Mar 12

 

Crane Data'​s March Money Fund Portfolio Holdings, with data as of Feb. 28, 2025, show that holdings of Repo jumped sharply last month while Treasuries plummeted. Money market securities held by Taxable U.​S. money funds (​tracked by Crane Data) increased by $​53.​7 billion to $​7.​227 trillion in February, after increasing $​84.​1 billion in January, $​88.​0 billion in December, $​190.​8 billion in November, $​82.​8 billion in October, $​233.​8 billion in September, $​57.​2 billion in August and $​90.​4 billion in July. Taxable holdings decreased by $​0.​4 billion in June, increased $​105.​6 billion in May, and decreased $​61.​4 billion in April. Treasuries, still the largest segment, decreased $​118.​3 billion in February after increasing $​92.​1 billion in January and decreasing $​69.​5 billion in December. Repo, the second largest portfolio composition segment, increased by $​173.​9 billion. Agencies were the third largest segment, CP remained fourth, ahead of CDs, Other/​Time Deposits and VRDNs. Below, we review our latest Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics. (​Visit our Content center to download, or contact us to request our latest Portfolio Holdings reports.)

Among taxable money funds, Repurchase Agreements (​repo) increased $​173.​9 billion (​6.​8%) to $​2.​718 trillion, or 37.​6% of holdings, in February, after decreasing $​67.​8 billion in January but increasing $​211.​3 billion in December. MMFs decreased $​26.​3 billion in November and $​242.​8 billion in October. Treasury securities decreased $​118.​3 billion (-​3.​9%) to $​2.​959 trillion, or 40.​9% of holdings, after increasing $​92.​1 billion in January and decreasing $​69.​5 billion in December. T-​bills increased $​188.​3 billion in November and $​236.​2 billion in October. Government Agency Debt was down $​6.​5 billion, or -​0.​7%, to $​880.​5 billion, or 12.​2% of holdings. Agencies increased $​7.​1 billion in January and $​33.​0 billion in December. Agencies decreased $​2.​4 billion in November, but increased $​70.​3 billion in October. Repo, Treasuries and Agency holdings now total $​6.​558 trillion, representing a massive 90.​7% of all taxable holdings.

Money fund holdings of Other (​Time Deposits) and CP rose in February while CDs fell. Commercial Paper (​CP) increased $​4.​4 billion (​1.​5%) to $​304.​9 billion, or 4.​2% of holdings. CP holdings increased $​11.​4 billion in January, decreased $​7.​3 billion in December, but increased $​2.​6 billion in November. Certificates of Deposit (​CDs) decreased $​5.​0 billion (-​2.​6%) to $​190.​4 billion, or 2.​6% of taxable assets. CDs increased $​2.​8 billion in January, $​4.​9 billion in December and $​0.​5 billion in November. Other holdings, primarily Time Deposits, increased $​5.​0 billion (​3.​3%) to $​159.​0 billion, or 2.​2% of holdings, after increasing $​38.​9 billion in January, decreasing $​84.​6 billion in December, and increasing $​27.​6 billion in November. VRDNs increased to $​14.​5 billion, or 0.​2% of assets. (​Note: This total is VRDNs for taxable funds only. We will post our Tax Exempt MMF holdings separately Wednesday around noon.)

Prime money fund assets tracked by Crane Data increased to $​1.​219 trillion, or 16.​9% of taxable money funds' $​7.​227 trillion total. Among Prime money funds, CDs represent 15.​6% (​down from 16.​2% a month ago), while Commercial Paper accounted for 25.​0% (​up from 24.​8% a month ago). The CP totals are comprised of: Financial Company CP, which makes up 15.​9% of total holdings, Asset-​Backed CP, which accounts for 7.​0%, and Non-​Financial Company CP, which makes up 2.​1%. Prime funds also hold 0.​4% in US Govt Agency Debt, 6.​7% in US Treasury Debt, 21.​1% in US Treasury Repo, 1.​1% in Other Instruments, 9.​6% in Non-​Negotiable Time Deposits, 8.​3% in Other Repo, 11.​1% in US Government Agency Repo and 1.​0% in VRDNs.

Government money fund portfolios totaled $​3.​943 trillion (​54.​6% of all MMF assets), up from $​3.​921 trillion in January, while Treasury money fund assets totaled another $​2.​065 trillion (​28.​6%), up from $​2.​043 trillion the prior month. Government money fund portfolios were made up of 22.​2% US Govt Agency Debt, 17.​6% US Government Agency Repo, 33.​4% US Treasury Debt, 26.​1% in US Treasury Repo, 0.​5% in Other Instruments. Treasury money funds were comprised of 75.​6% US Treasury Debt and 24.​3% in US Treasury Repo. Government and Treasury funds combined now total $​6.​008 trillion, or 83.​1% of all taxable money fund assets.

European-​affiliated holdings (​including repo) decreased by $​8.​2 billion in February to $​741.​5 billion; their share of holdings fell to 10.​3% from last month'​s 10.​5%. Eurozone-​affiliated holdings increased to $​519.​6 billion from last month'​s $​504.​0 billion; they account for 7.​2% of overall taxable money fund holdings. Asia & Pacific related holdings rose to $​311.​9 billion (​4.​3% of the total) from last month'​s $​294.​9 billion. Americas related holdings rose to $​6.​164 trillion from last month'​s $​6.​120 trillion, and now represent 85.​3% of holdings.

The overall taxable fund Repo totals were made up of: US Treasury Repurchase Agreements (​up $​95.​2 billion, or 5.​6%, to $​1.​788 trillion, or 24.​7% of assets); US Government Agency Repurchase Agreements (​up $​86.​3 billion, or 11.​6%, to $​827.​8 billion, or 11.​5% of total holdings), and Other Repurchase Agreements (​down $​7.​6 billion, or -​6.​9%, from last month to $​102.​2 billion, or 1.​4% of holdings). The Commercial Paper totals were comprised of Financial Company Commercial Paper (​down $​2.​2 billion to $​193.​8 billion, or 2.​7% of assets), Asset Backed Commercial Paper (​up $​5.​4 billion at $​85.​6 billion, or 1.​2%), and Non-​Financial Company Commercial Paper (​up $​1.​3 billion to $​25.​5 billion, or 0.​4%).

The 20 largest Issuers to taxable money market funds as of Feb. 28, 2025, include: the US Treasury ($​2.​959T, 42.​0%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($​871.​0B, 12.​4%), Federal Home Loan Bank ($​649.​0B, 9.​2%), JP Morgan ($​276.​7B, 3.​9%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($​201.​7B, or 2.​9%), RBC ($​180.​0B, 2.​6%), Citi ($​173.​5B, 2.​5%), Federal Farm Credit Bank ($​158.​7B, 2.​3%), BNP Paribas ($​152.​0B, 2.​2%), Bank of America ($​126.​9B, 1.​8%), Goldman Sachs ($​97.​8B, 1.​4%), Barclays ($​92.​5B, 1.​3%), Wells Fargo ($​91.​5B, 1.​3%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($​71.​0B, 1.​0%), Credit Agricole ($​70.​4B, 1.​0%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ($​69.​0B, 1.​0%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($​60.​1B, 0.​9%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​51.​5B, 0.​7%), Bank of Montreal ($​51.​4B, 0.​7%), and Societe Generale ($​51.​2B, 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 ($​847.​6B, 31.​2%), JP Morgan ($​264.​9B, 9.​7%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($​201.​7B, 7.​4%), Citi ($​161.​2B, 5.​9%), RBC ($​145.​4B, 5.​3%), BNP Paribas ($​142.​2B, 5.​2%), Bank of America ($​105.​6B, 3.​9%), Goldman Sachs ($​97.​1B, 3.​6%), Wells Fargo ($​91.​1B, 3.​4%), and Barclays PLC ($​79.​2B, 2.​9%).

The largest users of the $​201.​7 billion in Fed RRP include: Fidelity Cash Central Fund ($​38.​6B), Vanguard Federal Money Mkt Fund ($​33.​6B), Fidelity Sec Lending Cash Central Fund ($​19.​3B), JPMorgan US Govt MM ($​15.​0B), Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund ($​10.​8B), Fidelity Inv MM: Treas Port ($​8.​9B), JPMorgan Liquid Assets ($​8.​0B), JPMorgan Prime MM ($​7.​2B), Vanguard Cash Reserves Federal MM ($​7.​0B) and Fidelity Treasury Fund ($​6.​9B).

The 10 largest issuers of "​credit" -- CDs, CP and Other securities (​including Time Deposits and Notes) combined -- include: RBC ($​34.​6B, 5.​9%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​33.​3B, 5.​7%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($​27.​2B, 4.​6%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($​24.​4B, 4.​2%), ING Bank ($​23.​4B, 4.​0%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($​23.​3B, 4.​0%), Bank of America ($​21.​3B, 3.​6%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ($​20.​9B, 3.​5%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($​20.​8B, 3.​5%) and Bank of Montreal ($​19.​8B, 3.​4%).

The 10 largest CD issuers include: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($​17.​0B, 8.​9%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($​15.​4B, 8.​1%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank ($​14.​1B, 7.​4%), Credit Agricole ($​14.​0B, 7.​4%), Bank of America ($​13.​5B, 7.​1%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($​13.​1B, 6.​9%), Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​11.​8B, 6.​2%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($​10.​2B, 5.​3%), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation ($​9.​0B, 4.​8%) and Bank of Nova Scotia ($​5.​8B, 3.​0%).

The 10 largest CP issuers (​we include affiliated ABCP programs) include: Toronto-​Dominion Bank ($​21.​0B, 7.​5%), RBC ($​20.​3B, 7.​3%), Bank of Montreal ($​15.​4B, 5.​5%), BPCE SA ($​12.​1B, 4.​3%), JP Morgan ($​11.​8B, 4.​2%), Barclays PLC ($​11.​2B, 4.​0%), Northcross Capital Management ($​9.​3B, 3.​4%), Citi ($​8.​7B, 3.​1%), National Australia Bank Ltd ($​8.​6B, 3.​1%) and ING Bank ($​8.​3B, 3.​0%).

The largest increases among Issuers include: the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (​up $​53.​6B to $​201.​7B), RBC (​up $​51.​3B to $​180.​0B), JP Morgan (​up $​34.​3B to $​276.​7B), Bank of America (​up $​20.​0B to $​126.​9B), Wells Fargo (​up $​19.​1B to $​91.​5B), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (​up $​9.​8B to $​71.​0B), Citi (​up $​9.​2B to $​173.​5B), Bank of Montreal (​up $​8.​9B to $​51.​4B), BNP Paribas (​up $​5.​8B to $​152.​0B) and Credit Agricole (​up $​5.​7B to $​70.​4B).

The largest decreases among Issuers of money market securities (​including Repo) in February were shown by: US Treasury (​down $​118.​3B to $​2.​959T), Fixed Income Clearing Corp (​down $​30.​7B to $​871.​0B), Barclays PLC (​down $​17.​5B to $​92.​5B), Federal Home Loan Bank (​down $​11.​4B to $​649.​0B), Toronto-​Dominion Bank (​down $​3.​0B to $​51.​5B), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (​down $​3.​0B to $​31.​9B), Goldman Sachs (​down $​2.​4B to $​97.​8B), RBS (​down $​1.​8B to $​9.​2B), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd (​down $​1.​7B to $​40.​7B) and HSBC (​down $​1.​2B to $​29.​3B).

The United States remained the largest segment of country-​affiliations; it represents 80.​0% of holdings, or $​5.​779 trillion. Canada (​5.​3%, $​384.​3B) was in second place, while France (​4.​5%, $​324.​7B) was No. 3. Japan (​3.​9%, $​280.​8B) occupied fourth place. The United Kingdom (​2.​4%, $​170.​4B) remained in fifth place. Australia (​0.​8%, $​55.​8B) was in sixth place, followed by Netherlands (​0.​8%, $​55.​5B), Germany (​0.​7%, $​51.​7B), Sweden (​0.​5%, $​35.​3B), and Spain (​0.​4%, $​28.​2B). (​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 Feb. 28, 2025, Taxable money funds held 47.​1% (​up from 44.​6%) of their assets in securities maturing Overnight, and another 11.​8% maturing in 2-​7 days (​down from 11.​8%). Thus, 58.​9% in total matures in 1-​7 days. Another 9.​9% matures in 8-​30 days, while 12.​5% matures in 31-​60 days. Note that over three-​quarters, or 81.​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 7.​5% of taxable securities, while 7.​0% matures in 91-​180 days, and just 4.​1% matures beyond 181 days.

Mar 07

 

The March issue of our flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which was sent to subscribers Friday morning, features the articles: "MF Assets Break $​7.​3 Trillion After Pause; ICI Tops $​7.​0 Tril," which discusses the recent resurgence in MMF flows; "ICI: SEC'​s MMF Reforms Push $​309 Billion from Prime Inst," which looks at a paper on last year'​s rule changes; and, "Stablecoin Battle Heats Up, as Tokenization Launces Spread" which reviews the latest news on stablecoins and tokenized MMFs. We also sent out our MFI XLS spreadsheet Friday a.​m., and we'​ve updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with 2/​28/​24 data. Our March Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to ship on Tuesday, March 12, and our March Bond Fund Intelligence is scheduled to go out on Monday, March 17.

MFI'​s "$​7.​3 Trillion" article says, "After treading water for much of January and February 2025, money market mutual fund assets recently surged higher, rising $​90.​4 billion in February to a record $​7.​325 trillion. In March month-​to-​date through 3/​5, total money fund assets have increased by another $​35.​7 billion to $​7.​357 trillion, according to Crane Data'​s MFI Daily. Our MFI XLS monthly shows money fund assets rising $​851.​2 billion, or 13.​1%, over 12 months through 2/​28."

It continues, "Money fund assets rose by $​94.​2 billion in February, $​52.​8 billion in January, $​110.​9 billion in December, $​200.​5 trillion in November, $​97.​5 billion in October, $​149.​8 billion in September, $​109.​7 billion in August, $​16.​6 billion in July, $​15.​7 billion in June and $​91.​4 billion in May. They declined by $​15.​8 billion in April and $​68.​8 billion in March 2024."

We write in our ICI on SEC Reforms article, "​Last month, ICI published 'Sold Under False Pretenses: The SEC'​s Money Market Fund Reform is Causing Damage,' which explains, 'In response to pandemic-​​induced stress in money markets three years earlier, the Securities and Exchange Commission (​SEC) adopted rule amendments in July 2023 that required significant changes to prime money market funds (​MMFs). While strengthening the resiliency of MMFs was a worthy objective, the SEC adopted these amendments without seeking public input on specific elements of the amendments' most consequential change: the imposition of a first-​ever mandatory liquidity fee on prime institutional funds."

ICI says, "MMFs serve as an attractive cash management option and have surged in popularity as investors have taken advantage of higher yields in recent years. But the prime institutional segment of the MMF market has experienced significant consolidation and reduced competition as a direct consequence of the SEC'​s flawed rule."

Our "Stablecoin Battle" piece says, "​A recent Wall Street Journal article, 'The Titans Battling for Control of the Crypto Future,' discusses the competition between stablecoins Tether and Circle USDC. It tells us, 'Tether is the clear industry leader -- its stablecoin is used in four out of five cryptocurrency transactions. Tether'​s holding company ... said it earned $​13 billion in profit last year, double that of ​BlackRock ​and mostly generated from the pile of supersafe Treasury bills that Tether owns to back its currency 1-​to-​1 with the dollar. [​But Circle Founder Jeremy] Allaire has regularly testified in Congress to call for greater regulation that would benefit Circle at Tether'​s expense.... WSJ reported ​in October that the Justice and Treasury Departments were investigating Tether for possibly violating financial crime laws.'"

The piece continues, "​The article tells us, 'In letters to authorities in the U.​S. and elsewhere, Circle raised the alarm about how unregulated stablecoins could harm consumers. Circle that July flagged to the Financial Stability Board ... an incident that happened two years earlier in which tether temporarily lost its dollar peg because authorities seized a chunk of its reserves as part of a money-​laundering investigation. Circle said this showed ​how such stablecoins could potentially fail, wiping out consumers' crypto holdings."

MFI also includes the News brief, "Crane 100 Index Inches Lower to 4.​16%," which says, "Money fund yields were down 3 bps to 4.​16% on average during the month ended Feb. 28 (​as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index). Fund yields should remain roughly flat until and if the Fed moves rates again."

Another News brief, "EFAMA: '2024 was a record year for ETFs and MMFs,'" tells us, "​The European group says, 'Money market funds (​MMFs) achieved a record-​breaking year, with net inflows reaching an all-​time high of EUR 223 billion. The surge was largely driven by an inverted yield curve, which persisted for much of 2024.'"

A third News brief, "Investment News Writes 'Pershing Discussing Move to Control Portion of Broker-​Dealers' Cash," states, "The financial advice industry'​s skirmish over cash sweep accounts is taking another turn, with clearing giant Pershing evaluating plans to create a new charge, akin to a tax, on cash held by its broker-​dealer clients. Pershing is discussing with broker-​dealers that use its platform plans to get first dibs on cash -- up to $​10,​000 -- held in their customers' accounts."

A sidebar, "Federated 10-​K Talks Regs," summarizes, "Federated Hermes' latest '10-​K Annual Report' tells us, 'Of the 176 Federated Hermes Funds, Federated Hermes' ... managed as of Dec. 31, 2024, 22 money market funds with $​461.​7 billion.' On the 'Current Regulatory Environment,' they write, 'Regarding deregulation, the investment management industry is expected to request the SEC to repeal or modify certain regulatory requirements previously promulgated by the SEC and to adopt more investor- and industry-​friendly regulatory requirements."

Our March MFI XLS, with Feb. 28 data, shows total assets increased $​90.​4 billion to a record $​7.​325 trillion, after increasing $​47.​9 billion in January, $​113.​0 billion in December, $​196.​1 billion in November, $​89.​9 billion in October, $​155.​2 billion in September, $​105.​6 billion in August, $​19.​7 billion in July, $​11.​8 billion in June and $​79.​7 billion in May. They decreased $​17.​6 billion in April and $​66.​7 billion in March.

Our broad Crane Money Fund Average 7-​Day Yield was down 4 bps at 4.​05%, and our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (​the 100 largest taxable funds) was down 3 bps at 4.​16% in January. On a Gross Yield Basis (​7-​Day) (​before expenses are taken out), the Crane MFA and the Crane 100 averaged 4.​43% and 4.​43%. 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 2/​28/​25 on Monday, 3/​10.) The average WAM (​weighted average maturity) for the Crane MFA was 35 days (​down 2 days) and the Crane 100 WAM was down 2 days from the previous month at 36 days. (​See our Crane Index or craneindexes.​xlsx history file for more on our averages.)

Jan 08

 

The January issue of our flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which was sent to subscribers Wednesday morning, features the articles: "Yields Bottoming Near 4.​20%; Assets Keep Breaking Records," which discusses the move lower and plateauing of yields and jumps in assets; "ICI: Worldwide MMF Assets Rise in Q3'​24 to $​11.​2 Tril.," which looks at the latest MMF statistics outside the U.​S.; and, "Top Money Funds of 2024; 16th Annual MFI Awards" which reviews the best performing MMFs of 2024. We also sent out our MFI XLS spreadsheet Wednesday a.​m., and we'​ve updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with 12/​31/​24 data. Our Jan. Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to ship on Friday, December 10, and our Jan. Bond Fund Intelligence is scheduled to go out on Wednesday, January 15.

MFI'​s "Yields Bottoming" article says, "Money fund yields fell by 16 basis points to 4.​28% on average during December (​down from 5.​20% at the start of 2024). Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index continues inching lower, falling to 4.​23% as of 1/​6/​25. Fund yields have now digested most of the Federal Reserve'​s 25 basis point cut on Dec. 18, though they may inch a lower in coming days. But yields should remain solidly above 4.​0% in the near-​term, and they may even hold these levels for the entire year as expectations for more rate cuts evaporate."

It continues, "Yields on average have declined by 81 bps since the Fed first cut its Fed funds target rate by 50 bps percent on Sept. 18, and they'​ve declined by 38 bps since the Fed cut rates by 1/​4 point on 11/​7. Yields were 4.​45% on 11/​30/​24, 4.​65% on 10/​31, 4.​75% on 9/​30, 5.​10% on 8/​31, 5.​13% on 7/​31 and 6/​28, 5.​14% on 3/​31/​24 and 5.​20% on 12/​31/​23."

We write in our Worldwide article, "​The Investment Company Institute published, 'Worldwide Regulated Open-​Fund Assets and Flows, Third Quarter 2024,' which shows that money fund assets globally rose by $​572.​9 billion, or 5.​4%, in Q3'​24 to a record $​11.​215 trillion. Increases were led by a sharp jump in money funds in U.​S., Ireland and China, while Luxembourg and France also rose. Meanwhile, money funds in Mexico and Korea were lower. MMF assets worldwide increased by $​1.​271 trillion, or 12.​8%, in the 12 months through 9/​30/​24, and MMFs in the U.​S. now represent 60.​4% of worldwide assets."

It states, "​ICI'​s release says, 'Worldwide regulated open-​end fund assets increased 6.​8% to $​74.​95 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2024, excluding funds of funds. Worldwide net cash inflow to all funds was $​913 billion in the third quarter, compared with $​819 billion of net inflows in the second quarter of 2024. The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide regulated open-​end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association (​IIFA), the organization of national fund associations. The collection for the third quarter of 2024 contains statistics from 44 jurisdictions.'"

Our "Top Money Funds of 2024" piece says, "This issue recognizes the top performing money funds, ranked by total returns, for calendar year 2024, as well as the top funds for the past 5‐​year and 10‐​year periods. We present the funds below with our annual Money Fund Intelligence Awards. These are given to the No. 1‐​ranked funds based on 1‐​year, 5‐​year and 10‐​year returns, through Dec. 31, 2023, in each of our major fund categories -- Prime Institutional, Government Institutional, Treasury Institutional, Prime Retail, Government Retail, Treasury Retail and Tax‐​Exempt."

The piece continues, "The Top-​Performing Prime Institutional fund (​and fund overall) was BlackRock Cash Inst MMF SL (​BISXX), which returned 5.​43%. Among Prime Retail funds, Schwab Value Adv MF Ultra (​SNAXX) had the best return in 2024 (​5.​36%). (​Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index returned 5.​08% in 2024.)"

MFI also includes the News brief, "Fed Cuts Rates Another 1/​4 to 4.​375%. The FOMC'​s Statement says, 'Inflation has made progress toward the Committee’​s 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated.... In support of its goals, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/​4 percentage point to 4-​1/​4 to 4-​1/​2 percent.'"

Another News brief, "J.​P. Morgan'​s '​Mid-​Week US Short Duration Update,' features, 'November MMF Holdings Update: Sufficient Supply Meeting MMFs' Demand.' It states, 'Taxable MMFs experienced another strong month of inflows in November, with AUMs increasing by nearly $​200bn, bringing total balances to just under $​7tn. Despite this significant rise in balances, MMFs successfully found enough supply to meet their demand throughout the month, aided by a rise in T-​bill, repo, and time deposit outstandings. As a result, MMFs' use of ON RRP fell to an end-​of-​month low since May 2021.'"

A third News brief, "SEC Stats: MMF Assets Jump to Record $​7.​13 Tril. in Nov., Yields Fall," says, "​The SEC'​s 'Money Market Fund Statistics' show that total money fund assets rose by $​197.​8 billion in November to a record $​7.​125 trillion. Prime MMFs increased $​12.​9 billion to $​1.​187 trillion, Govt & Treasury funds increased $​181.​5 billion to $​5.​797 trillion and Tax Exempt funds increased $​3.​4 billion to $​141.​3 billion. Taxable yields fell again in November after plunging in October.'"

A sidebar, "WSJ on Why to Cheer MMFs," says, "The Wall Street Journal tells us, 'Why You May Want to Cheer for Money-​Market Funds.' Subtitled, 'Money funds remain an attractive place for excess cash and can help keep a lid on short-​term borrowing costs,' the article says, '​Cash might be a trash asset to some risk-​loving traders. But it'​s a pretty good thing to have sloshing around the economy. U.​S. money-​market fund assets have so far through mid-​December grown by over $​800 billion in 2024, bringing the nearly two-​year gain since the end of 2022 to roughly $​2 trillion, according to [​ICI]. This continuing flow may be a surprise to some. At points in 2024, it often seemed that Fed ... cuts, plus a bullish tilt to equity markets, would push more investors out of cash.'"

Our January MFI XLS, with Dec. 31 data, shows total assets increased $​113.​0 billion to a record $​7.​184 trillion, after increasing $​196.​1 billion in November, $​89.​9 billion in October, $​155.​2 billion in September, $​105.​6 billion in August, $​19.​7 billion in July, $​11.​8 billion in June and $​79.​7 billion in May. They decreased $​17.​6 billion in April and $​66.​7 billion in March, but increased $​50.​0 billion in February and $​87.​0 billion last January.

Our broad Crane Money Fund Average 7-​Day Yield was down 15 bps at 4.​19%, and our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (​the 100 largest taxable funds) was also down 16 bps at 4.​28% in December. On a Gross Yield Basis (​7-​Day) (​before expenses are taken out), the Crane MFA and the Crane 100 averaged 4.​58% and 4.​55%. Charged Expenses averaged 0.​39% and 0.​27% for the Crane MFA and the Crane 100. (​We'​ll revise expenses once we upload the SEC'​s Form N-​MFP data for 12/​31/​24 on Thursday, 1/​9.) The average WAM (​weighted average maturity) for the Crane MFA was 37 days (​up 1 bp) and the Crane 100 WAM was unchanged from the previous month at 37 days. (​See our Crane Index or craneindexes.​xlsx history file for more on our averages.)

Dec 06

 

The December issue of our flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which was sent to subscribers Friday morning, features the articles: "Money Fund Assets Break Over $​7.​0 Trillion; Still Going," which reviews the continued jump in MMF assets; "Top 10 Stories of 2024: Asset Surge Continues, Yields Peak," which looks back at some of Crane Data'​s top stories of the year; and, "BlackRock Files for Money Market ETFs: Will They Fly?" which looks at the new ETF filing. We also sent out our MFI XLS spreadsheet Friday a.​m., and we'​ve updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with 11/​30/​24 data. Our Dec. Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to ship on Tuesday, December 10, and our Dec. Bond Fund Intelligence is scheduled to go out on Friday, December 13. (Note: We'​re still taking registrations for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which is Dec. 19-​20 in Providence, R.​I.)

MFI'​s "$​7.​0 Trillion" article says, “Money market mutual fund assets broke the $​7.​0 trillion barrier for the first time ever on Wednesday, Nov. 13, according to our Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Assets jumped following the Federal Reserve'​s Nov. 7 25 basis point rate cut, and they'​ve continued surging higher in December, rising $​58.​0 billion month-​to-​date (​through 12/​3) to a record $​7.​121 trillion. Money fund assets have increased by $​816.​0 billion (​13.​0%) year-​to-​date in 2024 (​through 12/​4).

It continues, "According to our monthly MFI XLS, money fund assets increased by $​196.​1 billion in November to a record $​7.​066 trillion. Assets rose by $​97.​5 billion in October, $​149.​8 billion in September, $​109.​7 billion in August, $​16.​6 billion in July, $​15.​7 billion in June and $​91.​4 billion in May. They declined by $​15.​8 billion in April and $​68.​8 billion in March. They rose $​​72.​​1 billion in February, $​93.​9 billion in Jan., $​32.​7 billion in December and $​226.​4 billion last November."

We write in our Top 10 article, "Dramatic asset growth was again the biggest story of the year, as money market fund assets jumped by $​800 billion to a record $​7.​0 trillion (​after jumping by over $​1.​0 trillion last year). With still almost a month to go, money fund asset growth could approach $​1.​0 trillion by yearend. In 2023, rising yields were the big news. Though yields have begun declining, and are now below 4.​5%, yields remained above 5% for most of the past year. So great yields were another theme of 2024. Other major headlines of 2024 included: the implementation (​and minor impact) of the SEC'​s latest Money Fund Reforms, the birth of tokenized money market funds (​and money fund ETFs), the continued growth of Social (​and shrinkage of ESG) MMFs and the increase in assets and now decline in yields in European and other worldwide markets. Below, we excerpt from a number of our biggest and most representative news stories of 2024 to highlight the major trends of the past year."

It states, "Crane Data'​s Top 10 Stories of 2024 include (​in chronological order): 'Dreyfus Liquid Assets Celebrates 50th Birthday; ICI Trends for December' (​1/​31/​24); 'American Funds Central Cash to Convert to Govt to Avoid Liquidity Fees' (​2/​6/​24); 'BlackRock Launches Private Tokenized Money Fund, BUIDL; BVI Domicile' (​3/​22/​24); 'ICI: Worldwide MF Assets Jump in Q4'​23, Break $​10 Trillion; US Leads' (​3/​25/​24); 'Goldman Files to Liquidate Prime Inst MMFs; Barron'​s: MMFs Tempting' (​4/​22/​24); 'More AFP Liquidity Survey: Banks, MMFs, T-​Bills Kings of Cash; MMFs Up' (​6/​27/​24); 'WSJ, Investment News on Brokerage Deposit, Advisory Sweep Pressures' (​7/​19/​24); 'SSGA Sticks w/​Prime Inst Money Funds; Discusses Reforms; Benchmarks' (​8/​29/​24); 'MMF Assets Break $​6.​7 Trillion; Crane 100 Falls Below 5.​0%; FT on MMFs' (​9/​24/​24); 'Bloomberg, ignites on Latest MMF Reforms; Prime Inst Shift a Nonevent' (​10/​3/​24); and, 'Money Fund Assets Break Over $​7.​0 Trillion; S&​P on AAA Rated MFs in Q3' (​11/​13/​24)."

Our "BlackRock" piece says, "​A Form N-​1A Registration Statement for the BlackRock ETF Trust and its new iShares Prime Money Market ETF tells us, 'The iShares Prime Money Market ETF seeks as high a level of current income as is consistent with liquidity and stability of principal.... The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, in a broad range of U.​S. dollar-​denominated money market instruments, including government, U.​S. and foreign bank, and commercial obligations and repurchase agreements. The Fund invests in securities maturing in 397 days or less (​with certain exceptions) and the portfolio will have a dollar-​weighted average maturity of 60 days or less and a dollar-​weighted average life of 120 days or less.'"

The piece continues, "The Fund'​s Board of Trustees has determined that the Fund will qualify as a '​money market fund' pursuant to Rule 2a-​7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ('​Rule 2a-​7'). The securities purchased by the Fund are subject to the quality, diversification, and other requirements of Rule 2a-​7, and other rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission ('​SEC'). Unlike a traditional money market fund, the Fund operates as an exchange traded fund ('​ETF'). As an ETF, the Fund'​s shares will be traded on [​an exchange] and will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in net asset value ('​NAV') per share as well as the relative supply of, and demand for, shares on [​the exchange]."

MFI also includes the News brief, "Reuters: 'America'​s $​7 Trillion Cash Stash Isn'​t Going Anywhere.' They write, 'A record-​high $​7 trillion of cash is currently sitting '​on the sidelines' in money market funds.... Anyone hoping to see a significant chunk of this flooding the wider investment field in the coming months may be disappointed. Many strategists assume this massive pile of cash will start to shrink now that the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates as investors seek a more profitable home for their capital in the face of diminishing cash yields.... Not so fast.'"

Another News brief, "Money Fund Yields Dip Below 4.​5%," states, "Money fund yields declined by 20 basis points to 4.​44% on average during the month ended November 30 (​as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after falling 11 bps in October and 35 bps in September. Yields now reflect the majority of the Fed'​s 25 bps cut on November 7, but they should continue inching lower this week and next. They'​ve declined by 58 bps since the Fed cut its target rate by 50 bps on Sept. 18 and by 15 bps since the Fed cut rates by 1/​4 point on 11/​7."

A third News brief, "Northern Trust A.​M.'​s 'Global Investment Outlook 2025," quotes NTAM, "Money fund assets up while rates go down.... Importantly for money market investors, we and the markets see little chance rates return to the zero lower bound anytime soon -- a welcome change from much of the past 15 years of very low yields on cash."

A sidebar says, "Barron'​s asks, 'Can Cash Be King Again? Suddenly, T-​Bills Look More Attractive.' Subtitled, 'The potential for higher-​for-​longer rates means cash vehicles, including Treasury bills, money market funds and savings accounts, could continue to offer attractive yields into next year,' the article says, 'Cash could be the best game in town. That’​s the argument of one prominent Wall Street analyst after market shifts make short-​term investments look a lot more attractive.'"

Our December MFI XLS, with Nov. 30 data, shows total assets increased $​196.​1 billion to a record $​7.​066 trillion, after increasing $​89.​9 billion in October, $​155.​2 billion in September, $​105.​6 billion in August, $​19.​7 billion in July, $​11.​8 billion in June and $​79.​7 billion in May. They decreased $​17.​6 billion in April and $​66.​7 billion in March, but increased $​50.​0 billion in February, $​87.​0 billion in January and $​24.​5 billion last December.

Our broad Crane Money Fund Average 7-​Day Yield was down 20 bps at 4.​34%, and our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (​the 100 largest taxable funds) was also down 20 bps at 4.​44% in November. On a Gross Yield Basis (​7-​Day) (​before expenses are taken out), the Crane MFA and the Crane 100 averaged 4.​71% and 4.​71%. Charged Expenses averaged 0.​38% 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 11/​30/​24 on Monday, 12/​9.) The average WAM (​weighted average maturity) for the Crane MFA was 36 days (​up 1 bp) and the Crane 100 WAM was up 1 bp from the previous month at 37 days. (​See our Crane Index or craneindexes.​xlsx history file for more on our averages.)