "There are potential threats from ultra-short bond funds, from a money market ETF being developed [or] from something new occurring, but the biggest competition and threat right now is from bank deposits, who have taken major slices of market share. It's unclear whether banks will aggressively push up deposit rates to protect that money if it starts leaving towards money market funds.... In the past they haven't. Banks have been content to underpay. But there are signs [that] banks are moving and tweaking [rates]. Banks are trying to have it both ways, where they pay near zero on the vast majority of deposits, and then they run a special for new accounts where they're paying 1.6% or something to try to get new money." He adds, "Investors really became desensitized to interest rates during the zero-yield environment. Whether they become re-sensitized -- if that's a word -- remains to be seen. But there's clearly indications that there are slices of cash that are frustrated by the zero yields and are starting to move. Whether that spreads to the broad base of money out there remains to be seen. But the longer we're here at 1.75%, 2% yields, or the higher we go, or depending on what happens in the stock market, the more likely that is to happen."
The August issue of our flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which was sent out to subscribers Tuesday morning, features the articles: "Rising MF Yields Turn Up Heat on Sweeps, Bank Deposits," which discusses the growing spread between money funds and other cash options; "PGIM Still Rocking in Cash: Q&A w/D'Angelo, Nicholson," which profiles the money funds formerly named Prudential; and, "European MMF Reforms Go Live; Ready for Symposium," which reviews the latest on European money fund regulations. We've also updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with July 31, 2018, statistics, and sent out our MFI XLS spreadsheet Tuesday a.m. (MFI, MFI XLS and our Crane Index products are all available to subscribers via our Content center.) Our August Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to ship on Thursday, August 9, and our August Bond Fund Intelligence is scheduled to go out Tuesday, August 14.
MFI's "Rising MF Yields" article says, "Money fund yields have risen from a near record-low average of 0.04% three years ago to 1.75% currently (as measured by our Crane 100 MF Index), while bank deposit rates, and in particular brokerage sweep rates, have lagged dramatically. Brokerage sweep rates have risen from 0.01% to 0.22%, while bank money market deposit rates still average a ridiculously low 0.20% (according to the FDIC's averages). Even the highest-yielding deposits average just 1.26%."
The lead piece continues, "While asset flows into money market funds attracted by these huge yield differentials remain subdued, we suspect this is beginning to change. One reason that investors haven't moved is that the news that money fund yields are back is still slow getting out. But this is changing too. A steady stream of articles pointing out these attractive spreads are appearing."
It adds, "J.P. Morgan Securities comments in a recent 'Short Duration Strategy' piece, "With the Fed on the move and interest rates steadily rising, the topic of deposit betas and outflows has garnered significant attention from the financial community. Indeed, deposit growth at US commercial banks has slowed to 3.0-3.5% on a year-over-year basis, from a high of 5.0-7.0% in 2015 before the Fed embarked on its mission to lift interest rates.... [W]e have seen flows into other liquidity alternatives such as MMFs and short duration bond funds for both retail and institutional investors. More notably, the magnitude of the flows this year has been above and beyond what typically takes place during this time period."
Our PGIM Profile" reads, "This month, Money Fund Intelligence interviews Joe D'Angelo, Managing Director of PGIM Fixed Income, who runs the money market desk, and Chris Nicholson, Vice President of Fixed-Income Product Management at PGIM Investments, the distributor of the PGIM funds. PGIM's funds formerly carried the Prudential moniker, but they changed names earlier this summer to synch the funds with that of their advisor. Our Q&A follows."
MFI asks, "How long have you been running cash?" D'Angelo answers, "We were running cash before I started here, which was 30 years ago.... PGIM Fixed Income evolved from three internal fixed income groups focused on mutual funds, separate accounts, and proprietary accounts. These three separate groups were each managing money independently in the infant stages of money markets, going back to the early '80s or even late '70's.... Ultimately, all fixed income asset management was brought together. At that time, in roughly 2000, the firm had about $130 billion in assets under management. Now, PGIM Fixed Income is up to 600-plus clients with over $700 billion under management as of June 2018."
He continues, "I grew up on the issuance side of Prudential, coming here in the late '80s to work under the Treasurer. We were a prominent direct issuer of commercial paper. I moved from the direct issuer desk to securities lending, then jumped to investments around 2000."
Nicholson adds, "I've worked in various roles in financial services for the last 15 years [and] came over to Prudential, or PGIM now, in November of 2014.... I head up the fixed income product management efforts on the mutual fund side of things." (Watch for more excerpts from our "profile" on www.cranedata.com later this month or ask us to see the full MFI issue.)
MFI's "European Reforms" piece says, "New European Money Market Fund Reforms went into effect July 21. While existing funds don't need to comply until Jan. 31, 2019, discussions and preparations have shifted into high gear. Several of the largest managers of the 'offshore' stable value funds likely to be most-impacted by the changes have announced reform plans, with most expecting investors to stay put and go 'LVNAV.' Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings recently commented on the changes, one in the form of a Q&​A and the other via webinar. (​See our July 23 News, "European Money Market Fund Reforms Go Live; Moody's, Fitch Comment.")
Our August MFI XLS, with July 31, 2018, data, shows total assets increased $36.3 billion in July to $3.044 trillion, after decreasing $49.9 billion in June, increasing $53.7 billion in May, and $19.9 billion in April. Our broad Crane Money Fund Average 7-Day Yield rose 2 bps to 1.57% during the month, while our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (the 100 largest taxable funds) was up 2 bps to 1.76%.
On a Gross Yield Basis (7-Day) (before expenses are taken out), the Crane MFA rose 1 bps to 2.03% and the Crane 100 rose to 2.04%. Charged Expenses averaged 0.46% and 0.28% (unchanged), respectively for the Crane MFA and Crane 100. The average WAM (weighted average maturity) for the Crane MFA and Crane 100 were 27 and 28 days, respectively (down two days and one day from last month). (See our Crane Index or craneindexes.xlsx history file for more on our averages.)
Crane Data released its July Money Fund Portfolio Holdings Wednesday, and our most recent collection of taxable money market securities, with data as of June 30, 2018, shows a drop in Repo overall but a sharp rebound in Fed Repo. Money market securities held by Taxable U.S. money funds (tracked by Crane Data) decreased by $53.8 billion to $2.871 trillion last month, after increasing by $16.7 billion in May and $46.4 billion in April, but decreasing $105.0 billion in March. Repo continued to be the largest portfolio segment, followed by Treasury securities then Agencies. CP remained fourth ahead of CDs, Other/Time Deposits and VRDNs. Below, we review our latest Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics. (Visit our Content center to download the latest files, or contact us to see our latest Portfolio Holdings reports.)
Among taxable money funds, Repurchase Agreements (repo) fell $31.4 billion (-3.2%) to $952.8 billion, or 33.2% of holdings, after jumping $67.1 billion in May and $99.9 in April, but dropping $89.6 billion in March. Treasury securities fell again, down $6.3 billion (-0.8%) to $773.0 billion, or 26.9% of holdings, after dropping $50.9 billion in May and $108.3 billion in April, but jumping $95.3 billion in March. Government Agency Debt fell by $9.3 billion (-1.4%) to $674.2 billion, or 23.5% of all holdings, after rising by $5.5 billion in May, rising $23.4 in April, and falling $58.1 billion in March. Repo, Treasuries and Agencies total $2.400 trillion, representing a massive 83.6% of all taxable holdings.
CP fell in the sixth month of the year, while CDs and Other (mainly Time Deposits) securities increased. Commercial Paper (CP) was down $10.0 billion (-4.5%) to $213.9 billion, or 7.5% of holdings, after rising $13.2 billion in May, rising $8.8 billion in April and falling $16.2 billion in March. Certificates of Deposits (CDs) rose by $1.6 billion (0.9%) to $169.3 billion, or 5.9% of taxable assets (after dropping by $1.2 billion in May and rising $1.7 billion in April). Other holdings, primarily Time Deposits, rose by $1.6 billion (2.1%) to $79.3 billion, or 2.8% of holdings. VRDNs held by taxable funds fell by $0.0B (-0.4%) (0.3% of assets).
Prime money fund assets tracked by Crane Data dipped again to $651 billion (down from $662 billion last month), or 22.7% (up from 22.6%) of taxable money fund holdings' total of $2.871 trillion. Among Prime money funds, CDs represent over a quarter of holdings at 26.0% (up from 25.3% a month ago), followed by Commercial Paper at 33.0% (down from 33.8%). The CP totals are comprised of: Financial Company CP, which makes up 21.5% of total holdings, Asset-Backed CP, which accounts for 6.5%, and Non-Financial Company CP, which makes up 5.0%. Prime funds also hold 5.5% in US Govt Agency Debt, 6.9% in US Treasury Debt, 7.2% in US Treasury Repo, 1.6% in Other Instruments, 8.9% in Non-Negotiable Time Deposits, 5.1% in Other Repo, 3.5% in US Government Agency Repo, and 1.0% in VRDNs.
Government money fund portfolios totaled $1.539 trillion (53.6% of all MMF assets), down from $1.589 trillion in May, while Treasury money fund assets totaled another $681 billion (23.7%), up from $673 billion the prior month. Government money fund portfolios were made up of 41.5% US Govt Agency Debt, 19.8% US Government Agency Repo, 16.4% US Treasury debt, and 22.0% in US Treasury Repo. Treasury money funds were comprised of 69.7% US Treasury debt, 30.1% in US Treasury Repo, and 0.1% in Government agency repo, Other Instrument, and Investment Company shares. Government and Treasury funds combined now total $2.220 trillion, or 77.3% of all taxable money fund assets, the same as last month.
European-affiliated holdings fell $136.5 billion in June to $541.0 billion among all taxable funds (and including repos); their share of holdings fell to 18.4% from 23.2% the previous month. Eurozone-affiliated holdings fell $98.2 billion to $337.3 billion in June; they account for 11.8% of overall taxable money fund holdings. Asia & Pacific related holdings increased by $0.9 billion to $244.8 billion (8.5% of the total). Americas related holdings rose $0.1 billion to $2.083 trillion and now represent 72.6% of holdings.
The overall taxable fund Repo totals were made up of: US Treasury Repurchase Agreements, which decreased $26.2 billion, or -4.3%, to $591.1 billion, or 20.6% of assets; US Government Agency Repurchase Agreements (down $5.1 billion to $328.0 billion, or 11.4% of total holdings), and Other Repurchase Agreements ($33.7 billion, or 1.2% of holdings, down $0.1 billion from last month). The Commercial Paper totals were comprised of Financial Company Commercial Paper (down $2.1 billion to $139.6 billion, or 4.9% of assets), Asset Backed Commercial Paper (up $0.3 billion to $42.2 billion, or 1.5%), and Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper (down $8.2 billion to $32.2 billion, or 1.1%).
The 20 largest Issuers to taxable money market funds as of June 30, 2018, include: the US Treasury ($773.0 billion, or 26.9%), Federal Home Loan Bank ($549.0B, 19.1%), BNP Paribas ($143.4B, 5.0%), RBC ($95.5B, 3.3%), Federal Reserve Bank of New York $88.6B, 3.1%), Federal Farm Credit Bank $76.9B, 2.7%), Wells Fargo ($67.5B, 2.4%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($51.0B, 1.8%), HSBC ($51.0B, 1.8%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($46.1B, 1.6%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Co ($45.1B, 1.6%), JP Morgan ($43.3B, 1.5%), Bank of Montreal ($41.5B, 1.4%), Nomura ($40.4B, 1.4%), Bank of America ($38.2B, 1.3%), Barclays PLC ($36.8B, 1.3%), Societe Generale ($36.1B, 1.3%), Toronto-Dominion ($33.7B, 1.2%), Citi ($30.2B, 1.1%), and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Co ($29.9B, 1.0%).
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: BNP Paribas ($133.5B, 14.0%), Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($88.6B, 9.3%), RBC ($79.0B, 8.3%), Wells Fargo ($54.0B, 5.7%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($51.0B, 5.4%), HSBC ($42.7B, 4.5%), Nomura ($40.4B, 4.2%), JP Morgan ($34.7B, 3.6%), Bank of America ($34.1B, 3.6%), and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Co ($32.4B, 3.4%).
The 10 largest Fed Repo positions among MMFs on 6/30/18 include: Fidelity Cash Central Fund ($15.1B in Fed Repo), Fidelity Sec Lending Cash Central ($8.7B), Dreyfus Govt Cash Mgmt ($8.5B), Schwab Govt MMkt ($8.4B), Fidelity Inv MM: Treasury Port ($6.2B), Dreyfus Tr&Ag Cash Mgmt ($4.0B), JP Morgan US Govt ($3.7B), BlackRock Lq FedFund ($3.4B), JP Morgan US Trs Plus ($2.9B), and BlackRock Cash Treas ($2.8B),.
The 10 largest issuers of "credit" -- CDs, CP and Other securities (including Time Deposits and Notes) combined -- include: Toronto-Dominion Bank ($21.3B, 5.4%), RBC ($16.5B, 4.2%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. ($15.2B, 3.9%), Swedbank AB ($14.7B, 3.7%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($14.0B, 3.6%), Bank of Montreal ($13.5B, 3.4%) Wells Fargo ($13.5B, 3.4%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Co ($12.7, 3.2%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ($12.0B, 3.1%), and Svenska Handelsbanken ($11.9, 3.0%).
The 10 largest CD issuers include: Wells Fargo ($13.4B, 8.0%), Bank of Montreal ($12.6B, 7.4%), RBC ($10.1, 6.0%), Svenska Handelsbanken ($9.3B, 5.5%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($9.0B, 5.3%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank ($8.8B, 5.2%), Swedbank AB ($8.7B, 5.2%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Co ($7.7B, 4.6%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($7.6B, 4.5%), and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($6.8B, 4.0%).
The 10 largest CP issuers (we include affiliated ABCP programs) include: Toronto-Dominion Bank ($13.2B, 7.3%), JPMorgan ($8.5B, 4.7%), Commonwealth Bank of Australia ($7.2B, 3.9%), Credit Suisse ($6.8B, 3.7%), UBS AG ($6.6B, 3.6%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ($6.5B, 3.6%), National Australia Bank Ltd ($6.4B, 3.5%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($6.1B, 3.4%), Bank of Nova Scotia ($5.8B, 3.2%), and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($5.7B, 3.1%).
The largest increases among Issuers include: Federal Reserve Bank of New York (up $67.1B to $88.6B), RBC (up $12.6B to $95.5B), Bank of Montreal (up $6.7B to $41.5B), Nomura (up $6.0B to $40.4B), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (up $4.1B to $14.1B), Fixed Income Clearing Co (up $4.1B to $51.0B), BNP Paribas (up $3.7B to $143.4B), DNB ASA (up $3.6B to $14.0B), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (up $3.4B to $46.1B), and Bank of America (up $3.3B to $38.2B).
The largest decreases among Issuers of money market securities (including Repo) in June were shown by: Credit Agricole (down $42.1B to $24.4B), Barclays PLC (down $21.9B to 36.8B), Credit Suisse (down $18.1B to $11.2B), Natixis (down $15.3B to $28.0B), Societe Generale (down $15.2B to $36.1B), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd (down $11.6B to $17.8B), Deutsche Bank AG (down $10.5B to $7.2B), JP Morgan (down $9.3B to $43.3B), Federal Home Loan Bank (down $6.7B to $549.0B), and the US Treasury (down $6.3B to $773.0B).
The United States remained the largest segment of country-affiliations; it represents 64.3% of holdings, or $1.846 trillion. France (8.5%, $243.9B) remained in the No. 2 spot and Canada (8.3%, $237.1B) remained No. 3. Japan (6.7%, $191.3B) stayed in fourth place, while the United Kingdom (4.2%, $119.5B) remained in fifth place. Germany (1.5%, $43.9B) moved ahead of The Netherlands (1.5%, $42.4B) into sixth place. Sweden (1.5%, $44.1B) ranked 8th while Australia (1.4%, $39.1B) moved ahead of Switzerland (0.8%, $23.7B) to rank 9th and 10th. (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, 2018, Taxable money funds held 31.8% (down from 32.0%) of their assets in securities maturing Overnight, and another 15.5% maturing in 2-7 days (down from 16.2%). Thus, 47.3% in total matures in 1-7 days. Another 23.4% matures in 8-30 days, while 10.0% matures in 31-60 days. Note that over three-quarters, or 80.6% of securities, mature in 60 days or less (down slightly from last month), the dividing line for use of amortized cost accounting under SEC regulations. The next bucket, 61-90 days, holds 10.6% of taxable securities, while 7.5% matures in 91-180 days, and just 1.3% matures beyond 181 days.
Barron's writes "No Volatility Here: Cash Makes a Comeback." The article tells us, "Rising interest rates are punishing bonds and causing stocks to teeter. But cash investments -- a misnomer until recently -- haven't looked so good in years. Yields on money-market funds and other cash sanctuaries are approaching 2%, levels not seen in almost a decade." Barron's quotes Federated Investors' Deborah Cunningham, "Cash is an asset class once again." The piece explains, "Cash's comeback has been a long time coming. From 2009-2016, the Fed held short-term rates near zero, forcing money funds to waive management fees just to maintain yields of 1/100th of one percent (0.01%). Online banks, hungry for deposits, filled the void with higher yields on savings. That left money funds touting safety and liquidity as their only selling points. But as the Fed has hiked rates -- five times since late 2016 -- money-market yields have rebounded. The average is 1.5%, almost a point above the level a year ago, according to Crane Data. Taxable funds now have a 0.50 percentage point yield edge over bank deposits, reports iMoneyNet. Investors have noticed -- money-fund assets went from $2.6 trillion to $2.8 trillion over the past year." They quote Crane Data's Peter Crane, "Money funds were on a starvation diet with yields at zero percent.... Rate increases have given them a stay of execution." Barron's adds, "Yet yields on money-market mutual funds (which aren't insured) should catch up to online banks' soon. The funds hold debt maturing in a few days or weeks, enabling them to harvest higher yields rapidly as rates rise. With two rate hikes on tap -- likely in June and September or December -- yields should reach 2%, says Crane. Some institutional-class funds (which have high minimum investments and floating net asset values) already have hit that mark.... Perhaps the best argument for bolstering liquid, short-term savings and bond accounts now: The stock-market rally is extremely aged. When the bear strides back onto Wall Street, bargain hunters with cash will be king."
The weekend Wsll Street Journal features the piece, "Don't Sweep Cash Under Brokerage's Rug." Author Jason Zweig writes, "Interest rates are on the rise, but customers of brokerage firms aren't going along for the ride. The Federal Reserve has driven short-term interest rates up a full percentage point since late 2016; one-month Treasury bills were yielding 1.6% this week. But you'd never know any of that from looking at the returns on the cash in your brokerage account. Consider the rates major brokers are paying on so-called sweep accounts, the main reservoir where they hold clients' cash. As of March 2, according to Crane Data, a firm that monitors money-market funds and other cash investments, yields on sweep accounts ranged from as low as 0.01% at eTrade and 0.05% at TD Ameritrade up to -- if "up" is the right word -- 0.25% at UBS and 0.27% at Fidelity Investments. Those rates are for clients carrying cash balances between $100,000 and $250,000. Yields can be even lower for the great unwashed." The Journal article continues, "In fairness, brokerage firms aren't the only skinflints in the financial industry. Yields on savings accounts at the biggest retail banks range from 0.00% to 0.13%, says Ken Tumin, founding editor of DepositAccounts.com. Rates on checking accounts have inched up only about a quarter of a point since late 2016. Many money-market mutual funds have also dragged their heels. Even so, brokerage firms stand out for how little they pay on clients' cash. That's partly because commissions and trading volume continue to wither. By paying paltry interest on the money they take in and then investing it at market rates, brokers can pocket the difference as a welcome and low-risk source of profit." Zweig's column adds, "Since the Fed began raising rates, yield differences of 'only a fraction of a percent haven't seemed to matter,' says Peter Crane, president and publisher at Crane Data. 'Brokerage firms have basically been betting on the laziness of their investors.' Charles Schwab is even taking its yields down as market rates go up. It is replacing a money-market sweep fund that has been earning about 0.8% -- one of the highest rates among brokerage firms -- with a bank sweep yielding 0.12%, squarely at the average for the industry. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, free credit balances -- one partial measure of uninvested cash in brokerage accounts -- totaled $350.2 billion at the end of January. Assuming the average yield of 0.12% that Crane Data estimates for brokerage sweep accounts, investors would earn an aggregate of only $420 million in income on that money over the next year. If, instead, investors shopped around to improve their yield and earned an average of 1% on that cash, they would pocket $3.5 billion in income. Overall, then, the cost of that inertia is roughly $3.1 billion. If you don't shop around for better yields on your cash, you're handing your broker another 1% a year."
This weekend, Barron's features a "Fund of Information" article, entitled, "Active Funds' Kings of Cash," contains a segment on money market funds. Reshma Kapadia writes, "[M]eager yields in short-term bond funds and on cash ... have pushed investors further afield in their quest for income.... Investors have used short-term bond funds to park cash, but money intended as dry powder for a market correction or needed within a year should be in more liquid options, such as money market funds, which are emerging from a decade-long funk during which they paid next to nothing. The Fed's initial interest-rate hikes didn't filter through to all money funds, in part because some firms were still recouping fees they had waived to keep yields positive.... But now, most of those fee waivers are gone, and the average yields for the 100 largest money-market funds tracked by research firm Crane Data is 1.12% and rising, versus just 0.43% at the end of 2016. "Nothing is worth doing unless you get at least 1% out if the shift," says Crane Data's Pete Crane. And that tipping point is here, with the yield expected to hit 1.5% as the Fed raises rates further this year. As if often the case, some of the highest yields are in the institutional share classes, which can be accessible through advisors, but require higher minimum investments. Crane's retail picks include: Vanguard Federal Money Market (VMFXX), which yields 1.24%, Fidelity Government Cash Reserves (FDRXX), 0.99%, and Schwab Investor Money (SWRXX), 1.19%."
Archives »
Press Release Archive
| 2022 | 2020 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| August | December | November |
| April | August | |
| March | July | |
| April | ||
| March | ||
| January | ||
| 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| November | July | December |
| October | June | November |
| May | May | September |
| January | April | August |
| March | July | |
| February | June | |
| May | ||
| April | ||
| March | ||
| February | ||
| January | ||
| 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
| December | December | December |
| November | November | November |
| October | October | August |
| September | June | July |
| August | May | June |
| July | April | May |
| June | February | April |
| May | January | March |
| April | February | |
| March | January | |
| February | ||
| January | ||
| 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
| December | December | December |
| November | November | November |
| October | October | October |
| September | September | September |
| August | August | August |
| July | June | July |
| June | May | June |
| May | April | May |
| April | March | April |
| February | February | March |
| January | January | February |
| January | ||
| 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
| December | December | December |
| November | November | November |
| October | October | October |
| September | September | September |
| August | August | August |
| July | July | July |
| June | June | May |
| May | May | |
| April | April | |
| March | March | |
| February | February | |
| January | January |