ICI: MMFs Soar to Record $5.9 Trillion
The Investment Company Institute's latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows MMF assets surging for the 7th week in a row, hitting yet another new record, a hair below $5.9 trillion. ICI's asset series rose $61.6 billion to $5.898 trillion in the past week and has risen $290.1 billion the past 7 weeks. Assets are up by $1.163 trillion, or 24.6%, year-to-date in 2023, with Institutional MMFs up $576 billion, or 18.8% and Retail MMFs up $587 billion, or 35.0%. Over the past 52 weeks, money funds have risen a massive $1.179 trillion, or 25.0%, with Retail MMFs rising by $635 billion (39.0%) and Inst MMFs rising by $544 billion (17.6%). The weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $61.65 billion to $5.90 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, December 6.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $56.07 billion and prime funds increased by $6.06 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds decreased by $484 million." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs rising $43.2 billion and Retail MMFs rising $18.5 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $4.829 trillion (81.9% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $946.2 billion (16.0%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $122.1 billion (2.1%). ICI explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $18.50 billion to $2.26 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $13.77 billion to $1.47 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $5.31 billion to $678.93 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $586 million to $111.27 billion." Retail assets now account for well over a third of total assets, or 38.4%, and Government Retail assets make up 65.1% of all Retail MMFs. They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $43.15 billion to $3.63 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $42.30 billion to $3.36 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $750 million to $267.28 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $102 million to $10.79 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 61.6% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 92.3% of all Institutional MMF totals. According to Crane Data's separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have risen by $23.6 billion month-to-date in December (through 12/6) to $6.291 trillion after spiking $219.8 billion in November. Assets fell by $31.9 billion in October after rising by $93.9 billion in September, $98.3 billion in August and $34.7 billion in July. Note that ICI's asset totals don't include a number of funds tracked by the SEC and Crane Data, so they're over $400 billion lower than Crane's asset series.
