ICI's Trends in Mutual Fund Investing
The Investment Company Institute released both its November monthly "Trends in Mutual Fund Investing" and its weekly "Money Market Mutual Fund Assets" yesterday afternoon. The monthly numbers show money fund assets declining by $43.4 billion to $3.318 trillion in November while the weekly numbers show money fund assets increasing by $21.7 billion to $3.294 trillion in the week ended Dec. 29. The weekly jump was driven by institutional investors, likely fleeing negative yields in direct Treasuries for the higher-yields of Government money funds. Through November YTD, money fund assets have declined by $514.4 billion, or 13.4%. This contrasts with bond fund assets, which have increased by $620.8 billion, or 39.6%, to $2.187 trillion, and with stock fund assets, which have increased by $1.12 trillion, or 30.2%, to $4.825 trillion. Year-to-date through Dec. 29, money fund assets have declined by $536 billion, or 14.0%. Retail money funds have declined YTD in 2009 by $287 billion, or 21.1%, to $1.068 trillion, while Institutional money funds have declined by $260 billion, or 10.5%, to $2.225 trillion. Liquid assets of stock funds continue to remain near record lows at 3.8% of assets. Money market funds are on track for their largest asset decline, and their second-largest percentage decline, in their 40-year history. In other news, see Nightly Business Report's "Money File - Value in Money Market Funds" and US News' "The Decade's 10 Worst Fund Disasters".
