Federated 10-Q Quarterly Report
Last week, Federated Investors filed its latest "Form 10-Q Quarterly Report," which says about the "Current Regulatory Environment," "While the pace of new regulation continues at a moderate pace in 2019, and calls for deregulation continue, the SEC (among other regulatory authorities, self-regulatory organizations or exchanges) continues to propose and finalize new rules and regulations.... Deregulation also is a focus of certain legislative efforts. `The House Financial Services Committee advanced a bill seeking to reverse certain aspects of money market fund reform and a hearing on that bill was held in the Senate in June 2018, and efforts continue in Congress in 2019 to get this legislation passed and signed into law. The proposed law would permit the use of amortized cost valuation by, and override the floating NAV and certain other requirements for, institutional and municipal (or tax-exempt) money market funds. These requirements were imposed under the SEC's structural, operational and other money market fund reforms adopted through amendments to Rule 2a-7, and certain other regulations, on July 23, 2014 (2014 Money Fund Rules) and related guidance (collectively, the 2014 Money Fund Rules and Guidance). Compliance with the 2014 Money Fund Rules and Guidance became effective on October 14, 2016." The filing explains, "The current regulatory environment has impacted, and will continue to impact, Federated's business, results of operations, financial condition and/or cash flows. For example, changes required under the 2014 Money Fund Rules and Guidance resulted in a shift in asset mix from institutional prime and municipal (or tax-exempt) money market funds to stable NAV government money market funds across the investment management industry and at Federated, which impacted its AUM, revenues and operating income. Management continues to believe that, as interest rates remain at higher levels or continue to rise, money market funds will benefit generally from increased yields, particularly as compared to deposit account alternatives, and that, as spreads widen, investors who exited prime money market funds will likely continue to reconsider their investment options over time, including Federated's prime private money market fund and prime collective fund. While 2018 and the first quarter of 2019 did see a shift in asset mix back toward institutional prime and municipal (tax-exempt) money market funds, there is no guarantee such shift will continue and return the asset mix between institutional prime, municipal (or tax-exempt) and government money market funds to pre-October 2016 levels; therefore, the degree of improvement to Federated's prime money market business can vary and is uncertain." It adds, "Investment management industry participants, including Federated, continued, and will continue, to monitor, plan for and implement certain changes in response to new proposed or adopted rules, such as the following (which Federated previously described in greater detail in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 or in prior public filings): On April 5, 2017, European Parliament passed EU money market fund reforms (Money Market Fund Regulation or MMFR). The MMFR provides for the following types of money market funds in the EU: (1) Government constant NAV (CNAV) funds; (2) Low volatility NAV (LVNAV) funds; (3) Short-term variable NAV (VNAV) funds; and (4) standard VNAV funds. The reforms became effective (i.e., must be complied with) in regards to new funds on July 21, 2018 and became effective in regards to certain existing funds (including the Federated Funds in Ireland and the UK) on January 21, 2019. Federated utilized both internal and external resources to complete the conversion of two non-U.S. money market funds to LVNAV funds and two government non-U.S. money market funds to public debt CNAV funds, and otherwise began to comply with the MMFR, on January 11, 2019. Federated also continues to engage with trade associations and appropriate regulators in connection with the MMFR because the European Securities Market Authority and the European Commission continue work on implementing the MMFR and government CNAV and LVNAV fund reforms will be subject to a future review of their adequacy from a prudential and economic perspective by the European Commission in 2022." (For more, see our Feb. 25 News, "Federated Annual 10-K Sheds Light on Latest Money Fund Risks, Issues.")
