The June issue of Crane Data's flagship monthly Money Fund Intelligence newsletter and ranking service features the articles, "Industry Holding Breath, Waiting for 2a-7 Changes," "Yields Still Brewing at Marshall MMFs," "S&P's Friedman & Rizzo on Rating Money Funds," and "Portal News: ICD Update." MFI also includes "People" news, a "Calendar" section, and rankings and performance statistics on over 1,300 money market mutual funds and cash investment options.
MFI, Money Fund Intelligence XLS, the spreadsheet "complement" to MFI, Crane Index, Crane Corporate, and Money Fund Wisdom will all be updated Friday with performance data through May 31, 2009. We've added a Portfolio Composition breakout of money fund holdings by category to the Excel product (MFI XLS), and our Wisdom database is going live after its month-long "beta" period.
Regarding regulatory changes, this month's MFI says, "Money market mutual fund managers and investors are holding their breath ahead of the Securities & Exchange Commission's proposals to update Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, the regulations governing money market funds. While we believe that the odds of radical change, such as a floating NAV, are slim, it's still possible that the pending recommendations could substantially alter the money fund landscape."
Our monthly money fund "profile" interviews Marshall Money Market Fund and Marshall Government MMF Portfolio Manager Rich Rokus and No. 1-ranked Marshall Tax-Exempt MMF PM Craig Mauerman. Rokus tells us, "Our focus has always been trying to provide the highest yield possible while reigning in risk. Anybody in this business can just get out there and add yield to a portfolio, that's not too difficult. But doing so in a manner that's cautious and prudent is a completely different thing."
Mauerman says, "In the Tax-Free Fund, we're looking for ways of hitting singles and doubles every week without any let up. It sounds like a simple thing, but it's a matter of just focusing on: 'Where are we picking things up? Where are the weakest links? What credits do we need to get out of this week because we are seeing a deterioration?'"
Look for more excerpts from the issue in the coming weeks, and let us know if you'd like to see the latest issue (which should be out in about an hour).
