ICI: MMF Assets Rise Again, Barely
Money market mutual fund assets showed gains for the twelfth week in a row, hitting yet another record but just inching up closer the $4.8 trillion level. ICI's latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" report says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $1.41 billion to $4.79 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, May 20, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds decreased by $12.85 billion and prime funds increased by $13.84 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds increased by $419 million." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs falling $8.6 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $10.0 billion. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $3.912 trillion (81.7% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $742.5 billion (15.5%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $135.3 billion, 2.8%. Money fund assets are up an eye-popping $1.157 trillion, or 31.9%, year-to-date in 2020, with Inst MMFs up $950 billion (42.0%) and Retail MMFs up $208 billion (15.2%). Over the past 52 weeks, ICI's money fund asset series has increased by $1.659 trillion, or 53.0%, with Retail MMFs rising by $363 billion (29.8%) and Inst MMFs rising by $1.296 trillion (67.7%). They explain, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $9.99 billion to $1.58 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $5.74 billion to $999.23 billion, prime money market fund assets increased by $4.29 billion to $458.16 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $40 million to $120.25 billion." Retail assets account for just under a third of total assets, or 33.0%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.3% of all Retail MMFs. ICI adds, "Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $8.58 billion to $3.21 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets decreased by $18.59 billion to $2.91 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $9.55 billion to $284.31 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $459 million to $15.07 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 67.1% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 90.7% of all Institutional MMF totals. (Note: Crane Data has its own separate, and larger, daily and monthly asset series.)
