News Archives: December, 2025

ICI's Trends Confirm Jump in Money Fund Assets, Treasuries; 84M Accts

Dec 31 25

The Investment Company Institute's latest monthly "Trends in Mutual Fund Investing - November 2025" and "Month-End Portfolio Holdings of Taxable Money Funds" show money fund totals increasing $107.7 billion, or 1.4%, in November to a record $7.575 trillion. MMFs have increased by $862.0 billion, or 12.8%, over the past 12 months (through 11/30/25). Money funds' November asset increase follows an increase of $146.8 billion in October, $104.5 billion in September, $123.4 billion in August, $69.0 billion in July, $29.3 billion in June and $84.7 billion in May. Assets decreased $63.8 billion in April and $10.9 billion in March. But they increased $99.0 billion in February, $31.9 billion in January and $139.3 billion in December. They rose $171.5 billion last November. Bond fund assets increased $32.4 billion to $5.501 trillion, and bond ETF assets increased to $2.22 trillion in November 2025.

The monthly release states, "The combined assets of the nation's mutual funds increased by $135.30 billion, or 0.4 percent, to $31.30 trillion in November, according to the Investment Company Institute’s official survey of the mutual fund industry. In the survey, mutual fund companies report actual assets, sales, and redemptions to ICI.... Bond funds had an inflow of $7.64 billion in November, compared with an inflow of $20.02 billion in October.... Money market funds had an inflow of $92.95 billion in November, compared with an inflow of $133.13 billion in October. In November funds offered primarily to institutions had an inflow of $67.61 billion and funds offered primarily to individuals had an inflow of $25.34 billion."

The Institute's latest statistics show that Taxable MMFs and Tax Exempt MMFs were both higher from last month. Taxable MMFs increased by $102.0 billion in November to $7.430 trillion. Tax-Exempt MMFs increased $5.8 billion to $145.0 billion. Taxable MMF assets increased year-over-year by $852.8 billion (13.0%), and Tax-Exempt funds rose by $9.2 billion over the past year (6.8%). Bond fund assets increased by $32.4 billion (after increasing by $55.4 billion in October) to $5.501 trillion; they've increased by $375.6 billion (7.3%) over the past year.

Money funds represent 24.2% of all mutual fund assets (up 0.2% from the previous month), while bond funds account for 17.6%, according to ICI. The total number of money market funds was 264, unchanged from the prior month and up from 259 a year ago. Taxable money funds numbered 223 funds, and tax-exempt money funds numbered 41 funds.

ICI's "Month-End Portfolio Holdings" confirms a jump in Treasuries and an increase in Repo last month. Treasury holdings remain the largest composition segment. In November, they increased $52.3 billion, or 1.6%, to $3.285 trillion, or 44.2% of holdings. Treasury securities have increased by $385.5 billion, or 13.3%, over the past 12 months. (See our December 10 News, "Dec. Money Fund Portfolio Holdings: Assets, Treasuries and Repo Surge.")

Repurchase Agreements, the second largest composition segment, rose $64.0 billion, or 2.5%, to $2.669 trillion, or 35.9% of holdings. Repo holdings have increased $434.1 billion, or 19.4%, over the past year. U.S. Government Agency securities were the third largest segment; they decreased $4.8 billion, or -0.5%, to $904.1 billion, or 12.2% of holdings. Agency holdings have increased by $103.8 billion, or 13.0%, over the past 12 months.

Commercial Paper was in fourth place; CP holdings decreased by $2.9 billion, or -1.0%, to $287.3 billion (3.9% of assets). CP held by money funds fell by $276 million, or -0.1%, over 12 months. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) were in fifth place, up $2.0 billion, or 0.9%, to $235.2 billion (3.2% of assets). CDs decreased $109.8 billion, or -31.8%, over one year. Other holdings increased to $24.3 billion (0.3% of assets), while Notes (including Corporate and Bank) decreased to $34.2 billion (0.5% of assets).

The Number of Accounts Outstanding in ICI's series for taxable money funds increased to 83.857 million, while the Number of Funds was unchanged at 223. Over the past 12 months, the number of accounts rose by 9.681 million and the number of funds increased by 7. The Average Maturity of Portfolios was 39 days, down 1 from October. Over the past 12 months, WAMs of Taxable money are up 2 days.

Assets Break $8.1 Trillion; Yields Dip to 3.57%; Vanguard on HY Savings

Dec 30 25

Money market mutual fund assets surged by $76.4 billion on Friday (12/26), breaking the $8.1 trillion barrier for the first time ever and hitting a record $8.104 trillion, according to our Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Assets have risen $94.8 billion in the week through Friday and they've jumped by $121.7 billion in December month-to-date (through 12/26). Year-to-date in 2025, they've gained $930.3 billion (13.0%) in assets. MMF assets increased by $132.8 billion in November, $142.1 billion in October, $105.2 billion in September and $132.0 billion in August. They rose by $63.7 billion in July, $6.7 billion in June and $100.9 billion in May. But MMFs decreased $24.4 billion in April. Assets increased by $2.8 billion in March, $94.2 billion in February, $52.8 billion in January, and $110.9 billion last December. (Note: Happy Holiday and Happy New Year from Crane Data and Money Fund Intelligence!)

Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) decreased by 1 bp to 3.57% on average during the week ended Friday, December 26 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after decreasing 8 bps the week prior. Fund yields should move lower in coming days as they digest the remainder of the Fed's Dec. 10 25 bps rate cut. Yields were 3.78% on 11/30, 3.90% on 10/31, 3.94% on 9/30, 4.11% on 8/31, 4.12% on 7/31, 4.13% on 6/30, 4.10% on 5/31, 4.13% on 4/30/25, 4.14% on 3/31/25 and 4.28% on average on 12/31/24. MMFs averaged 4.75% on 9/30/24, 5.10% on 6/28/24, 5.14% on 3/31/24 and 5.20% on 12/31/23.

The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 679), shows a 7-day yield of 3.47%, down 2 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were down 1 bp at 3.66% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 3 bps at 3.57%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 2 bps at 3.53%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.30%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.27% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.46%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were up 7 bps to 2.76%.

Weighted average maturities were at 39 days for the Crane MFA and 40 days the Crane 100 Money Fund Index. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (12/26), 132 money funds (out of 789 total) yield under 3.0% with $125.5 billion in assets, or 1.5%; 656 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($7.977 trillion, or 98.4%); and just 1 fund still yields over 4.0% ($1.3 billion, or 0.0%).

Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.30%, after falling 1 basis point the week prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of December 26, shows one change over the past week. Raymond James lowered rates for accounts of $1K to $249K to 0.03%, to 0.07% for accounts of $250K to $499K, to 0.1% for accounts of $500K to $999K, to 1.00% for accounts of $1 million to $4.9 million and to 1.50% for accounts of $10 million and greater. Three of the 10 major brokerages tracked by our BSI offer rates of 0.01% for balances of $100K (and lower tiers). These include: E*Trade, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

In related news, Vanguard posted an article titled, "Understanding high-yield savings accounts and how rates work." It states, "A high-yield savings account works like any other bank or credit union account, but typically offers a higher interest rate compared with a traditional savings account. You can use compound interest calculators to help determine your savings over time. Different factors can affect your savings growth, so it's important to consider them when choosing an account."

They ask, "What makes a high-yield savings account 'high yield'?" Vanguard answers, "The main factor that makes a savings account 'high yield' is the interest rate. While some traditional savings accounts offer an annual percentage yield (APY) as low as 0.01%, a high-yield savings account could offer a much greater amount. Many high-yield savings accounts are offered by digital banks and financial institutions. They have lower overhead costs since they don't have physical branches, and they can pass those savings on to clients in the form of higher interest rates."

A section titled, "Factors that affect your savings growth," explains, "Various elements can affect your savings growth over time. These can include: APY rates. Higher APY rates can lead to greater earnings over time. Digital banks and specialized accounts like CDs and money market funds often offer better rates; Account fees. Lower account maintenance fees can help you save money over time; Compounding frequency impact. More frequent compounding (e.g., daily, monthly) results in higher earnings compared with less frequent compounding (e.g., quarterly, annually)."

They also cite: "Initial deposit and additional contributions. Larger initial deposit amounts and higher contribution amounts will increase how much interest you can earn; Inflation. When prices rise and your purchasing power decreases, you'll want to know how to navigate times of rising inflation since ideally you'll want the interest in your savings to be higher than inflation; Taxes. Interest is generally taxed as ordinary income. Knowing the tax implications of your interest earnings can help you decide which types of savings accounts or investments offer the best net benefits."

The piece also asks, "What's the difference between the Vanguard Cash Plus Account and a high-yield savings account?" It states, "While Vanguard doesn't offer a high-yield savings account, we do offer the Vanguard Cash Plus Account, which is Vanguard's high-yield savings account alternative that offers a competitive APY on your cash, flexible investment options, and FDIC insurance on the bank sweep."

It adds, "Vanguard Cash Plus offers 2 ways for you to divvy up your cash. The first option allows you to keep your money in the bank sweep program, where your balances will be in one or more program banks and eligible for FDIC coverage. With the second option, you can diversify your money across 5 Vanguard money market funds that invest in short-term, high-quality debt that's eligible for SIPC insurance."

More from Irish Funds' Tokenization Paper; Decrypt Explains Stablecoins

Dec 29 25

On Dec. 4, Crane Data published a "Link of the Day," "Irish Funds Post Tokenization Paper," which quoted from a press release on the paper, "Mind the Gap: Operational Considerations for the Tokenisation of Irish-Domiciled Funds." Today, we quote from the full piece, which says, "Ireland is a leading EU domicile for fund products notably in the money market funds (MMFs) space, in private asset strategies and has been at the forefront of innovation for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Ireland offers a robust regulatory framework, global distribution reach, and operational expertise. Tokenisation, through the use of DLT, presents a transformative opportunity for funds by enabling faster settlement, enhanced transparency, and unlocking innovative and new functionality opportunities.... MMFs may benefit from real-time cash management and automated compliance."

Irish Funds states, "Tokenised fund offerings have gained momentum in recent years, evolving from pilots and proofs of concept to actual market adoption. In 2025, global tokenised real world assets (RWA) exceeded $36 billion, up from near-zero just a few years prior. This growth was driven by major asset managers launching tokenised products, primarily MMFs. Boston Consulting Group ('BCG') estimates that tokenised fund assets under management (AUM) could reach 1% of global mutual funds and ETF AUM in just seven years. This would imply an AUM of more than US$600 billion by 2030."

They tell us, "Ireland has emerged as an active participant in this trend. BlackRock and Fidelity International piloted projects in the tokenisation of their Irish domiciled MMFs for the use of collateral on JP Morgan's Kinexys (previously Onyx) platform. Digital Platforms such as Archax, which offer tokenised access to Irish domiciled MMFs from firms such as BlackRock, State Street, Fidelity International, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) and Federated Hermes have made these products available to professional and institutional investors."

The paper says, "Tokenisation activity spans multiple regions. Franklin Templeton launched its first European tokenised MMF. Firms have partnered with FinTech platforms to bring funds onto distributed ledger infrastructure in Asia, US and Europe. Global banks and custodians were also engaged, supporting tokenisation services and distribution via proprietary networks. The broader tokenised RWA market grew an estimated 85% year-over-year. Despite this momentum, tokenised fund AUM remains a small fraction of the $7 trillion U.S. money fund sector, underscoring its early but rapidly evolving stage of adoption."

Discussing "Some of the most promising areas: The use of tokenised MMFs (TMMF) as collateral needed in derivatives positions or for security lending," they comment, "Principally composed of HQLA, using TMMFs would reduce the amount of churn in the system and particular would be useful in market stress events such as the LDI crisis in the UK, where additional sell pressure on underlying government securities could be reduced."

They add, "Global Digital Finance has recently published 'The Case for Collateral Mobility in Europe & The UK using Money Market Funds' to which Irish Funds contributed. This paper outlines the value proposition that TMMFs offer qualities that are hard to replicate with other kinds of assets in the collateral use case (e.g., cash and stablecoins). Unlike cash, they accrue yield making them a more attractive form of posted collateral, particularly in a high-interest rate environment."

In other news, Yahoo Finance published an article from Decrypt titled, "From Tether to the Trump-Backed USD1: The 7 Fastest-Moving Stablecoins of 2025." It explains, "This was a defining year for stablecoins, with the signing of the GENIUS Act, a high-flying IPO for Circle, and a handful of tokens outpacing the rest. Since the start of January, the overall U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin supply has increased by more than $100 billion, to $314 billion total. But that doesn't mean all boats have risen at the same rate."

The piece says, "To measure stablecoin performance, Decrypt calculated velocity using historical data from crypto price aggregator CoinGecko from January through December 15. Velocity divides total volume by average supply, resulting in a calculation of how many times each coin has, on average, changed hands. As former Commodities and Futures Trading Commission Chairman Timothy Massad explained to Decrypt, measuring velocity beats rankings that rely only on total supply."

It continues, "Tether tops the list with a velocity of 166 because it's long been a workhorse for global crypto trading. It can't claim the crown as the first-ever stablecoin -- that belongs to BitUSD. But it launched the same year, in 2014, and became the first widely used one. Tether boasts a market capitalization of $186 billion after increasing 35% since the start of the year, according to CoinGecko data. The bulk of Tether tokens get traded on Ethereum (46.3%) and Tron (41.4%), according to DeFi Llama data."

Yahoo Finance states, "Ripple Labs' stablecoin, RLUSD, swiped the second spot with a velocity of 71. That means, on average, every RLUSD token has changed hands 71 times since the start of the year. In most stablecoin lineups, Circle's USDC would hold this spot because its $78 billion market capitalization trumps that of RLUSD's $1.3 billion. But as Massad pointed out, stablecoin performance has more to do with being able to move money efficiently than its total supply. Ripple was provisionally approved for a national banking charter by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, in December."

On Circle, they write, "USDC saw its velocity reach 56 in 2025, while its market capitalization climbed 78% to $78.4 billion by December 15. Perhaps more than any of its competitors, Circle benefitted massively from the passage of the GENIUS Act. Its operating model already resembled the federally regulated framework that's now become U.S. law. That's given Circle a head start on compliance and investor confidence -- and investors took note.... Circle was also one of several stablecoin issuers -- including Ripple, Paxos and BitGo -- which got a provisional approval for its national banking charter and will be looking to expand into broader financial services."

Finally, the piece mentions, "USD1 is an outlier because it launched in April, and therefore doesn't have nearly a full year's worth of data.... Issued by World Liberty Financial -- the crypto-focused firm co-founded by Donald Trump Jr. and partners -- USD1 was designed from the outset to be a highly liquid transactional stablecoin. The token reached a $1 billion market cap in April, less than a month after its launch, according to data from CoinGecko.... PayPal USD's velocity of 18 lands it in fifth place on this list. Its 2023 debut made big waves because it was the first time an established payments platform made a bid at issuing a stablecoin -- years before there was a regulatory framework in the U.S."

ICI: MMF Assets Hit Record $7.673 Trillion; State Street, SIFMA on Repo

Dec 26 25

The Investment Company Institute's latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets inching higher by $7.5 billion to a record $7.673 trillion after increasing by $10.7 billion the previous week. Assets have risen in 12 of the last 14 weeks and 20 of the past 23 weeks. MMF assets are up by $868 billion, or 12.7%, over the past 52 weeks (through 12/23/25), with Institutional MMFs up $513 billion, or 12.5% and Retail MMFs up $355 billion, or 13.1%. Year-to-date, MMF assets are up by $823 billion, or 12.0%, with Institutional MMFs up $490 billion, or 11.9% and Retail MMFs up $333 billion, or 12.2%. (Note: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Crane Data! Thanks again to those who attended our Money Fund University in Pittsburgh last week. Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

ICI's weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $7.49 billion to $7.67 trillion for the six-day period ended Tuesday, December 23, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds decreased by $374 million and prime funds increased by $5.84 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds increased by $2.02 billion." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs decreasing $10.2 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $17.6 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $6.301 trillion (82.2% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $1.224 trillion (15.9%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $148.5 billion (1.9%).

It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $17.63 billion to $3.07 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $15.19 billion to $1.94 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $553 million to $995.68 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $1.89 billion to $136.24 billion." Retail assets account for 39.8% of the total, and Government Retail assets make up 63.0% of all Retail MMFs.

They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $10.15 billion to $4.60 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets decreased by $15.57 billion to $4.36 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $5.28 billion to $228.03 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $136 million to $12.25 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 60.2% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.9% of all institutional MMF totals.

According to Crane Data's separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have increased by $54.9 billion to $8.037 trillion month-to-date in December (as of 12/23), this data series hit its record high of $8.066 trillion on 12/11. Assets increased by $132.8 billion in November, $142.1 billion in October, $105.2 billion in September and $132.0 billion in August. They rose $63.7 billion in July, $6.7 billion in June and $100.9 billion in May. MMFs fell by $24.4 billion in April, but rose $2.8 trillion in March, $94.2 billion in February and $52.8 billion in January. They jumped $110.9 billion last December. Note that ICI's asset totals don't include a number of funds tracked by the SEC and Crane Data, so they're almost $400 billion lower than Crane's asset series.

In other news, State Street recently posted, "The cost of clearing: Evidence from an analysis of cleared and uncleared repo." It says, "The forthcoming United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandate requiring central clearing for US Treasury (UST) repo transactions by 2027 will fundamentally reshape market structure, especially for buy-side participants like money market funds (MMFs) that dominate cash lending in the cleared repo space. Using a month-end panel of MMF holdings from 2020 to 2025, we estimate the 'cost of clearing,' defined as the spread between uncleared and cleared repo rates and analyze its drivers through a regression framework."

They explain, "Our results suggest higher Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) Sponsored volumes reduce the cost of clearing, indicating that netting efficiencies and economies of scale improve as the cleared market grows. Conversely, larger MMF assets tend to widen the spread, while increased MMF repo volumes partially offset this effect. Collateral and macro liquidity conditions -- such as System Open Market Account coupon holdings, net UST coupon issuance and dealer balance-sheet stress -- also influence the cost of clearing in asymmetric ways."

State Street adds, "These findings demonstrate that the cost of clearing is not a fixed wedge but a macro-sensitive spread, and as volumes migrate to central clearing under the mandate, economies of scale and new clearing models are likely to structurally compress clearing costs for MMFs. This has implications on pricing, venue selection and liquidity planning for buy-side lenders and their clearing providers."

In related news, a press release titled, "SIFMA Publishes US Treasury and Repo Done-Away Model Design Considerations," tells us, "SIFMA published a report with Ernst & Young LLP (EY US), 'U.S. Treasury and Repo Clearing Done-Away Model Design Considerations.' The report provides a guideline and framework for baseline U.S. Treasury done-away clearing requirements under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) upcoming Treasury Clearing Rule. This report is a follow-on to the 'U.S. Treasury Central Clearing Industry Considerations Report' published in November 2024. Done-away Treasury clearing refers to the process in which trades executed by an external broker are centrally cleared through a firm's designated clearing provider rather than the executing broker."

They write, "The document has four objectives: Outline the desired done-away flows for different execution paths as defined by market participants; Describe roles and responsibilities of market participants, covered clearing agencies (CCAs), trading venues, and other technology platforms across the trade lifecycle; Identify the core capabilities and data requirements need to be established to enable the desired done-away flows; and Indicate proposed owners for developing and implementing the defined core capabilities."

Joe Seidel, SIFMA Chief Operating Officer, comments, "As we approach the effective date for central clearing of U.S. Treasury securities, SIFMA is working to support the industry with the transition to ensure there is as little disruption as possible to this important market. This report, in conjunction with our other efforts, is designed to help firms with their steps to preparedness. Treasuries play a key role in both the U.S. and world economies and SIFMA is supportive of efforts to make the market more resilient, while at the same time we recognize the need to ensure liquidity is not negatively impacted."

SIFMA says, "Clearing transactions involves a clearing agency stepping in between a buyer and seller to handle certain elements of transaction processing, manage risk and pay down obligations. In December 2023, the SEC approved a final rule which mandates the clearing of certain eligible secondary market transactions in U.S. Treasury securities. It triggered a significant structural change to the U.S. Treasury market and will have significant impacts on broker-dealers, institutional investors, asset managers, hedge funds, interdealer brokers, principal trading firms, banks, and covered clearing agencies (CCAs). The first compliance date is December 31, 2026, for eligible cash market transactions, and June 30, 2027, for eligible repo market transactions."

Neal Ullman, Managing Director, Financial Services Consulting, EY, adds, "As the effective date for central clearing of U.S. Treasury securities approaches, the industry faces a critical transition that must be managed carefully to avoid disruption. This report provides key design considerations for implementing a done-away model to help prepare for compliance, while reinforcing the importance of maintaining market stability and liquidity."

The press release concludes, "The report is designed to capture and organize the proposed done-away flows and core requirements based on input and subject-matter analysis from market participants on both the buy side and sell side. Through input collected for the November 2024 Considerations Report, eight total industry challenges were highlighted related to open concerns and specific elements to design a controlled and resilient U.S. Treasury Clearing done-away model. SIFMA organized a done-away steering committee comprised of both buy and sell side representation to help discuss, prioritize, ideate, and document a proposed done-away model that includes operational flows, core capabilities required, and roles and responsibilities of each party involved. The following challenges were prioritized for this effort: Supporting data capabilities; Pre-trade limit checks for various execution paths (e.g., Central Limit Order Book 'CLOB', Request for Quote 'RFQ', Voice); Operational flows and submission to CCAs; Bunched orders/allocations."

JPMAM Liquidity Insight: Tokenization Transforming Money Market Funds

Dec 24 25

J.P. Morgan Asset Management recently published a "Liquidity Insight" titled, "Tokenization: Transforming Money Market Funds for the Digital Era." They write, "The financial industry is undergoing a profound transformation as tokenization reshapes how money market funds are structured, traded, and accessed. As blockchain technology moves further into mainstream finance, tokenized money market funds are emerging as one of the most impactful applications." (Note: Merry Christmas and thanks again to those who attended our Money Fund University in Pittsburgh last week! Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

The brief asks, "What is tokenization, and why does it matter for money market funds?" It responds, "Tokenization is the process of converting traditional financial assets, such as shares in a money market fund, into digital tokens recorded on a blockchain. Unlike cryptocurrencies, tokenized money market funds focus on modernizing recordkeeping and ownership transfer. Investors hold digital tokens that represent fund shares, enabling new functionalities that traditional systems cannot support."

J.P. Morgan then states, "Today, the market features three main forms of tokenized financial products: Stablecoins: Digital assets that maintain their value by pegging to a reference asset, such as the U.S. dollar, through various stabilization mechanisms; Deposit tokens: Bank-issued and backed digital tokens that facilitate on-chain transfers of deposit liabilities; Tokenized money market funds: Blockchain-based representations of traditional money market funds, offering dynamic updates, tracking, and servicing. These tokens support fractional ownership, diversification, and efficient collateral management. Interest in tokenized money market funds is rising rapidly, driven by demand from institutional investors and crypto-native companies seeking yield, safety, and operational efficiency."

They comment, "Why should investors care?" The post responds, "Tokenizing money market funds unlocks new capabilities and improves existing processes. Key benefits include: Collateral management: Tokenized fund shares can be transferred faster and programmed for specific uses, enabling more efficient posting, movement, and reuse of collateral across financial transactions; Faster trading and settlement: Blockchain-based transfers can settle in near real time, an advantage for trading desks, treasurers, and institutions that depend on immediate access to liquidity; 24/7 operations: Tokenized funds operate without the constraints of traditional market hours, enabling continuous onboarding, transfers, and settlement across global time zones."

JPMAM adds, "Despite the advanced technology, onboarding to tokenized funds mirrors traditional processes. Investors complete standard AML/KYC checks and provide a blockchain wallet address for token custody. Settlement can be made in fiat or stablecoins. Blockchain and distributed ledger technology support tokenization by offering: Security through cryptography; Transparency via shared ledgers; Decentralization across multiple validating nodes. This creates an immutable, auditable record of ownership and transactions."

They tell us, "A key consideration is whether the tokens reside on a public or private blockchain: Private blockchains provide controlled, ring-fenced environments suited for regulated institutions. Public blockchains allow greater transparency and interoperability but require careful wallet management and robust security practices. Regulators in both the U.S. and Europe are increasingly clarifying frameworks for digital assets, supporting broader institutional adoption."

JPM then writes, "Tokenized money market funds have grown to roughly USD10 billion in assets, with the majority launched on the Ethereum blockchain. While this is small relative to the USD10 trillion traditional money market fund industry, momentum is building quickly. More asset managers, custodians, and fintech platforms are entering the market, and improving regulatory clarity is expected to accelerate growth further."

Finally, the article concludes, "Tokenization is ushering in a new era for money market funds, with the aim of offering enhanced security, operational efficiency, and greater flexibility for investors. As adoption expands and regulatory structures solidify, tokenized solutions are poised to play a central role in modern liquidity management, benefiting institutions and investors seeking both yield and innovation."

For more on Tokenized MMFs, see these Crane Data News stories: "Amundi Tokenises Shares of EUR MMF" (12/22/25), "JP Morgan Launches Tokenized MMF, My OnChain Net Yield Fund (MONY)" (12/17/25), "Bank for International Settlements Primer on Tokenized Money Funds" (12/2/25), "TD Securities Writes on Stablecoins, Tokenized Money Funds, Digital" (11/5/25), "NY Fed Blog Says Money Funds Dominate Tokenization To Date; Stability?" (9/25/25), "IMMFA on Tokenization of MMFs in Europe; Tether USDT; Fidelity Digital" (9/22/25), and "BNY's LiquidityDirect Portal Announces Plans to Tokenize Money Funds" (7/24/25). See also the Wall Street Journal's "JPMorgan Steps Further Into Crypto With Tokenized Money Fund."

SEC: Private Liquidity Funds Rise to $374B in Q1'25, Form PF Update

Dec 23 25

The SEC published its latest quarterly "Private Funds Statistics" report recently, which summarizes Form PF reporting and includes some data on "Liquidity Funds," or pools which are similar to but not money market funds. The publication shows overall Liquidity fund assets were higher in the latest reported quarter (Q1'25) at $374 billion (up from $358 billion in Q4'24 and up from $333 billion in Q1'24). We also again briefly review the SEC's "Amendments to Form PF Reporting Requirements for Large Liquidity Fund Advisers" which went into effect last year, below. (Note: Merry Christmas and thanks to those who attended our Money Fund University in Pittsburgh last week! Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

The SEC's "Introduction" tells us, "This report provides a summary of recent private fund industry statistics and trends, reflecting data collected from Form PF and Form ADV filings received through November 13, 2025, for the reporting periods from First Calendar Quarter 2023 through First Calendar Quarter 2025... Form PF information provided in this report are anonymized, and are aggregated, rounded, and/or masked to avoid potential disclosure of proprietary information of individual Form PF filers." (Note: Crane Data believes the largest portion of these liquidity fund assets are securities lending reinvestment pools.)

The tables in the SEC's "Private Funds Statistics: First Calendar Quarter 2025," with the most recent data available, show 73 Liquidity Funds (most of which are "Section 3 Liquidity Funds," which are Liquidity Funds from advisers with over $1 billion total in cash), down 1 from last quarter and down 1 from a year ago. (There are 48 Section 3 Liquidity Funds out of the 73 Liquidity Funds.) The SEC receives Form PF reports from 34 Liquidity Fund advisers (21 of which are Section 3 Liquidity Fund advisers), unchanged from last quarter and down 4 from a year ago.

The SEC's table on "Aggregate Private Fund Net Asset Value" shows total Liquidity Fund assets at $374 billion, up $16 billion from Q4'24 and up $41 billion from a year ago (Q1'24). Of this total, $371 billion is in Section 3 (large manager) Liquidity Funds. The SEC's table on "Aggregate Private Fund Gross Asset Value" shows total Liquidity Fund assets at $384 billion, up $15 billion from Q4'24 and up $44 billion from a year ago (Q1'24). Of this total, $381 billion in is Section 3 (large manager) Liquidity Funds.

A table on "Beneficial Ownership for Section 3 Liquidity Funds" shows $74 billion is held by Other (19.9%), $90 billion is held by Unknown Non-U.S. Investors (24.3%), $55 billion is held by Private Funds (14.9%), $13 billion is held by Insurance Companies (3.4%) and $3 billion is held by Non-Profits (0.8%).

The tables also show that 62.9% of Section 3 Liquidity Funds have a liquidation period of one day, $347 billion of these funds may suspend redemptions, and $316 billion of these funds may have gates. WAMs average a short 33.3 days (43.6 days when weighted by assets), WALs are 51.9 days (67.9 days when asset-weighted), and 7-Day Gross Yields average 4.2% (4.3% asset-weighted). Daily Liquid Assets average about 54.4% (45.8% asset-weighted) while Weekly Liquid Assets average about 59.1% (58.6% asset-weighted).

As we've mentioned before, in July 2023, when the SEC's Money Market Fund Reforms were passed, these also included "Amendments to Form PF Reporting Requirements for Large Liquidity Fund Advisers." The release explains, "Separately, the amendments will also modify certain reporting forms that are applicable to money market funds and large private liquidity funds advisers."

The "Fact Sheet" explains, "In addition, the Commission adopted amendments to Form PF, the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds, to require additional information regarding the liquidity funds they advise that is generally aligned with the amended reporting for money market funds. These amendments were proposed by the Commission in January 2022."

The full final rules tell us, "The Commission is also amending Form PF, the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds to require additional information regarding the liquidity funds they advise. Liquidity funds are private funds that seek to maintain a stable NAV (or minimize fluctuations in their NAVs) and thus can resemble money market funds. The amendments to section 3 of Form PF will provide a more complete picture of the short-term financing markets in which liquidity funds invest and enhance the Commission's and the Financial Stability Oversight Council's ('FSOC') ability to assess short-term financing markets and facilitate our oversight of those markets and their participants. This, in turn, is designed to enhance investor protection efforts and systemic risk assessment. `We have consulted with FSOC to gain input on these amendments to help ensure that Form PF continues to provide FSOC with information it can use to assess systemic risk."

It adds, "In a January 2022 release proposing amendments to Form PF, the Commission proposed changes to section 3 of Form PF that were intended to require large liquidity fund advisers to report substantially the same information that the Commission had proposed money market funds to report on Form N-MFP. The proposed amendments to section 3 of Form PF included requirements for additional and more granular information regarding large liquidity fund operational information and assets, portfolio holdings, financing, and investor information as well as a new item concerning the disposition of portfolio securities. Consistent with the final amendments to Form N-MFP, we are adopting largely as proposed the amendments to section 3 of Form PF, with some modifications to better tailor the reporting to private liquidity funds and remain consistent with the final requirements for money market funds under amended Form N-MFP."

J.P. Morgan's 2026 Outlook: Cash Continues to Pour Into Money Funds

Dec 22 25

J.P. Morgan published "Short-Term Fixed Income 2026 Outlook" recently, which explains, "[W]ith rates still well above 3%, cash has continued to pour into MMFs. Inflows have persisted even as the Fed cuts rates, supported by interest reinvestment, an inverted yield curve, persistent market volatility, and potentially AI-related debt raises with proceeds not yet fully deployed. MMFs have remained a preferred haven for investors seeking stability, yield, and a place to park liquidity, pushing AUMs up $736bn (or 10%) to north of $7.8tn YTD." (Note: Thanks to those who attended our Money Fund University in Pittsburgh last week! Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

JPM tells us, "In 2026, we expect the Fed to cut twice more, in January and April, before going on hold, for a terminal fed funds range of 3.25-3.50%. Although MMF yields will fall commensurately, MMF AUMs are expected to continue their upward trend, albeit at a slower pace than this year, and are likely to surpass $8tn. Stablecoin balances should also continue to grow, and while it's hard to predict approximate growth next year, we think another $90-100bn increase (similar to this year) is a reasonable base case given recent momentum following passage of the GENIUS Act and related developments in agentic commerce, cross border payments, etc."

They write, "On the supply side, we expect money market supply to increase by roughly $1.1tn (6%) to $20.3tn in 2026, primarily driven by repo (~$500bn) and T-bills ($488bn). Credit supply should remain stable. Against this backdrop, with reserves consistently below $3tn and ON RRP levels hovering near zero, even with QT ending, we expect funding markets to become more volatile, more sensitive to structural pressures, and more closely watched as a barometer of financial plumbing. SRF efficacy is critical, and in the absence of that, we must consider what else the Fed could do to stabilize the funding markets. GC/OIS spreads should remain wide as repo rates continue to trade firm next year, which could drag CP/CD spreads wider as well, on the margin."

A section titled, "Funding markets: we’re not in Kansas anymore," states, "Meanwhile, the ON RRP facility has dwindled to negligible levels, no longer being the shock absorber it was in recent years.... Banks, historically the marginal providers of financing, are constrained by a multitude of factors that banks must overcome before the risk-reward justifies deploying their excess reserves into the repo market. In that sense, there is non-linearity in their engagement in the repo markets -- that is, it is not as simple as banks expecting repo to trade 5-15bp above IORB."

It says, "The collapse of SVB and the subsequent FHFA guidance against relying on FHLB advances for funding have further reinforced banks' preference for holding reserves versus alternative assets. Furthermore, the distribution of reserves has become more uneven as reserves have declined, exposing frictions in money market plumbing (i.e., reserves are not necessarily making their way to those that need them). Timing is a key challenge. The repo market operates primarily in the early morning, leaving a very narrow window for liquidity redistribution."

The outlook continues, "Growth in taxable MMF and stablecoin balances should continue to be supportive of the front-end, but funding pressures will persist amid another year of growth in net T-bill and repo issuance, highlighting the Fed's need to further address conditions in the money markets. On the demand side, MMF balances have risen impressively this year (+$736bn YTD to $7.8tn) and are likely to surpass $8tn in 2026.... While MMF yields are expected to decline, they should remain above 3%, keeping cash as a competitive asset class and limiting the risk of significant outflows."

It explains, "Retail investors, who are more sensitive to interest rates, do present some vulnerability. However, our analysis shows that retail investors are not overallocated to cash: MMFs only account for less than 20% of mutual fund assets, compared to over 60% in equities and 20% in bonds. This contrasts with the 2009-2012 period, when MMFs comprised 40% and prompted a major rotation into riskier assets. Therefore, the need for portfolio rebalancing is not immediately apparent.... Additional factors such as record high equity markets, an aging U.S. population, and increased allocations to alternatives also support higher cash balances."

JPM says, "Meanwhile, institutional investors should continue to use MMFs for cash management and liquidity purposes, prioritizing capital preservation over yield. As bank deposits still yield well below MMFs and the yield spread between cash and bonds remains flat, there is little incentive to extend duration. Not to mention, ongoing AI-related debt raises may result in a portion of these proceeds temporarily flowing into MMFs, further supporting AUM growth. Our corporate credit research team anticipates that global data center buildout will continue, with $700bn in funding for 2026, supported by hyperscaler cash flow and high-grade bond markets.... Overall, while MMF balances are elevated in nominal terms, these factors suggest there is still room for growth. MMFs currently represent 24% of GDP and 41% of deposits, which is high but not unprecedented."

They add, "With respect to stablecoins, this market currently stands at around $300bn, having grown by about $90bn this year, and should continue to expand. While it is difficult to predict approximate growth in 2026, another $90-100bn increase is a reasonable base case, given recent momentum following passage of the GENIUS Act and related developments in agentic commerce, cross border payments, etc. More optimistic growth will depend on resolving issues around singleness of money, interoperability, redemption rights, liquidity and counterparty risks, consumer protections, among others. The development of infrastructure connecting the digital ecosystem to traditional banking (the 'rails') will also be crucial. Offsetting this growth are developments around tokenized deposits and tokenized MMFs (i.e., other forms of digital 'cash' competing with stablecoins), and FedNow, a platform that enables instant payments without blockchain rails."

Finally, the piece summarizes, "Yet, despite growth in MMFs and stablecoins, overall money market supply (ex-Fed) is projected to increase by about $1.1tn (6%) to $20.3tn in 2026, outpacing expected demand.... While this is not as large an increase as seen this year, it remains a meaningful amount of supply for the money markets to digest. The primary driver will be repo, with dealers needing to finance an additional $500bn in collateral, particularly in Treasury repo, as our Treasury strategists estimate $1.5tn in net coupon issuance for 2026. This continues the rapid growth in Treasury collateral financing seen this year, as reflected in SOFR volumes as a percentage of total Treasury debt outstanding, which rose by 2%-pts to 11%.... That growth has been supported by MMFs, who remain the dominant lenders in the repo market, increasing their repo allocation by 3.3%-pts to 35% of total portfolios year-to-date through October, or up by nearly $500bn."

SEC Stats: Assets Jump Up to Record $8.06 Tril in Nov.; Yields Lower

Dec 19 25

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published its latest monthly "Money Market Fund Statistics" summary this month, after a previous 2-month publication delay due to the government shutdown the month prior. The report shows that total money fund assets rose by $125.1 billion in November 2025 to a record high $8.055 trillion, after hitting $7.930 trillion the month prior. The SEC shows Prime MMFs increased $3.1 billion in November to $1.341 trillion, Govt & Treasury funds increased $115.4 billion to $6.563 trillion and Tax Exempt funds increased $6.5 billion to $151.3 billion. Taxable yields were lower in November after being flat to slightly lower in October. The SEC's Division of Investment Management summarizes monthly Form N-MFP data and includes asset totals and averages for yields, liquidity levels, WAMs, WALs, holdings, and other money market fund trends. We review their latest numbers below. (Our MFI XLS monthly shows money fund assets increasing $132.8 billion in November 2025 to a record of $7.992 trillion. In December month-to-date through 12/17, total money fund assets have increased by $50.3 billion to $8.033 trillion, previously hitting a record high of $8.066 trillion (12/11), according to Crane Data's separate, and slightly smaller, MFI Daily series.) (Note: Thanks to those who attended our Money Fund University in Pittsburgh this week! Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

November's asset increase follows an increase of $153.2 billion in October, $106.0 billion in September, $138.0 billion in August, $60.2 billion in July, $4.3 billion in June, $94.9 billion in May, a decrease of $17.5 billion in April, a rise of $2.8 billion in March, $101.8 billion in February, $47.9 billion in January, $113.1 billion in December and $198.1 billion last November. Over the 12 months through 11/30/25, total MMF assets have increased by $929.8 billion, or 13.0%, according to the SEC's series.

The SEC's stats show that of the $8.055 trillion in assets, $1.341 trillion was in Prime funds, up $3.1 billion in November. Prime assets were up $9.1 billion in October, $6.2 billion in September, $20.2 billion in August, $22.7 billion in July, $9.8 billion in June, $11.8 billion in May, $2.3 billion in April, $22.1 billion in March, $15.5 billion in February, $27.3 billion in January and $4.0 billion in December and $13.0 billion last November. Prime funds represented 16.6% of total assets at the end of November. They've increased by $154.1 billion, or 13.0%, over the past 12 months. (Note that the SEC's series includes a number of internal money funds not tracked by ICI, though Crane Data includes most of these assets in its collections.)

Government & Treasury funds totaled $6.563 trillion, or 81.5% of assets. They increased $115.4 billion in November, increased $142.1 billion in October, increased $97.8 billion in September, increased $118.1 billion in August, increased $39.0 billion in July, decreased $0.7 billion in June, increased $82.7 billion in May, decreased $25.1 billion in April, $21.8 billion in March, increased $85.5 billion in February and $23.2 billion in January, $109.4 billion in December and $181.7 billion last November. Govt & Treasury MMFs are up $765.6 billion over 12 months, or 13.2%. Tax Exempt Funds increased $6.5 billion to $151.3 billion, or 1.9% of all assets. The number of money funds was 281 in November, up 1 from the previous month and up 6 funds from a year earlier.

Yields for Taxable and Tax Exempt MMFs were both lower in November. The Weighted Average Gross 7-Day Yield for Prime Institutional Funds on November 30 was 4.11%, down 17 bps from the prior month. The Weighted Average Gross 7-Day Yield for Prime Retail MMFs was 4.13%, down 16 bps from the previous month. Gross yields were 4.03% for Government Funds, down 14 bps from last month. Gross yields for Treasury Funds were down 9 bps at 4.00%. Gross Yields for Tax Exempt Institutional MMFs were down 35 basis points to 2.89% in November. Gross Yields for Tax Exempt Retail funds were down 20 bps to 2.80%.

The Weighted Average 7-Day Net Yield for Prime Institutional MMFs was 4.01%, down 17 bps from the previous month and down 66 bps from 11/30/24. The Average Net Yield for Prime Retail Funds was 3.87%, down 16 bps from the previous month and down 65 bps since 11/30/24. Net yields were 3.81% for Government Funds, down 14 bps from last month. Net yields for Treasury Funds were down 9 bps from the previous month at 3.79%. Net Yields for Tax Exempt Institutional MMFs were down 35 bps from October to 2.78%. Net Yields for Tax Exempt Retail funds were down 19 bps at 2.58% in November. (Note: These averages are asset-weighted.)

WALs and WAMs were mixed in November. The average Weighted Average Life, or WAL, was 53.2 days (up 1.5 days) for Prime Institutional funds, and 50.2 days for Prime Retail funds (up 0.4 days). Government fund WALs averaged 89.1 days (down 0.8 days) while Treasury fund WALs averaged 94.8 days (down 1.2 days). Tax Exempt Institutional fund WALs were 5.0 days (down 0.3 days), and Tax Exempt Retail MMF WALs averaged 32.2 days (up 0.1 days).

The Weighted Average Maturity, or WAM, was 28.3 days (up 0.3 days from the previous month) for Prime Institutional funds, 31.5 days (unchanged from the previous month) for Prime Retail funds, 38.1 days (down 1.5 days from previous month) for Government funds, and 44.9 days (down 1.9 days from previous month) for Treasury funds. Tax Exempt Inst WAMs were down 0.3 days at 5.0 days, while Tax Exempt Retail WAMs were up 0.3 days from previous month at 31.4 days.

Total Daily Liquid Assets for Prime Institutional funds were 55.3% in November (up 0.9% from the previous month), and DLA for Prime Retail funds was 49.5% (up 1.2% from previous month) as a percent of total assets. The average DLA was 65.3% for Govt MMFs and 94.7% for Treasury MMFs. Total Weekly Liquid Assets was 66.7% (up 0.2% from the previous month) for Prime Institutional MMFs, and 61.7% (up 0.4% from the previous month) for Prime Retail funds. Average WLA was 79.3% for Govt MMFs and 99.2% for Treasury MMFs.

Note that the SEC made a number of changes to their monthly release in April 2025, so we're no longer publishing a number of tables. A press release titled, "SEC Publishes New Data and Analysis About Registered Investment Companies and Money Market Funds," states, "The Securities and Exchange Commission ... published new data and analysis in a pair of reports that provide the investing public with updated key information about registered investment companies and money market funds. 'It is important that the Commission publicly shares the information it collects in a clear and transparent way,' says Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda. 'These two reports will provide the public with key information about the approximately $41.5 trillion investors trust to funds and the approximately $7.39 trillion invested in money market funds.'"

The SEC says, "Money Market Fund Statistics is an enhanced version of the money market funds report generated by the Division of Investment Management. This report contains additional statistical analysis and enhancements, as well as certain metrics based on Form N-MFP data. The modifications to the report are designed to further facilitate the public's ability to efficiently review, digest, and use aggregate information about the money market fund industry by including summaries of more money market fund data, including information about internal affiliated funds, portfolio investments, flows, and industry concentration. The report extends the downloadable historical statistical series of data back to 2010."

Tim Husson, who leads the SEC's Division of Investment Management's Analytics Office, adds, "Forms N-MFP and N-CEN provide insights into key areas of the investment company industry. The reports reflect our continued dedication to enhance the public's use of important information about the industry."

JP Morgan Launches Tokenized MMF, My OnChain Net Yield Fund (MONY)

Dec 17 25

A press release titled, "J.P. Morgan Asset Management Launches Its First Tokenized Money Market Fund," states, "J.P. Morgan Asset Management ... announced the launch of its first tokenized money market fund, My OnChain Net Yield Fund ('MONY'), now available on the public Ethereum blockchain. Powered by Kinexys Digital Assets, the firm's industry-leading, multi-chain asset tokenization solution, MONY is a 506(c) private placement fund providing qualified investors the opportunity to earn U.S. dollar yields by subscribing through Morgan Money, the firm's open architecture trading and analytics platform for liquidity management. Morgan Money is the first institutional liquidity trading platform to integrate traditional and on-chain assets offering investors access to a full-range of money market products." (Note: Please join us for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which takes place Dec. 18-19, in Pittsburgh! Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

It continues, "J.P. Morgan is the largest GSIB (global systemically important bank) to launch a tokenized money market fund on a public blockchain. Qualified investors can access MONY exclusively through the Morgan Money platform, receiving tokens at their blockchain addresses. MONY invests only in traditional U.S. Treasury securities, and repurchase agreements fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities, allowing qualified investors to earn yield while holding the token on the blockchain."

The release tells us, "It offers daily dividend reinvestment and investors will be able to subscribe and redeem using cash or stablecoins through the Morgan Money platform. The fund's tokenization provides increased transparency, peer-to-peer transferability and the potential for broader collateral usage within the blockchain ecosystem."

George Gatch, CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, comments, "Active management and innovation are at the heart of how we deliver new solutions for investors navigating today's financial landscape. By harnessing technology alongside our deep expertise in active management, we're able to provide clients with advanced, innovative, and cost-effective capabilities that help them achieve their investment goals."

The release also says, "Money market funds have historically played an important role in portfolios, providing investors liquidity, stability, and yield. The launch of MONY reflects the industry's growing shift toward tokenization of assets on public networks. As demand for tokenized assets grows, tokenized money market funds can help meet investor needs while introducing new features enabled by blockchain technology."

JPMAM Head of Global Liquidity John Donohue adds, "We are excited to be a first mover with the launch of MONY, and we expect other GSIB banks to follow our lead in providing clients with greater optionality in how they invest in money market funds. With Morgan Money, tokenization can fundamentally change the speed and efficiency of transactions, adding new capabilities to traditional products. This marks a significant step forward in how assets will be traded in the future, and we're excited about the opportunities this creates for our clients and for the whole industry."

For more on Tokenized MMFs, see the Wall Street Journal's "JPMorgan Steps Further Into Crypto With Tokenized Money Fund," and see these Crane Data News stories: "Bank for International Settlements Primer on Tokenized Money Funds" (12/2/25), "TD Securities Writes on Stablecoins, Tokenized Money Funds, Digital" (11/5/25), "NY Fed Blog Says Money Funds Dominate Tokenization To Date; Stability?" (9/25/25), "IMMFA on Tokenization of MMFs in Europe; Tether USDT; Fidelity Digital" (9/22/25), and "BNY's LiquidityDirect Portal Announces Plans to Tokenize Money Funds" (7/24/25).

In related news, a release, "State Street Investment Management and Galaxy Digital Partner to Tokenize Private Liquidity Fund, With Planned Seed Investment from Ondo," tells us, "State Street Investment Management and Galaxy Asset Management, an affiliate of Galaxy Digital Inc. (GLXY), ... announced the forthcoming launch of the State Street Galaxy Onchain Liquidity Sweep Fund (SWEEP), a tokenized private liquidity fund that will unlock the potential for 24/7 onchain liquidity by utilizing PYUSD stablecoins for subscriptions and redemptions, subject to availability from the fund's portfolio. SWEEP will be available to Qualified Purchasers that meet certain eligibility criteria and minimum investment amounts. Ondo Finance is anticipated to seed the fund with approximately $200 million."

Finally, the ICI recently released its latest monthly "Money Market Fund Holdings" summary, which reviews the aggregate daily and weekly liquid assets, regional exposure, and maturities (WAM and WAL) for Prime and Government money market funds. It tells us, "The Investment Company Institute (ICI) reports that, as of the final Friday in November, prime money market funds held 48.3 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid assets and 61.8 percent in weekly liquid assets, while government money market funds held 76.9 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid assets and 87.9 percent in weekly liquid assets." Prime DLA was up from 47.0% in October, and Prime WLA was up from 60.8%. Govt MMFs' DLA rose from 76.6% and Govt WLA was unchanged at 87.9% for the previous month.

ICI explains, "At the end of November, prime funds had a weighted average maturity (WAM) of 32 days and a weighted average life (WAL) of 53 days. Average WAMs and WALs are asset-weighted. Government money market funds had a WAM of 41 days and a WAL of 93 days. "Prime WAMs were unchanged while WALs were 1 day longer from the previous month. Govt WAMs and WALs were both down from the previous month, WAMs were 2 days shorter and WALs were 1 day shorter.

Regarding Holdings by Region of Issuer, the release tells us, "Prime money market funds’ holdings attributable to the Americas rose from $736.56 billion in October to $760.47 billion in November. Government money market funds' holdings attributable to the Americas rose from $5,623.40 billion in October to $5,748.58 billion in November."

The Prime Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas-related holdings at $760.5 billion, or 62.9%; Asia and Pacific at $158.4 billion, or 13.1%; Europe at $259.6 billion, or 21.5%; and, Other (including Supranational) at $29.6 billion, or 2.5%. The Government Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas at $5.749 trillion, or 92.2%; Asia and Pacific at $116.5 or 1.9%; Europe at $355.1 billion, 5.7%, and Other (Including Supranational) at $12.5 billion, or 0.2%.

ICI: Worldwide MMFs Jump in Q3'25 to Record $12.7T; China $2 Trillion

Dec 16 25

The Investment Company Institute published, "Worldwide Regulated Open-Fund Assets and Flows, Third Quarter 2025," which shows that money fund assets globally rose by $430.2 billion, or 3.5%, in Q3'25 to a record $12.745 trillion. (The totals would have been $13.017 trillion if Australia and New Zealand had been included.) Increases were led by a sharp jump in money funds in the U.S. and China, while Ireland and Luxembourg also rose. Meanwhile, money funds in Republic of Korea were lower. MMF assets worldwide increased by $1.530 trillion, or 13.6%, in the 12 months through 9/30/25, and money funds in the U.S. now represent 57.4% of worldwide assets. In Q1, European money fund asset totals surpassed Asian money fund totals for the first time since Q4'2017, and they continue to rise. We review the latest Worldwide MMF totals, below. (Note: There's still time to register for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which takes place this week, Dec. 18-19, in Pittsburgh! Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

ICI's release says, "Worldwide regulated open-end fund assets, excluding assets in funds of funds, increased 5.0 percent to $84.90 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025. Worldwide net cash inflow to all funds was $821 billion in the third quarter, compared with $714 billion of net inflows in the second quarter of 2025. The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide regulated open-end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association (IIFA), the organization of national fund associations. The collection for the third quarter of 2025 contains statistics from 44 jurisdictions."

It explains, "The growth rate of total regulated open-end fund assets, as reported in US dollars, increased due to US dollar depreciation over the third quarter of 2025. For example, on a US dollar-denominated basis, fund assets in Europe increased by 4.1 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 3.9 percent on a euro-denominated basis."

ICI's quarterly continues, "On a US dollar-denominated basis, equity fund assets increased by 6.3 percent to $41.38 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025. Bond fund assets increased by 3.9 percent to $15.76 trillion in the third quarter. Balanced/mixed fund assets increased by 4.2 percent to $8.40 trillion in the third quarter, while money market fund assets increased by 3.5 percent globally to $12.75 trillion."

The release also tells us, "At the end of the third quarter of 2025, 49% of worldwide regulated open-end fund assets were held in equity funds. The asset share of bond funds was 19% and the asset share of balanced/mixed funds was 10%. Money market fund assets represented 15% of the worldwide total. By region, 57% of worldwide assets were in the Americas in the third quarter of 2025, 32% were in Europe, and 11% were in Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions."

ICI adds, "Net sales of regulated open-end funds worldwide were $821 billion in the third quarter of 2025.... Globally, bond funds posted an inflow of $422 billion in the third quarter of 2025, after recording an inflow of $308 billion in the second quarter.... Money market funds worldwide experienced an inflow of $410 billion in the third quarter of 2025 after registering an inflow of $273 billion in the second quarter of 2025."

According to Crane Data's analysis of ICI's "Worldwide" fund data, the U.S. sustained its position as the largest money fund market in Q3'25 with $7.321 trillion, or 57.4% of all global MMF assets. U.S. MMF assets increased by $296.9 billion (4.2%) in Q3'25 and have increased by $896.4 billion (14.0%) in the 12 months through Sept. 30, 2025. China remained in second place among countries overall. China saw assets increase $73.5 billion (3.7%) in Q3 to $2.060 trillion (16.2% of worldwide assets). Over the 12 months through Sept. 30, 2025, Chinese MMF assets have increased by $203.0 billion, or 10.9%.

Ireland remained third among country rankings, ending Q3 with $1.046 trillion (8.2% of worldwide assets). Irish MMFs were up $33.0B for the quarter, or 3.3%, and up $139.6B, or 15.4%, over the last 12 months. Luxembourg remained in fourth place with $749.8 billion (5.9% of worldwide assets). Assets there increased $16.8 billion, or 2.3%, in Q3, and were up $129.6 billion, or 20.9%, over one year. France was in fifth place with $524.7B, or 4.1% of the total, up $1.1 billion in Q3 (0.2%) and up $32.7B (6.6%) over 12 months.

Australia was listed (by us) in sixth place with $268.7 billion, or 2.1% of worldwide assets. Its MMF data was unavailable for 2024 and Q1, Q2, Q3 2025, so we kept the 2023 Q4 numbers. Mexico was in 7th place with $156.8 billion (1.2%); assets there increased $7.0 billion (4.7%) in Q3 and increased by $26.6 billion (20.4%) over 12 months. Brazil was the 8th ranked country and saw MMF assets increase $6.4 billion, or 4.6%, in Q3'25 to $146.7 billion (1.2% of the total); they've increased $23.6 billion (19.2%) for the year. Korea was in 9th place, as assets decreased $7.9 billion, or -5.3%, to $142.6 billion (1.1% of total assets) in Q3. They've increased $6.3 billion (4.6%) over the previous 12 months. ICI's statistics show Japan was listed in 10th place with $108.3B, or 0.8% of total assets, up $5.1 billion (5.0%) for the quarter.

India was in 11th place, decreasing $3.1 billion, or -3.4%, to $89.2 billion (0.7% of total assets) in Q3 and increasing $9.9 billion (12.4%) over the previous 12 months. Canada ($69.7B, down $977 million and up $9.0B over the quarter and year, respectively) ranked 12th ahead of Switzerland. ($45.7B, down $2.1B and down $3.3B). Chinese Taipei ($38.1B, up $933M and up $9.6B) and United Kingdom ($37.3B, down $89M in Q3 and up $7.6B), rank 14th and 15th, respectively. Argentina, Chile, Turkey, Spain and South Africa round out the 20 largest countries with money market mutual funds.

ICI's quarterly series shows money fund assets in the Americas total $7.764 trillion, up $306.0 billion in Q3. Asian MMFs increased by $68.6 billion to $2.449 trillion, and Europe saw its money funds rise $54.6 billion in Q3'25 to $2.506 trillion. Africa saw its money funds increased $1.0 billion to $26.0 billion.

Note that Ireland and Luxembourg's totals are primarily "offshore" money funds marketed to global multinationals, while most of the other countries in the survey have mainly domestic money fund offerings. Contact us if you'd like our latest "Largest Money Market Funds Markets Worldwide" spreadsheet, based on ICI's data. (Let us know too if you'd like to see our latest Money Fund Intelligence International product, which tracks "offshore" money market funds domiciled in Europe and outside the U.S.)

European MMF Assets Flat at $1.6 Trillion; MFI International Holdings

Dec 15 25

Crane Data's latest Money Fund Intelligence International shows that assets in European or "offshore" money market mutual funds inched higher over the past 30 days to $1.604 trillion, rising from $1.597 trillion the month prior. Yields inched lower, while assets for USD and GBP MMFs rose and EUR MMFs fell over the past month. Like U.S. money fund assets, European MMFs have repeatedly hit record highs in 2023, 2024 and 2025 (after a pause in Q2'25). These U.S.-style money funds, domiciled in Ireland or Luxembourg and denominated in US Dollars, Pound Sterling and Euros, increased by $1.0 billion over the 30 days through 12/11. The totals are up $171.1 billion (11.9%) year-to-date for 2025. They were up $235.3 billion (19.7%) for 2024 and up $166.9 billion (16.2%) for the year 2023. (Note that currency moves in the U.S. Dollar cause Euro and Sterling totals to shift when they're translated back into totals in USD. See our latest MFI International for more on the "offshore" money fund marketplace. These funds are only available to qualified, non-U.S. investors and are almost entirely institutional.) (Note too: There's still time to register for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which takes place Dec. 18-19, in Pittsburgh! Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

Offshore US Dollar money funds increased $4.0 billion over the last 30 days and are up $107.0 billion YTD to $850.6 billion; they increased $94.1 billion in 2024. Euro funds decreased E6.3 billion over the past month. YTD, they're up E9.5 billion to E327.3 billion, for 2024, they increased by E82.9 billion. GBP money funds increased L1.8 billion over 30 days, and they're up L24.6 billion YTD at L279.3B, for 2024, they rose L19.3 billion. U.S. Dollar (USD) money funds (296) account for over half (53.0%) of the "European" money fund total, while Euro (EUR) money funds (212) make up 22.3% and Pound Sterling (GBP) funds (199) total 22.6%. We summarize our latest "offshore" money fund statistics and our Money Fund Intelligence International Portfolio Holdings (which went out to subscribers Friday), below.

Offshore USD MMFs yield 3.84% (7-Day) on average (as of 12/11/25), down 5 bps from a month earlier. Yields averaged 4.20% on 12/30/22 and 0.03% on 12/31/21. EUR MMFs, which left negative yield territory in the second half of 2022, yield 1.91% on average, up 1 bp from a month ago and up from 1.48% on 12/30/22 and -0.80% on 12/31/21. Meanwhile, GBP MMFs broke above the 5.0% barrier 28 months ago, but they broke back below 5.0% 17 months ago. They now yield 3.94%, down 2 bp from a month ago, but up from 3.17% on 12/30/22. Sterling yields were 0.01% on 12/31/21.

Crane's December MFI International Portfolio Holdings, with data as of 11/30/25, show that European-domiciled US Dollar MMFs, on average, consist of 28% in Commercial Paper (CP), 16% in Certificates of Deposit (CDs), 26% in Repo, 18% in Treasury securities, 10% in Other securities (primarily Time Deposits) and 2% in Government Agency securities. USD funds have on average 47.5% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 4.4% maturing in 2-7 Days, 6.4% maturing in 8-30 Days, 11.8% maturing in 31-60 Days, 7.8% maturing in 61-90 Days, 15.2% maturing in 91-180 Days and 6.9% maturing beyond 181 Days. USD holdings are affiliated with the following countries: the U.S. (36.9%), Canada (11.9%), France (10.1%), Japan (8.9%), Australia (5.2%), the Netherlands (4.6%), the U.K. (4.6%), Germany (4.4%), Sweden (2.9%) and Finland (2.2%).

The 10 Largest Issuers to "offshore" USD money funds include: the US Treasury with $157.9B (18.5%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp with $49.0B (5.7%), RBC with $33.5B (3.9%), JP Morgan with $29.5B (3.5%), Credit Agricole with $25.0B (2.9%), Barclays PLC with $21.2B (2.5%), Toronto-Dominion Bank with $20.2B (2.4%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp with $17.1B (2.0%), Nordea Bank with $17.1B (2.0%) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc with $16.3B (1.9%).

Euro MMFs tracked by Crane Data contain, on average 41% in CP, 22% in CDs, 14% in Other (primarily Time Deposits), 20% in Repo, 3% in Treasuries and 0% in Agency securities. EUR funds have on average 35.8% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 8.9% maturing in 2-7 Days, 6.0% maturing in 8-30 Days, 16.2% maturing in 31-60 Days, 11.2% maturing in 61-90 Days, 14.2% maturing in 91-180 Days and 7.7% maturing beyond 181 Days. EUR MMF holdings are affiliated with the following countries: France (26.8%), the U.S. (9.9%), Japan (9.6%), Canada (9.2%), the Netherlands (7.4%), Germany (5.9%), the U.K. (5.1%), Australia (4.3%), Finland (3.8%) and Belgium (3.4%).

The 10 Largest Issuers to "offshore" EUR money funds include: Credit Agricole with E14.2B (5.0%), BNP Paribas with E13.5B (4.7%), JP Morgan with E10.5B (3.7%), ING Bank with E9.6B (3.4%), Societe Generale with E9.0B (3.2%), Republic of France with E8.6B (3.0%), Agence Central de Organismes de Securite Sociale with E8.0B (2.8%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd with E7.7B (2.7%), Bank of Nova Scotia with E7.1B (2.5%) and Nordea Bank with E6.9B (2.4%).

The GBP funds tracked by MFI International contain, on average (as of 11/30/25): 37% in CDs, 21% in CP, 19% in Other (Time Deposits), 18% in Repo, 4% in Treasury and 1% in Agency. Sterling funds have on average 35.7% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 5.4% maturing in 2-7 Days, 6.4% maturing in 8-30 Days, 16.1% maturing in 31-60 Days, 15.9% maturing in 61-90 Days, 12.4% maturing in 91-180 Days and 8.1% maturing beyond 181 Days. GBP MMF holdings are affiliated with the following countries: Japan (14.4%), France (14.3%), Canada (13.1%), the U.K. (13.0%), the U.S. (9.9%), Australia (7.9%), the Netherlands (5.5%), Singapore (3.3%), Germany (3.3%) and Finland (2.9%).

The 10 Largest Issuers to "offshore" GBP money funds include: UK Treasury with L21.1B (8.2%), RBC with L11.8B (4.6%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp with L10.5B (4.1%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd with L8.6B (3.3%), JP Morgan with L7.8B (3.0%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank with L7.7B (3.0%), BNP Paribas with L7.3B (2.8%), Agence Central de Organismes de Securite Sociale with L7.3B (2.8%), National Australia Bank Ltd with L7.0B (2.7%) and Nordea Bank with L6.9B (2.7%).

Dec. Bond Fund Intelligence: '26 Outlooks; Vanguard Core-Plus Bond ETF

Dec 12 25

The December issue of our Bond Fund Intelligence, which was sent to subscribers Friday a.m., features the stories, "Outlook for 2026: Unanswered Questions, But Bonds Beckon," which reviews the outlooks for next year from Federated, Fidelity and Charles Schwab; and "Vanguard Debuts Core-Plus Bond ETF; New T. Rowe ETFs," which covers recent press releases on new bond ETFs. BFI also recaps the latest Bond Fund News and includes our Crane BFI Indexes, which show that bond fund returns were higher again in November while yields moved lower. We excerpt from the new issue below. (Contact us if you'd like to see our latest Bond Fund Intelligence and BFI XLS spreadsheet, or our Bond Fund Portfolio Holdings data.) (Note: There's still time to register for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which takes place next week, Dec. 18-19, in Pittsburgh! Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

BFI's lead article states, "A Federated Hermes 'Insight,' 'Cautious Optimism for 2026,' quotes Robert Ostrowski, 'Fixed income markets enter the new year with a surplus of unanswered questions. To be fair, 2025 answered some. A year ago, we expected a repeat of the post-2016 election environment, with a combination of a dovish-leaning Federal Reserve in the short-term and uncertainty about the long-term success of the new administration’s policies resulting in further steepening of the US yield curve. It took longer to evolve than expected.'"

It continues, "The Global Fixed-Income CIO explains, 'Defying market expectations and growing political pressure, the Fed paused for nine months before eventually resuming interest rate cuts a year into the cycle. Gradually, tariff-driven uncertainty and resultant volatility gave way to investor consensus that the Fed’s dual mandate will be manageable going forward, rate cuts will continue toward a lower fed funds rate and a more dovish Fed and Chair will be in place in 2026.'"

Our "Vanguard" article states, "A release titled, 'Vanguard Launches Core-Plus Bond Index ETF (BNDP),' tells us, 'Vanguard … announced the launch of Vanguard Core-Plus Bond Index ETF (BNDP), a new fixed income offering designed to deliver broad, diversified exposure to the U.S. taxable bond market. The ETF is managed by the Vanguard Fixed Income Group, a global leader in bond indexing.'"

It continues, "Josh Barrickman, co-head of Fixed Income Indexing, Americas, comments, 'Vanguard Core-Plus Bond Index ETF brings investors a low-cost, comprehensive solution that spans the full spectrum of U.S. taxable fixed income — including high-yield and emerging market debt <b:>`_… BNDP is built to serve as a `core portfolio holding for those seeking enhanced yield potential while maintaining the rigor and discipline Vanguard is known for.'"

Our first News brief, "Returns Up Again, Yields Inch Higher," states, "Bond fund returns were higher again in November, but yields moved higher. Our BFI Total Index rose 0.42% over 1-month and rose 5.35% over 12 months. (Money funds rose 4.19% over 1-year as measured by our Crane 100 Index.) The BFI 100 increased 0.48% in Nov. and rose 5.95% over 12 mos. Our BFI Conservative Ultra-Short Index was up 0.34% over 1-month and 4.78% for 1-year; Ultra-Shorts rose 0.36% and 4.91%. Short-Term gained 0.44% and 5.78%, and Intm-Term rose 0.53% in Nov. and 6.17% over 12 mos. BFI's Long-Term Index was up 0.48% and up 5.64%. High Yield returned 0.52% in Nov. and 6.53% over 12 months."

A second News brief, "ETF.com writes, 'ETF Investors Poured $148B Into ETFs In November,' which tells us, 'U.S. fixed income ETFs were next [largest flows] with $33.1 billion <b:>`_… In fixed income, the `iShares 0–3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) and the iShares 7–10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) were the top asset gatherers, pulling in $5.5 billion and $4.7 billion, respectively. The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) led all international equity ETFs with $4.6 billion of inflows.'"

Another brief states: "Bloomberg Says, 'One of World’s Biggest Bond Fund Managers Warns of ‘Dangerous’ Credit-Ratings Dynamic.' They quote, Dan Ivascyn, chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co., 'It is very, very dangerous to assume something has an investment-grade rating just because the rating agencies assign a rating to it.'"

A BFI sidebar, "Federated's Wu: Go Deeper," says, "Federated Hermes' Chengjun Chris Wu writes on, 'A road less traveled, in bonds,' 'Government bonds, investment grade corporates, high yield -- these are the usual suspects of the bond universe. But our view is that if you're only sticking to the Bloomberg Aggregate or the Bloomberg US Universal Index, you’re missing out on a wealth of opportunities that rarely make the headlines.'"

Finally, another sidebar, "MStar on Bond ETF Surge," says, "Morningstar says, 'Bond ETFs Are Surging in Popularity in 2025. Here Are 5 of the Best.' The article tells us, 'Hundreds of billions of dollars have poured into bond ETFs in the first nine months of 2025. And more of these strategies have hit the market over the past several years. It’s important to remember that some bond ETFs are riskier than others. What should investors consider before tweaking their portfolio? Dan Sotiroff, a senior manager research analyst at Morningstar Research Services and the editor of the Morningstar ETF Investor newsletter, discusses that and shares five top ideas for income investors.'"

FOMC Cuts Fed Funds Target Again to 3.5-3.75%; S&P Updates MF Ratings

Dec 11 25

As expected, the Federal Reserve's FOMC cut interest rates by a quarter percent to a range of 3.5-3.75%, which means that money market fund yields should decline by a similar amount over the coming month. Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index, an average of the 100 largest money funds, should fall from its current 3.72% in coming days. (Money funds have a WAM, or weighted average maturity of 40 d,ays currently, so they should take this long to reflect the full Fed move.) The release titled, "Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement," tells us, "Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up through September. More recent indicators are consistent with these developments. Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated." (Note: There's still time to register for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which takes place next week, Dec. 18-19, in Pittsburgh! Attendees and subscribers may access the conference materials via our "Money Fund University 2025 Download Center.")

It explains, "The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated. The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that downside risks to employment rose in recent months."

The FOMC says, "In support of its goals and in light of the shift in the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 3-1/2 to 3‑3/4 percent. In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. The Committee is strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2 percent objective."

They add, "In assessing the appropriate stance of monetary policy, the Committee will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook. The Committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee's goals. The Committee's assessments will take into account a wide range of information, including readings on labor market conditions, inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and financial and international developments. The Committee judges that reserve balances have declined to ample levels and will initiate purchases of shorter-term Treasury securities as needed to maintain an ample supply of reserves on an ongoing basis."

In other news, a press release titled, "Updated Principal Stability Fund Rating Methodology Published," says, "S&P Global Ratings ... published 'Principal Stability Fund Rating Methodology,' which describes its methodology for assigning principal stability fund ratings (PSFRs) globally. A PSFR, commonly referred to as a money market fund rating, is a forward-looking opinion about a fixed-income fund's ability to maintain principal value (i.e., stable net asset value)."

It says, "This methodology follows our request for comment (RFC), 'Request For Comment: Principal Stability Fund Rating Methodology,' Aug. 26, 2025. For changes between the RFC and the final criteria, as well as a summary of the comments received during the RFC process, see 'RFC Results For Principal Stability Fund Rating Methodology.'"

S&P writes under, "Key Changes From Previous Criteria," "We analyze the counterparty credit quality and diversification limits at the level of the underlying counterparties rather than at the level of the covered clearing agency (CCA) in situations where such CCA meets the requirements. In these cases, we will apply the counterparty credit quality and diversification limits as if there were no CCA; In situations where either the CCA does not meet the requirements, we do not have enough information to assess whether the requirements are met, or we do not believe the structure of the CCA is conducive to mitigating the concentration risk otherwise arising from their central clearing activities, we will treat the CCA as the sole counterparty when considering the diversification limits of the criteria; We amended paragraph 134 of our PSFR criteria to address this topic; We made no other analytical changes to the PSFR criteria. We expect no ratings impact upon implementation of these criteria from these revisions."

The updated "Principal Stability Fund Rating Methodology" document states, "A PSFR, commonly referred to as a money market fund rating, is a forward-looking opinion about a fixed-income fund's ability to maintain principal value (i.e., stable net asset value, or 'NAV'). PSFRs are typically assigned to funds that seek to maintain stable or, as is prevalent in non-U.S. funds, accumulating NAVs. PSFRs have an 'm' suffix (e.g., 'AAAm') to distinguish the principal stability fund rating from S&P Global Ratings' issue or issuer credit ratings (see the Appendix for our rating definitions)."

It explains, "The criteria consist of two main sections titled Evaluating Funds and Evaluating Security-Specific Risks and four supplemental sections titled, Master-Feeder Funds, Bifurcation, Parental Support, and Negative Yields. The Evaluating Funds and Evaluating Security-Specific Risks sections are further divided into subsections. In the Evaluating Funds section, we describe quantitative metrics, summarized in table 1 and in more depth in tables 2-10, plus our assessment of Evaluating Security-Specific Risks to establish the preliminary PSFR (step one)."

S&P adds, "The final PSFR is determined by lowering it from, or keeping it the same as, the level of the preliminary PSFR based on the impact of our qualitative assessments described in the management section. Subsections of the master-feeder funds, bifurcation (i.e., when a fund moves a distressed asset from one portfolio to another), parental support, and negative yields sections are applied when relevant and may influence the final PSFR. The qualitative assessments cannot lift a fund rating above the preliminary PSFR."

Finally, they write, "These criteria consider the sources of risk in a managed fund's portfolio and investment strategy and assess the impact that these risks could have on a fund's ability to maintain a stable or accumulating NAV. These risks include credit quality; investment maturity; liquidity; portfolio diversification, index, and spread risk; management; and security-specific risks. Each rating level reflects our view of the likelihood of a fund's ability to maintain a stable NAV."

Dec. Money Fund Portfolio Holdings: Assets, Treasuries and Repo Surge

Dec 10 25

Crane Data's December Money Fund Portfolio Holdings, with data as of Nov. 30, 2025, show that holdings of Treasuries and Repo both increased. Money market securities held by Taxable U.S. money funds (tracked by Crane Data) increased by $134.3 billion to $7.888 trillion in November, after increasing $158.4 billion in October, $56.1 billion in September, $166.6 billion in August, $17.6 billion in July, $84.0 billion in June and $72.0 billion in May. They decreased by $73.8 billion in April. Assets rose by $45.6 billion in March, $53.7 billion in February, $84.1 billion in January and $88.0 billion in December. Treasuries, the largest portfolio composition segment, increased by $67.4 billion. Repo, the second largest segment, increased $69.5 billion in November. Agencies were the third largest segment, and CP remained fourth, ahead of CDs, Other/Time Deposits and VRDNs. Below, we review our Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics. (Visit our Content center to download, or contact us to request our latest Portfolio Holdings reports.)

Among taxable money funds, Treasury securities increased $67.4 billion (2.0%) to $3.465 trillion, or 43.9% of holdings, after increasing $180.5 billion in October, $78.0 billion in September, increasing $414.3 billion in August, increasing $117.3 billion in July, decreasing $98.4 billion in June and decreasing $2.1 billion in May. Repurchase Agreements (repo) increased $69.5 billion (2.5%) to $2.826 trillion, or 35.8% of holdings, in November, after decreasing $6.0 billion in October, increasing $27.2 billion in September, decreasing $236.2 billion in August, decreasing $128.1 billion in July, increasing $194.2 billion in June and increasing $63.3 billion in May. Government Agency Debt was down $4.0 billion, or -0.4%, to $983.4 billion, or 12.5% of holdings. Agencies decreased $2.8 billion in October, increased $22.8 billion in September, decreased $18.7 billion in august, increased $0.8 billion in July, $8.8 billion in June and $4.8 billion in May. Repo, Treasuries and Agency holdings now total $7.274 trillion, representing 92.2% of all taxable holdings.

Money fund holdings of CP and Other (mainly Time Deposits) rose while CDs fell in November. Commercial Paper (CP) increased $0.6 billion (0.2%) to $306.1 billion, or 3.9% of holdings. CP holdings increased $2.0 billion in October, decreased $18.3 billion in September, increased $7.6 billion in August, increased $12.3 billion in July and decreased $9.7 billion in June. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) decreased $5.1 billion (-2.7%) to $184.4 billion, or 2.3% of taxable assets. CDs increased $0.1 billion in October, decreased $16.5 billion in September, increased $3.4 billion in August, increased $1.9 billion in July and decreased $2.1 billion in June. Other holdings, primarily Time Deposits, increased $6.2 billion (6.1%) to $107.4 billion, or 1.4% of holdings, after decreasing $15.8 billion in October, $36.8 billion in September, decreasing $4.4 billion in August, increasing $13.0 billion in July and decreasing $8.7 billion in June. VRDNs decreased to $15.4 billion, or 0.2% of assets. (Note: This total is VRDNs for taxable funds only. We will post our Tax Exempt MMF holdings separately Wednesday around noon.)

Prime money fund assets tracked by Crane Data increased to $1.336 trillion, or 16.9% of taxable money funds' $7.888 trillion total. Among Prime money funds, CDs represent 13.8% (down from 14.3% a month ago), while Commercial Paper accounted for 23.0% (unchanged from 23.0% a month ago). The CP totals are comprised of: Financial Company CP, which makes up 14.5% of total holdings, Asset-Backed CP, which accounts for 6.7%, and Non-Financial Company CP, which makes up 1.8%. Prime funds also hold 0.6% in US Govt Agency Debt, 9.3% in US Treasury Debt, 19.9% in US Treasury Repo, 1.1% in Other Instruments, 4.9% in Non-Negotiable Time Deposits, 10.8% in Other Repo, 15.5% in US Government Agency Repo and 0.9% in VRDNs.

Government money fund portfolios totaled $4.314 trillion (54.7% of all MMF assets), up from $4.217 trillion in October, while Treasury money fund assets totaled another $2.232 trillion (28.3%), up from $2.205 trillion the prior month. Government money fund portfolios were made up of 22.6% US Govt Agency Debt, 16.1% US Government Agency Repo, 36.8% US Treasury Debt, 24.0% in US Treasury Repo, 0.4% in Other Instruments. Treasury money funds were comprised of 78.4% US Treasury Debt and 21.6% in US Treasury Repo. Government and Treasury funds combined now total $6.547 trillion, or 83.0% of all taxable money fund assets.

European-affiliated holdings (including repo) decreased by $34.2 billion in November to $694.6 billion; their share of holdings fell to 8.8% from last month's 9.4%. Eurozone-affiliated holdings decreased to $466.3 billion from last month's $494.5 billion; they account for 5.9% of overall taxable money fund holdings. Asia & Pacific related holdings were down at $312.8 billion (4.0% of the total) from last month's $321.4 billion. Americas related holdings rose to $6.876 trillion from last month's $6.699 trillion; they now represent 87.2% of holdings.

The overall taxable fund Repo totals were made up of: US Treasury Repurchase Agreements (up $40.0 billion, or 2.3%, to $1.783 trillion, or 22.6% of assets); US Government Agency Repurchase Agreements (up $26.1 billion, or 3.0%, to $899.7 billion, or 11.4% of total holdings), and Other Repurchase Agreements (up $3.4 billion, or 2.4%, to $144.1 billion, or 1.8% of holdings). The Commercial Paper totals were comprised of Financial Company Commercial Paper (up $5.2 billion to $193.7 billion, or 2.5% of assets), Asset-Backed Commercial Paper (down $5.4 billion to $88.9 billion, or 1.1%), and Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper (up $0.7 billion to $23.4 billion, or 0.3%).

The 20 largest Issuers to taxable money market funds as of Nov. 30, 2025, include: the US Treasury ($3.465T, 43.9%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($1.146T, 14.5%), Federal Home Loan Bank ($666.3B, 8.4%), JP Morgan ($253.7B, 3.2%), RBC ($225.0B, 2.9%), Federal Farm Credit Bank ($191.7B, 2.4%), Wells Fargo ($165.4B, 2.1%), Citi ($146.6B, 1.9%), BNP Paribas ($144.8B, 1.8%), Barclays PLC ($107.4B, 1.4%), Bank of America ($97.2B, 1.2%), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp ($81.1B, 1.0%), Credit Agricole ($79.5B, 1.0%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($75.2B, 1.0%), Goldman Sachs ($66.3B, 0.8%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($62.2B, 0.8%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($59.5B, 0.8%), Toronto-Dominion Bank ($58.7B, 0.7%), Societe Generale ($54.4B, 0.7%) and Bank of Montreal ($53.3B, 0.7%).

In the repo space, the 10 largest Repo counterparties (dealers) with the amount of repo outstanding and market share (among the money funds we track) include: Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($1.123T, 39.7%), JP Morgan ($240.9B, 8.5%), RBC ($177.9B, 6.3%), Wells Fargo ($163.6B, 5.8%), Citi ($140.6B, 5.0%), BNP Paribas ($137.5B, 4.9%), Barclays PLC ($87.7B, 3.1%), Bank of America ($67.1B, 2.4%), Goldman Sachs ($64.6B, 2.3%) and Credit Agricole ($62.2B, 2.2%).

The largest users of the $6.8 billion in Fed RRP include: First American Govt Oblg ($3.2B), T Rowe Price Govt Reserve Fund ($2.2B), Columbia Short-Term Cash Fund ($1.0B), RBC Bluebay US Govt MMF ($0.3B) and First American Treas Oblg ($0.1B), with smaller remaining balances spread among Cavanal Hill Govt Svc MM and Cavanal Hill US Treas.

The 10 largest issuers of "credit" -- CDs, CP and Other securities (including Time Deposits and Notes) combined -- include: RBC ($47.0B, 8.9%), Toronto-Dominion Bank ($37.5B, 7.1%), Bank of America ($30.1B, 5.7%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($23.3B, 4.4%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($22.7B, 4.3%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($20.4B, 3.8%), Barclays PLC ($19.8B, 3.7%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($19.5B, 3.7%), Bank of Montreal ($17.9B, 3.4%) and Credit Agricole ($17.3B, 3.3%).

The 10 largest CD issuers include: Toronto-Dominion Bank ($15.7B, 8.5%), Bank of America ($14.8B, 8.0%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank ($14.0B, 7.6%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($13.6B, 7.4%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($11.9B, 6.5%), Barclays PLC ($10.8B, 5.9%), Credit Agricole ($10.6B, 5.7%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($10.4B, 5.6%), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation ($8.3B, 4.5%) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($7.4B, 4.0%).

The 10 largest CP issuers (we include affiliated ABCP programs) include: RBC ($33.7B, 12.0%), Toronto-Dominion Bank ($19.6B, 6.9%), Bank of Montreal ($12.9B, 4.6%), JP Morgan ($12.9B, 4.6%), National Bank of Canada ($9.7B, 3.4%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($9.0B, 3.2%), Bank of America ($8.7B, 3.1%), Barclays PLC ($8.5B, 3.0%), ING Bank ($8.3B, 2.9%) and Bank of Nova Scotia ($7.5B, 2.6%).

The largest increases among Issuers include: RBC (up $79.3B to $225.0B), the US Treasury (up $67.4B to $3.465T), Fixed Income Clearing Corp (up $43.6B to $1.146T), JP Morgan (up $23.6B to $253.7B), Standard Chartered Bank (up $9.5B to $22.3B), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (up $8.8B to $62.2B), the Federal National Mortgage Association (up $6.6B to $40.1B), BNY Mellon (up $6.3B to $24.1B), Bank of Montreal (up $5.3B to $53.3B) and the Federal Farm Credit Bank (up $5.0B to $191.7B).

The largest decreases among Issuers of money market securities (including Repo) in November were shown by: Citi (down $36.8B to $146.6B), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (down $24.5B to $6.8B), BNP Paribas (down $18.2B to $144.8B), Federal Home Loan Bank (down $17.9B to $666.3B), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (down $14.9B to $75.2B), Barclays PLC (down $11.5B to $107.4B), Societe Generale (down $5.4B to $54.4B), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (down $4.1B to $59.5B), ING Bank (down $3.8B to $28.7B) and Deutsche Bank AG (down $3.0B to $28.1B).

The United States remained the largest segment of country-affiliations; it represents 81.6% of holdings, or $6.438 trillion. Canada (5.6%, $438.9B) was in second place, while France (4.1%, $326.1B) was No. 3. Japan (3.1%, $247.6B) occupied fourth place. The United Kingdom (2.4%, $187.1B) remained in fifth place. Australia (0.6%, $47.2B) was in sixth place, followed by Germany (0.6%, $46.4B), Netherlands (0.6%, $46.3B), Spain (0.6%, $44.0B), and Sweden (0.3%, $20.9B). (Note: Crane Data attributes Treasury and Government repo to the dealer's parent country of origin, though money funds themselves "look-through" and consider these U.S. government securities. All money market securities must be U.S. dollar-denominated.)

As of Nov. 30, 2025, Taxable money funds held 45.2% (up from 44.2%) of their assets in securities maturing Overnight, and another 10.3% maturing in 2-7 days (down from 10.5%). Thus, 55.5% in total matures in 1-7 days. Another 11.5% matures in 8-30 days, while 11.4% matures in 31-60 days. Note that over three-quarters, or 78.4% of securities, mature in 60 days or less, the dividing line for use of amortized cost accounting under SEC regulations. The next bucket, 61-90 days, holds 7.1% of taxable securities, while 11.1% matures in 91-180 days, and just 3.5% matures beyond 181 days.

Form N-MFP Holdings: Break $8.0 Tril; T-Bills, Repo Jump; Revs $21.3B

Dec 09 25

Crane Data's latest monthly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics will be sent out Tuesday, and we'll be writing our regular monthly update on the new November data for Wednesday's News. But we also already uploaded a separate and broader Portfolio Holdings data set based on the SEC's Form N-MFP filings on Monday. (We continue to merge the two series, and the N-MFP version is now available via our Portfolio Holdings file listings to Money Fund Wisdom subscribers.) Our new N-MFP summary, with data as of November 30, includes holdings information from 988 money funds (up 1 from last month), representing assets of $8.056 trillion (up from $7.917 trillion a month ago). Prime MMFs rose to $1.229 trillion (up from $1.211 trillion), or 15.3% of the total. We review the new N-MFP data and we also look at our revised MMF expense data, which shows charged expenses were mostly flat and money fund revenues rose to $21.3 billion (annualized) in November. (Note: For those new to the money market fund space or in need of a refresher, please join us for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which is Dec. 18-19 in Pittsburgh.)

Our latest Form N-MFP Summary for All Funds (taxable and tax-exempt) shows Treasuries and Repurchase Agreements (Repo) remain the largest types of portfolio holdings in money market funds. Treasury holdings in money market funds now total $3.470 trillion (up from $3.404 trillion), or 43.1% of all assets, while Repo holdings rose to $2.833 trillion (up from $2.763 trillion), or 35.2% of all holdings. Government Agency securities total $988.7 billion (down from $992.8 billion), or 12.3%. Holdings of Treasuries, Government agencies and Repo (almost all of which is backed by Treasuries and agencies) combined total $7.291 trillion, or a massive 90.5% of all holdings.

The Other category (primarily Time Deposits) totals $117.1 billion (up from $110.2 billion), or 1.5%, and Commercial Paper (CP) totals $316.6 billion (down from $317.0 billion), or 3.9% of all holdings. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) total $184.2 billion (down from $187.7 billion), 2.3%, and VRDNs account for $147.2 billion (up from $142.3 billion), or 1.8% of money fund securities.

Broken out into the SEC's more detailed categories, the CP totals were comprised of: $193.7 billion, or 2.4%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $88.9 billion, or 1.1%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and $34.0 billion, or 0.4%, in Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals were made up of: U.S. Treasury Repo ($1.804 trillion, or 22.4%), U.S. Govt Agency Repo ($880.0 billion, or 10.9%) and Other Repo ($148.5 billion, or 1.8%).

The N-MFP Holdings summary for the Prime Money Market Funds shows: CP holdings of $275.5 billion (up from $274.8 billion), or 22.4%; Repo holdings of $571.1 billion (down from $577.6 billion), or 46.5%; Treasury holdings of $124.6 billion (up from $105.5 billion), or 10.1%; CD holdings of $161.4 billion (down from $162.6 billion), or 13.1%; Other (primarily Time Deposits) holdings of $77.9 billion (up from $72.8 billion), or 6.3%; Government Agency holdings of $7.7 billion (up from $6.4 billion), or 0.6%; and VRDN holdings of $11.0 billion (down from $11.1 billion), or 0.9%.

The SEC's more detailed categories show CP in Prime MMFs made up of: $175.4 billion (up from $171.2 billion), or 14.3%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $78.0 billion (down from $82.6 billion), or 6.3%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and $22.1 billion (up from $21.0 billion), or 1.8%, in Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals include: U.S. Treasury Repo ($242.1 billion, or 19.7%), U.S. Govt Agency Repo ($197.9 billion, or 16.1%), and Other Repo ($131.1 billion, or 10.7%).

In related news, money fund charged expense ratios (Exp%) were mostly flat in November. Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index and Crane Money Fund Average were 0.27% and 0.37%, respectively, as of November 30, 2025. Crane Data revises its monthly expense data and gross yield information after the SEC updates its latest Form N-MFP data the morning of the 6th business day of the new month. (They posted this info Monday morning, so we revised our monthly MFI XLS spreadsheet and historical craneindexes.xlsx averages file to reflect the latest expenses, gross yields, portfolio composition and maturity breakout.) Visit our "Content" page for the latest files.

Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index, a simple average of the 100 largest taxable money funds, shows an average charged expense ratio of 0.27% up 1 bp from last month's level (also 18 bps higher than 12/31/21's 0.08%). The Crane Money Fund Average, a simple average of all taxable MMFs, showed a charged expense ratio of 0.37% as of November 30, 2025, unchanged from the month prior and slightly below the 0.40% at year-end 2019.

Dec. Market Share: State St, MS, Vanguard, JPM, Fidelity Big Gainers

Dec 08 25

Crane Data's latest monthly Money Fund Market Share rankings show assets sharply higher among the largest U.S. money fund complexes in November, after also jumping in October. Assets have increased in 16 of the past 17 months (only April 2025 saw declines). Money market fund assets rose by $129.2 billion, or 1.6%, last month to a record $7.984 trillion. Total MMF assets have increased by $376.8 billion, or 5.0%, over the past 3 months, and they've increased by $915.6 billion, or 13.0%, over the past 12 months. The largest increases among the 25 largest managers last month were seen by SSIM, Morgan Stanley, Vanguard, JPMorgan and Fidelity, which grew assets by $40.9 billion, $22.8B, $21.6B, $19.2B and $11.2B, respectively. Declines in November were seen by Invesco, RBC, Western, Goldman Sachs and AllianceBernstein, which decreased by $11.5 billion, $6.9B, $5.8B, $4.2B and $2.6B, respectively. Our domestic U.S. "Family" rankings are available in our MFI XLS product, our global rankings are available in our MFI International product. The combined "Family & Global Rankings" are available to Money Fund Wisdom subscribers. We review the latest market share totals, and look at money fund yields, which were lower in November.

Over the past year through Nov. 30, 2025, Fidelity (up $195.4B, or 13.6%), JPMorgan (up $123.4B, or 16.8%), Schwab (up $99.9B, or 17.1%), Vanguard (up $96.2B, or 14.9%) and BlackRock (up $75.8B, or 12.4%) were the largest gainers. Goldman Sachs, SSIM, JPMorgan, Fidelity and Vanguard had the largest asset increases over the past 3 months, rising by $63.0B, $61.8B, $44.0B, $40.8B and $34.2B, respectively. The largest declines over 12 months was seen by: DWS (down $7.2B), Columbia (down $1.7B) and T Rowe Price (down $267M). The largest declines over 3 months included: DWS (down $7.7B), Western (down $3.6B), AllianceBernstein (down $3.3B), Invesco (down $2.6B) and Columbia (down $1.4B).

Our latest domestic U.S. Money Fund Family Rankings show that Fidelity Investments remains the largest money fund manager with $1.633 trillion, or 20.5% of all assets. Fidelity was up $11.2B in November, up $40.8B over 3 mos., and up $195.4B over 12 months. JPMorgan ranked second with $859.7 billion, or 10.8% market share (up $19.2B, up $44.0B and up $123.4B for the past 1-month, 3-mos. and 12-mos., respectively). Vanguard ranked in third place with $740.2 billion, or 9.3% of assets (up $21.6B, up $34.2B and up $96.2B). BlackRock ranked fourth with $687.5 billion, or 8.6% market share (up $7.4B, up $23.5B and up $75.8B), while Schwab was the fifth largest MMF manager with $685.6 billion, or 8.6% of assets (up $10.4B, up $20.9B and up $99.9B for the past 1-month, 3-mos. and 12-mos.).

Federated Hermes was in sixth place with $509.3 billion, or 6.4% (up $5.3B, up $7.3B and up $45.8B), while Goldman Sachs was in seventh place with $475.0 billion, or 5.9% of assets (down $4.2B, up $63.0B and up $37.9B). BNY Dreyfus ($340.8B, or 4.3%) was in eighth place (up $315M, up $27.5B and up $51.1B), followed by Morgan Stanley ($310.3B, or 3.9%; up $22.8B, up $30.7B and up $24.8B). SSIM was in 10th place ($297.2B, or 3.7%; up $40.9B, up $61.8B and up $40.0B).

The 11th through 20th-largest U.S. money fund managers (in order) include: Allspring ($236.3B, or 3.0%), Northern ($193.0B, or 2.4%), First American ($187.0B, or 2.3%), American Funds ($166.3B, or 2.1%), Invesco ($155.7B, or 1.9%), UBS ($120.8B, or 1.5%), T Rowe Price ($51.2B, or 0.6%), HSBC ($50.2B, or 0.6%), DWS ($37.4B, or 0.5%) and Western ($35.5B, or 0.4%). Crane Data currently tracks 60 U.S. MMF managers, unchanged from last month.

When European and "offshore" money fund assets -- those domiciled in places like Ireland, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands -- are included, the top 10 managers are the same as the domestic list, except: BlackRock moves up to the No. 3 spot and Vanguard moves down to the No. 4 spot. Goldman Sachs moves up to the No. 6 spot, while Federated Hermes moves down to the No. 7 spot. Morgan Stanley moves up to the No. 8 spot while BNY Dreyfus moves down to the No. 9 spot. Global Money Fund Manager Rankings include the combined market share assets of our MFI XLS (domestic U.S.) and our MFI International ("offshore") products.

The largest Global money market fund families include: Fidelity ($1.656 trillion), JP Morgan ($1.168 trillion), BlackRock ($1.036 trillion), Vanguard ($740.2B) and Schwab ($685.6B). Goldman Sachs ($644.1B) was in sixth, Federated Hermes ($523.3B) was seventh, followed by Morgan Stanley ($417.0B), Dreyfus/BNY ($403.9B) and SSIM ($346.4B), which round out the top 10. These totals include "offshore" U.S. Dollar money funds, as well as Euro and Pound Sterling (GBP) funds converted into U.S. dollar totals.

The December issue of our Money Fund Intelligence and MFI XLS, with data as of 11/30/25, shows that yields were down in November across all the Crane Money Fund Indexes. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds covered by Crane Data (currently 722), was 3.68% (down 11 bps) for the 7-Day Yield (annualized, net) Average, the 30-Day Yield was down 13 bps to 3.68%. The MFA's Gross 7-Day Yield was at 4.05% (down 11 bps), and the Gross 30-Day Yield was down 13 bps at 4.05%. (Gross yields will be revised once we download the SEC's Form N-MFP data for 11/30/25 on Monday.)

Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index shows an average 7-Day (Net) Yield of 3.78% (down 12 bps) and an average 30-Day Yield at 3.78% (down 14 bps). The Crane 100 shows a Gross 7-Day Yield of 4.05% (down 12 bps), and a Gross 30-Day Yield of 4.05% (down 14 bps). Our Prime Institutional MF Index (7-day) yielded 3.90% (down 14 bps) as of November 30. The Crane Govt Inst Index was at 3.80% (down 12 bps) and the Treasury Inst Index was at 3.73% (down 9 bps). Thus, the spread between Prime funds and Treasury funds is 17 basis points, and the spread between Prime funds and Govt funds is 10 basis points. The Crane Prime Retail Index yielded 3.67% (down 13 bp), while the Govt Retail Index was 3.51% (down 11 bps), the Treasury Retail Index was 3.49% (down 9 bps from the month prior). The Crane Tax Exempt MF Index yielded 2.43% (down 19 bps) at the end of November.

Gross 7-Day Yields for these indexes to end November were: Prime Inst 4.13% (down 14 bps), Govt Inst 4.04% (down 12 bps), Treasury Inst 4.01% (down 9 bps), Prime Retail 4.16% (down 13 bp), Govt Retail 4.05% (down 11 bps) and Treasury Retail 4.01% (down 9 bps). The Crane Tax Exempt Index fell to 2.83% (down 20 bps). The Crane 100 MF Index returned on average 0.32% over 1-month, 0.98% over 3-months, 3.70% YTD, 4.19% over the past 1-year, 4.69% over 3-years annualized), 3.02% over 5-years, and 2.00% over 10-years.

The total number of funds, including taxable and tax-exempt, was unchanged in November at 833. There are currently 722 taxable funds, up 1 from the previous month, and 111 tax-exempt money funds (down 1 from last month). (Contact us if you'd like to see our latest MFI XLS, Crane Indexes or Market Share report.)

Dec. MFI: MMFs Hit $8.0T, Top 10; JPM '26 Outlook; Stablecoin Reserves

Dec 05 25

The December issue of our flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which was sent to subscribers Friday morning, features the articles: "Money Fund Assets Break $8.0 Trillion; Top 10 Stories of 2025," which discusses money market mutual funds reaching all-time highs; "J.P. Morgan's 2026 Outlook: Still Room for MM Growth," which quotes from JPM's expectations for next year; and "State Street I.M. Files for Stablecoin Reserves MMF," which highlights the latest money fund filing. We also sent out our MFI XLS spreadsheet Friday a.m., and we've updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with 11/30/25 data. Our December Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to ship on Tuesday, Dec. 9, and our December Bond Fund Intelligence is scheduled to go out on Friday, Dec. 12. (Note: There's still time to register for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which takes place Dec. 18-19 in Pittsburgh!)

MFI's "$8 Trillion" story says, "Money market mutual fund assets broke the $8.0 trillion barrier for the first time ever on Monday, Dec. 1, according to our Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Assets increased by $105.3 billion in the week through Monday (12/1) to a record $8.022 trillion, and they've since risen to $8.046 trillion (through 12/3). Money fund assets increased by $129.1 billion in November, and they've increased by $848.3 billion (11.8%) year-to-date in 2025."

The story continues, "Assets reached the $7.0 trillion level for the first time in November 2024. (See our 11/14/24 News, 'Money Fund Assets Break Over $7.0 Trillion.') Money market mutual fund assets broke the $6.0 trillion barrier in August 2023. (See our 9/28/23 News, 'Sept. MFI: Assets Break $6.0 Trillion.') They rose above $5.0 trillion for the first time in April 2020 (see our 4/30/20 News, 'Money Fund Assets Break $5.0 Trillion,' but needed a couple more years to retake that level for good."

We write in the "2026 Outlook," story, "J.P. Morgan's new 'Short-Term Fixed Income 2026 Outlook' explains, '[W]ith rates still well above 3%, cash has continued to pour into MMFs. Inflows have persisted even as the Fed cuts rates, supported by interest reinvestment, an inverted yield curve, persistent market volatility, and potentially AI-related debt raises with proceeds not yet fully deployed. MMFs have remained a preferred haven for investors seeking stability, yield, and a place to park liquidity, pushing AUMs up $736bn (or 10%) to north of $7.8tn YTD.'"

It adds, "JPM tells us, 'In 2026, we expect the Fed to cut twice more, in January and April, before going on hold, for a terminal fed funds range of 3.25-3.50%. Although MMF yields will fall commensurately, MMF AUMs are expected to continue their upward trend, albeit at a slower pace than this year, and are likely to surpass $8tn. Stablecoin balances should also continue to grow, and while it’s hard to predict approximate growth next year, we think another $90-100bn increase (similar to this year) is a reasonable base case given recent momentum following passage of the GENIUS Act and related developments.'"

Our "State Street" article says, "State Street Investment Management is the fourth money fund manager to launch a Stablecoin Reserves money market fund, following BlackRock's Circle Treasury Reserves, and Stablecoin Reserves offerings from Goldman Sachs and BNY. A Form N-1A Registration Statement for the pending State Street Stablecoin Reserves Money Market Fund tells us, 'The investment objective of State Street Stablecoin Reserves Money Market Fund ... is to seek a high level of current income consistent with preserving principal and liquidity and the maintenance of a stable $1.00 per share net asset value. The Fund, which is advised by SSGA Funds Management, Inc., invests in assets in which payment stablecoin issuers are permitted to invest in under a U.S. law enacted in July 2025 designed to establish a framework of these issuers and any regulation adopted thereunder (the 'GENIUS Act').'"

It continues, "These eligible investments include U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds ... with a remaining maturity of 93 days or less <b:>`_… as well as repurchase agreements secured by U.S. Treasury Obligations. The Fund may invest in any other assets that qualify as eligible investments under the GENIUS Act (and any regulations thereunder) and that are permitted under Rule 2a-7 for a government money market fund. `The Fund does not invest in stablecoins. The Fund may hold a portion of its assets in cash pending investment, to satisfy redemption requests or to meet the Fund's other cash management needs."

MFI also includes the News brief, "Assets Soar to Record $7.65 Trillion." It says, "ICI's separate weekly report shows money fund assets jumping by $86.8 billion to $7.654 trillion after increasing by $45.5 billion last week. MMF assets are up by $883 billion, or 13.0%, over the past 52 weeks (through 12/3/25), with Institutional MMFs up $525 billion, or 12.9% and Retail MMFs up $358 billion, or 13.3%."

Another News brief, "HSBC Launches GBP, EUR MM ETFs," comments, "A press release, 'HSBC Asset Management Launches First ETF Share Classes for EU-Regulated Money Market Funds,' tells us, 'HSBC Asset Management ... announces the launch of new ETF share classes for its existing HSBC Sterling Liquidity and HSBC Euro Liquidity Funds <b:>`_…. The development marks the first time an asset manager in Europe has launched `ETF share classes within existing EU-regulated Money Market Funds (MMFs).'"

A third News brief, "Treasury Holdings Jump," says: "Our November Money Fund Portfolio Holdings, with data as of Oct. 31, 2025, show that holdings of Treasuries jumped while Repo exposure inched lower. Treasuries, the largest portfolio composition segment, increased by $180.5 billion to $3.397 trillion, or 43.8% of holdings. Repo, the second largest segment, decreased $6.0 billion in October to $2.757 trillion, or 35.6% of holdings. Agencies were the third largest segment, and CP remained fourth, ahead of CDs, Other/Time Deposits and VRDNs."

A sidebar, "PFII: LGIPs Nearly $1 Trillion," says, "The Public Funds Investment Institute posted a brief titled, '2024 LGIP Survey: LGIPs Hold Nearly $1 Trillion of Public Funds.' It explains, 'This year we expanded our survey to include local sponsored LGIPs. In total we identified 161 portfolios. They operate in all but seven states. The survey is the only comprehensive look at the LGIP industry which invests assets for thousands of public units across the country.'"

Our December MFI XLS, with November 30 data, shows total assets rose $129.3 billion to a record high $7.989 trillion, after increasing $141.5 billion in October, $100.4 billion in September, $129.9 billion in August, $69.0 billion in July, $10.1 billion in June and jumping $90.3 billion in May. MMFs decreased $26.6 billion in April and $4.6 billion in March. Assets increased $90.4 billion in February, $47.9 billion in January and $113.0 billion last December.

Our broad Crane Money Fund Average 7-Day Yield was down 11 bps at 3.68%, and our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (the 100 largest taxable funds) was down 11 bps at 3.78% in November. On a Gross Yield Basis (7-Day) (before expenses are taken out), the Crane MFA and the Crane 100 averaged 4.05% and 4.05%. Charged Expenses averaged 0.37% and 0.26% for the Crane MFA and the Crane 100. (We'll revise expenses once we upload the SEC's Form N-MFP data for 11/30/25 on Monday, 12/8.) The average WAM (weighted average maturity) for the Crane MFA was 38 days (down 2 days) and the Crane 100 WAM was down 1 day from the previous month at 40 days. (See our Crane Index or craneindexes.xlsx history file for more on our averages.)

HSBC Launches European Sterling, Euro Liquidity ETFs; First LVNAV ETFs

Dec 04 25

A press release titled, "HSBC Asset Management Launches First ETF Share Classes for EU-Regulated Money Market Funds," tells us, "HSBC Asset Management ... announces the launch of new ETF share classes for its existing HSBC Sterling Liquidity and HSBC Euro Liquidity Funds, offering investors an alternative and accessible way to manage cash holdings. The launch builds on HSBC AM's move in 2023 to provide investors with access to both listed and unlisted share classes within a single fund. The development marks the first time an asset manager in Europe has launched ETF share classes within existing EU-regulated Money Market Funds (MMFs)." HSBC is the 5th largest manager of European money funds with $123.4 billion, according to Crane Data's MFI International. (Note: There's still time to register for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which takes place Dec. 18-19 in Pittsburgh, Pa.!)

It continues, "The newly launched ETF share classes aim to provide investors with access to the security of capital and daily liquidity, along with a potential investment return comparable to standard money-market interest rates, by actively managing credit, liquidity, and interest rate risks. In addition, they aim to allow investors to access large triple-A-rated money market funds through ETF share classes, benefitting from HSBC AM's long-standing expertise within the liquidity space, with its first funds launched in 1999."

HSBC explains, "These ETF share classes are also expected to be the first ETFs in Europe that qualify as Low Volatility Net Asset Value (LVNAV) Money Market Funds under the strict requirements of the EU MMF Regulation. Investor appetite for accessible, low-risk cash-management solutions continues to grow, particularly among institutional allocators seeking flexibility and transparency."

They state, "The ETF share classes sit within UCITS funds classified as Article 8 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The ETF share classes are also primarily aimed at wholesale and institutional investors, including fund of funds, private banks, pension funds, insurance and family offices, who require efficient, flexible and transparent cash-management solutions within their portfolios."

The release adds, "They will be registered and available to wholesale and institutional investors across key European markets including the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Ireland and Luxembourg, and listed on the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana and Xetra. HSBC AM manages over USD 170bn in liquidity assets across 10 currencies globally, providing investors with access to well-established, actively managed money-market solutions built on more than 30 years of experience."

Olga De Tapia, Global Head of ETF & Indexing Sales at HSBC Asset Management comments, "As investors increasingly look for greater opportunities in cash and ultra-short-term duration solutions, we are pleased to launch ETF share classes of our existing liquidity funds. This aims to provide investors with more choice and access to our longstanding expertise in the liquidity space through the simplicity of a UCITS ETF wrapper."

HSBC AM's Global CIO of Liquidity, Jonathan Curry, states, "Building on our robust, well-established active investment process and experience managing money market funds through numerous market cycles, these new launches are designed to give investors peace of mind when looking for a tool to manage their cash and help them to deliver on their objectives of preservation of capital and provision of liquidity. This launch reflects our continued commitment to innovation in liquidity management and to broadening investor access to money-market solutions through listed formats."

We first learned of the news from website ETF Stream, who published, "HSBC launches ETF share classes on $51bn money market duo." The piece says, "HSBC Asset Management has rolled out ETF share classes for its $29.5bn euro money market fund and $21.8bn sterling money market fund in the latest example of the firm utilising listed and unlisted share classes. The HSBC Sterling Liquidity Fund UCITS ETF (HGBP) is listed on the London Stock Exchange, while the HSBC Euro Liquidity Fund UCITS ETF (HEUR) is listed on Deutsche Borse and Borsa Italiana. Both ETFs carry total expense ratios (TERs) of 0.10%."

It also states, "HSBC AM became the first ETF issuer to create listed and unlisted share classes in Ireland after it converted four global bond index funds to ETFs in April 2023. It has since listed four ETF shares classes of its $12bn global aggregate bond ETF. Its new ETF share class launches are the first to be introduced ETF within existing EU-regulated money market funds."

Their article adds, "They come amid rising demand for cash-focused strategies. Active money market ETFs have multiplied this year, with Amundi introducing the Amundi EUR Cash Active UCITS ETF (CMMF) last week and BlackRock listing the iShares € Cash UCITS ETF (YCSH) late last year. Appetite for cash-like exposures remains strong, with overnight rate ETFs such as the Xtrackers EUR Overnight Rate Swap UCITS ETF (XEON) amassing $5.3bn inflows so far this year, according to data from Trackinsight. In October 2024, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) changed its naming convention, enabling issuers to launch listed share classes within mutual funds without the having to include the 'UCITS ETF' moniker at the overall sub-fund level."

For more on Money Market ETFs, see these Crane Data News stories: "Nov. MFI: State Street ETF; BNY on MM Evolution; BlackRock Breaks $1T" (11/7/25), "State Street Files for Prime Money Market ETF; 7th MM ETF, 2nd Prime" (11/4/25), "Barron's on Money-Market ETFs; JPMorgan Says MF Assets Headed Higher" (10/20/25), "JPMorgan Files for Money Market ETF" (7/10/25), "BlackRock Money Market ETFs Go Live; Ondo Finance on Tokenized MMFs" (2/6/25), "VettaFi Discusses Money Market ETFs" (12/11/24), "Dec. MFI: Assets Break $7.0 Tril; Top 10 of 2024; BlackRock MM ETFs" (12/6/24), "BlackRock Debuts First Euro MM ETF" (12/5/24), "FT on BlackRock Money Market ETFs" (11/18/24), "November BFI: Bond Funds Hit by Election; ETF Trends MM Substitutes" (11/15/24), "BlackRock Files for Money Market ETFs" (11/12/24) and "Texas Capital Launches Govt MM ETF" (9/26/24).

Money Fund Assets Break Over $8.0 Trillion as Year-End Surge Continues

Dec 03 25

Money market mutual fund assets broke the $8.0 trillion barrier for the first time ever on Monday, Dec. 1, according to our Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Assets have increased by $105.3 billion in the week through Monday (12/1) to a record $8.022 trillion. Money fund assets increased by $132.8 billion in November and rose $39.7 billion the first day of December, and they have increased by $848.3 billion (11.8%) year-to-date in 2025. (Note: Register soon for our "basic training" event, Money Fund University, which takes place Dec. 18-19 in Pittsburgh, Pa., and please join us there for Crane Data's Holiday, and now $8 Trillion, Party!)

MMF assets increased by $132.8 billion in November, $142.1 billion in October, $105.2 billion in September and $132.0 billion in August. They rose by $63.7 billion in July, $6.7 billion in June and $100.9 billion in May. But MMFs decreased $24.4 billion in April. Assets increased by $2.8 billion in March, $94.2 billion in February, $52.8 billion in January, and $110.9 billion last December. (Watch for ICI's latest "Money Market Fund Assets" report to show money fund assets hitting yet another record on Thursday when they're published. Note that Crane Data's asset totals include a number of funds tracked by the SEC but not reported to ICI, so our data is about $350 billion higher than ICI's asset series.)

Assets reached the $7.0 trillion level for the first time in November 2024 (See Crane Data's 11/14/24 News, "Money Fund Assets Break Over $7.0 Trillion; S&P on AAA Rated MFs in Q3.") Money market mutual fund assets broke the $6.0 trillion barrier in August 2023. (See Crane Data's 9/28/23 News, "Sept. MFI: Assets Break $6.0 Trillion; Dechert on Reforms; 15 Years Ago.") They rose above $5.0 trillion for the first time in April 2020 (see our 4/30/20 News, "Money Fund Assets Break $5.0 Trillion; Crane Featured in Ignites Piece"), but needed a couple more years to retake that level for good. Assets rose back above $5.0 trillion in October 2021, then again in July 2022. Assets broke the $4.0 trillion level in March 2020 during the Covid asset super-spike. (See our 3/10/20 News, "MMF Yields, Sweep Rates Slide, MFID Assets Hit $4.0 Tril; N-MFP Holdings.")

Money fund assets first rose above $3.0 trillion in January 2008 as the Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates to near zero, and it took until December 2017 to reclaim the $3.0 trillion level. (Assets declined by over $1.0 trillion from 2008 through 2011, then remained flat for about 7 years after rates bottomed at zero.) Assets rose above $2.0 trillion in 2001 and again in 2006 (Crane Data launched in 2006), and they broke the $1.0 trillion level in 1997 (looking back at ICI annual data). We expect assets to continue higher in coming weeks as funds benefit from MMFs "lag effect" vs. the direct money market, and as funds benefit from the strongest two months of the year (Nov. and Dec.) seasonally.

Bloomberg reported the news Tuesday in its piece, "Money-Market Assets Top $8 Trillion for First Time, Crane Says." The article, written by Alex Harris, explains, "US money-market funds now have more than $8 trillion in assets under management, a milestone for an industry that's skyrocketed in popularity among investors thanks to its lofty yields. The total rose by roughly $105 billion in the week through Monday, putting it at a fresh record, according to Crane Data, a money-market and mutual fund information firm."

She tells us, "Investors have continued to pile into money-market funds even in the face of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cuts largely due to their superior yields relative to other instruments -- especially bank deposits. The seven-day yield on the Crane 100 Money Fund Index, which tracks the 100 largest funds, was 3.80% as of Dec. 1, according to Crane data. Policymakers cut their benchmark by a quarter-point in September and October, bringing the policy rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%."

Bloomberg quotes Gennadiy Goldberg, head of US interest rate strategy at TD Securities, "Money market funds continue to draw inflows as yields remain highly attractive amid gradual Fed rate cuts. We expect inflows to gradually moderate as rates gradually decline, but historically, yields above 2% should continue to draw inflows into money funds."

The piece adds, "Odds of a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut at the December meeting have increased in the past week after New York Fed President John Williams, sometimes seen as a proxy for the Fed chief, signaled his support for a rate cut after several other policymakers came out leaning against one. Money-market funds tend to attract capital because they typically pass on lower rates to customers more slowly than banks. Plus, institutions and the likes of corporate treasurers tend to outsource cash management during such periods in order to capture yield, rather than grapple with it themselves."

Finally, it says, "This year, more than $848 billion has flooded into the funds, according to Crane data, which tracks the entire money-market industry. Data from the Investment Company Institute, which is released on a weekly basis and excludes firms' own internal money funds, put total assets at $7.57 trillion in the week to Nov. 25."

Bank for International Settlements Primer on Tokenized Money Funds

Dec 02 25

The Bank for International Settlements published a "BIS Bulletin" titled, "The Rise of Tokenised Money Market Funds." The piece states, "Tokenised money market funds (TMMFs) are a rapidly growing segment of decentralised finance (DeFi). They represent shares in funds that invest in money market instruments, but circulate as tokens on public permissionless blockchains, such as Ethereum or Stellar.... Unlike major stablecoins, which also seek to maintain a stable value but are prohibited from paying interest, TMMFs distribute returns to investors in line with money market rates. This Bulletin provides a primer on TMMFs. It discusses potential use cases, illustrates the operational model of major funds and documents the growth and composition of the TMMF market. It also lays out the sources and implications of interlinkages with stablecoins, suggesting that current TMMFs often operate as complements to stablecoins. Highlighting potential risks related to liquidity mismatches, interconnectedness and operations, the Bulletin concludes with policy considerations." (Note: Registrations are still being taken for our Money Fund University, which is Dec. 18-19 in Pittsburgh. Please join us for our Holiday Cocktail Party on Thursday, Dec. 18 from 5-7:30pm after Day 1 of MFU!)

A section titled, "TMMFs as on-chain collateral" says, "The DeFi ecosystem stands or falls with the availability of collateral.... Stablecoins have evolved as an important source of collateral in DeFi but face inherent limitations.... Breaches of parity in secondary markets and episodes of runs illustrate risks associated with stablecoin arrangements. Seizures of tokens by authorities in the context of scams and other illicit activities have highlighted the risks associated with the uncontrolled float of stablecoins between unhosted wallets. The prohibition on stablecoin issuers paying interest to coin holders ... implies significant opportunity costs of holding stablecoins relative to the returns on risk free assets in traditional financial markets, particularly when interest rates are significantly above zero."

The paper tells us, "TMMFs seek to provide an alternative, yield-bearing source of on-chain collateral, mimicking features of government bonds -- the backbone of collateralised transactions in traditional finance. By providing a claim on traditional money market instruments, like conventional money market funds (MMFs), TMMFs offer returns comparable with short-term risk-free rates. For investors predominantly active in crypto markets, TMMFs have clear advantages over their conventional counterparts. As tokens, they match key features of stablecoins on distributed ledgers, such as enabling peer-to-peer transactions and programmability through smart contracts. In principle, this allows investors to continuously rebalance positions without the need for intermediaries, while earning returns for each instant of time at which collateral was held."

It states, "TMMFs are digital representations of regulated funds. This makes them subject to the same regulatory requirements as their non-tokenised counterparts. Leveraging synergies that result from this equivalence, TMMFs have been launched by fund management companies, such as Franklin Templeton and BlackRock, which also manage a range of conventional funds. However, crypto-native companies, such as Circle and Ondo Finance, have also entered the market."

The BIS comments, "While specific design choices differ across funds, TMMFs generally follow a similar operational model.... To subscribe, allow-listed investors transfer money or stablecoins to a digital transfer agent, which can be either affiliated with the fund management company or an external service provider (eg Securitize for Blackrock's BUIDL fund). The agent represents the link between the off- and on-chain interfaces and manages the shareholder register. Once the transaction is settled, tokens representing fund shares are ‘minted’ and credited to the investor’s wallet (often managed by a digital asset custodian), while the proceeds are invested in money market instruments (eg government bonds) and held by a custodian."

They continue, "For redemptions, the opposite process occurs: investors request to withdraw their token, after which the transfer agent removes ('burns') it from the blockchain. The fund then liquidates the necessary amount of assets and sends cash or stablecoins to the transfer agent's account for payout to the investor. The return accrued to investors is paid at regular intervals, typically daily or monthly. This can take the form of additional tokens for TMMFs that aim to maintain a stable net asset value (NAV) per share, or they can accumulate within the fund, thereby raising the NAV. In addition to subscribing or redeeming, allow-listed investors can also trade tokens among themselves."

The BIS piece adds, "Notwithstanding the continued expansion of tokenisation, current TMMFs operate in a hybrid market environment. The vast majority of repo transactions takes place in traditional money markets and government securities reside predominantly with custodians off-chain.... In the absence of native tokenised assets to invest in and active on-chain money markets, a range of TMMF activities are still performed off-chain. The calculation of the fund’s NAV, for instance, relies on pricing information usually provided once per business day by off-chain services to which the blockchain has access ('oracles'). Custody and proof of ownership of the investments are also still performed off-chain."

They write, "Following a slow start, TMMFs have grown rapidly over the last two years. While total value locked (TVL), equivalent to the funds’ assets under management, amounted to only about $770 million at end-2023, TVL rose more than tenfold to almost $9 billion by the end of October 2025.... During this time, the TMMF market underwent a significant structural shift.... Initially, Stellar, a network that allows comparatively cheap transfers in much smaller amounts than other blockchains, was the preferred choice of issuers as it caters to a broad investor base, including retail. With the growth of institutional TMMFs, other features, such as the stability and security provided by a large number of validators and smart contract capabilities, have gained greater importance. These funds largely operate on Ethereum, which now accounts for 50% of TVL."

The BIS paper also says, "At present, TMMFs -- including those not representing shares of registered US government MMFs -- invest predominantly in short-term US government securities (ie US Treasury or agency debt) or repo out cash against such securities.... In addition to the attractiveness of US money market rates and the depth of the underlying market, this allocation reflects the primacy of dollar-pegged stablecoins in the crypto ecosystem, which is a crucial driver of investor demand for dollar returns."

It comments, "Based on Ethereum data, companies operating DeFi protocols are the main investors in BUIDL, the largest TMMF to date. Their demand reflects several use cases. One is using TMMFs as collateral on DeFi platforms, such as allowing users to borrow stablecoins by pledging TMMFs (eg Aave horizon protocol). Another use is issuing 'fund of fund' structures, like the Ondo Short-Term US Government Bond Fund (OUSG), a TMMF that invests exclusively in other TMMFs.... This allows issuers to market tokens under their own brand and tailor fund features (eg fees, minimum investments) to suit their target investors.... Demand from DeFi protocols has resulted in a high concentration of holdings by a small number of investors and limited trading activity. For BUIDL, but also for another large fund, the WisdomTree Government Money Market Digital Fund (WTGXX), around 90% of total holdings are in the hands of only four wallet holders, according to blockchain data."

Finally, the piece adds, "TMMFs give rise to risks that mirror and may even amplify those found in conventional MMFs and stablecoins. At the heart of these risks lies the liquidity mismatch between the daily redemption capabilities of the tokenised shares and the underlying assets, which remain subject to traditional settlement cycles. This creates the potential for stress during periods of heightened demand for liquidity in a market environment without resort to the financial safety net of traditional finance. The transparency of blockchain-based transactions further compounds liquidity risk by acting as a coordination device among investors. `As redemptions are immediately visible to all market participants, the risk of runs may be exacerbated as confidence in the TMMFs wanes.... Interlinkages between TMMFs and stablecoins introduce additional channels for contagion." (See also, the IOSCO report, "Tokenization of Financial Assets," and the recent release, "Amundi tokenises its first fund in collaboration with CACEIS.")

ICI's Trends Confirm MMF Asset, Treasury Holdings Jumps; 83M Accounts

Dec 01 25

The Investment Company Institute's released its latest monthly "Trends in Mutual Fund Investing - October 2025" and "Month-End Portfolio Holdings of Taxable Money Funds" on Friday. ICI's monthly Trends shows money fund totals increasing $146.8 billion, or 2.0%, in October to $7.468 trillion. MMFs have increased by $925.8 billion, or 14.2%, over the past 12 months (through 10/31/25). Money funds' October asset increase follows an increase of $104.5 billion in September, $123.4 billion in August, $69.0 billion in July, $29.3 billion in June and $84.7 billion in May. Assets decreased $63.8 billion in April and $10.9 billion in March, but increased of $99.0 billion in February, $31.9 billion in January and $139.3 billion in December. They rose $171.5 billion in November and $117.4 billion last October. Bond fund assets increased $55.4 billion to $5.468 trillion, and bond ETF assets increased to $2.17 trillion in October 2025.

The monthly release states, "The combined assets of the nation's mutual funds increased by $369.85 billion, or 1.2 percent, to $31.16 trillion in October, according to the Investment Company Institute's official survey of the mutual fund industry. In the survey, mutual fund companies report actual assets, sales, and redemptions to ICI.... Bond funds had an inflow of $20.02 billion in October, compared with an inflow of $28.38 billion in September.... Money market funds had an inflow of $133.13 billion in October, compared with an inflow of $87.45 billion in September. In October funds offered primarily to institutions had an inflow of $106.23 billion and funds offered primarily to individuals had an inflow of $26.90 billion."

The Institute's latest statistics show that Taxable MMFs and Tax Exempt MMFs were both higher from last month. Taxable MMFs increased by $145.6 billion in October to $7.328 trillion. Tax-Exempt MMFs increased $1.2 billion to $139.2 billion. Taxable MMF assets increased year-over-year by $920.3 billion (14.4%), and Tax-Exempt funds rose by $5.5 billion over the past year (4.1%). Bond fund assets increased by $55.4 billion (after increasing by $84.2 billion in September) to $5.468 trillion; they've increased by $412.2 billion (8.2%) over the past year.

Money funds represent 24.0% of all mutual fund assets (up 0.2% from the previous month), while bond funds account for 17.5%, according to ICI. The total number of money market funds was 263, up 2 from the prior month and up from 260 a year ago. Taxable money funds numbered 222 funds, and tax-exempt money funds numbered 41 funds.

ICI's "Month-End Portfolio Holdings" confirms a jump in Treasuries and an increase in Repo last month. Treasury holdings, became the largest composition segment three months ago after overtaking Repo, In October they increased $169.7 billion, or 5.5%, to $3.232 trillion, or 44.1% of holdings. Treasury securities have increased by $510.9 billion, or 18.8%, over the past 12 months. (See our November 13 News, "Nov. Money Fund Portfolio Holdings: Treasuries Jump; Repo Inches Down.")

Repurchase Agreements became the second largest composition segment three months prior after falling in August, they rose $9.9 billion, or 0.4%, to $2.605 trillion, or 35.6% of holdings. Repo holdings have increased $328.6 billion, or 14.4%, over the past year. U.S. Government Agency securities were the third largest segment; they decreased $8.3 billion, or -0.9%, to $908.9 billion, or 12.4% of holdings. Agency holdings have increased by $100.9 billion, or 12.5%, over the past 12 months.

Commercial Paper was in fourth place; they decreased by $2.1 billion, or -0.7%, to $290.2 billion (4.0% of assets). CP held by money funds rose by $7.0 billion, or 2.5%, over 12 months. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) were in fifth place, down $20.8 billion, or -8.2%, to $233.2 billion (3.2% of assets). CDs decreased $83.7 billion, or -26.4%, over one year. Other holdings increased to $23.5 billion (0.3% of assets), while Notes (including Corporate and Bank) decreased to $34.9 billion (0.5% of assets).

The Number of Accounts Outstanding in ICI's series for taxable money funds increased to 83.001 million, while the Number of Funds was up 2 at 222. Over the past 12 months, the number of accounts rose by 9.489 million and the number of funds increased by 5. The Average Maturity of Portfolios was 40 days, down 1 from September. Over the past 12 months, WAMs of Taxable money are up 4 days.