News Archives: January, 2026
The Investment Company Institute's published its latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" and its monthly "Trends in Mutual Fund Investing - December 2025" and "Month-End Portfolio Holdings of Taxable Money Funds" on Thursday. The former report shows money fund assets rebounding by $13.0 billion to $7.712 trillion, after decreasing by $30.8 billion the previous week. Three weeks prior assets were a record $7.804 trillion. Assets have risen in 15 of the last 19 weeks and 23 of the past 28 weeks. MMF assets are up by $839 billion, or 12.2%, over the past 52 weeks (through 1/28/26), with Institutional MMFs up $530 billion, or 12.9% and Retail MMFs up $309 billion, or 11.2%. Year-to-date in 2026, MMF assets are down by $22 billion, or -0.3%, with Institutional MMFs down $10 billion, or -0.2% and Retail MMFs down $12 billion, or -0.4%.
ICI's weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $13.06 billion to $7.71 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, January 28, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $11.37 billion and prime funds increased by $4.66 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds decreased by $2.97 billion." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs increasing $22.1 billion and Retail MMFs decreasing $9.1 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $6.330 trillion (82.1% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $1.240 trillion (16.1%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $142.3 billion (1.8%).
It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds decreased by $9.07 billion to $3.07 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets decreased by $6.32 billion to $1.94 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $319 million to $999.68 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $2.43 billion to $129.06 billion." Retail assets account for 39.8% of the total, and Government Retail assets make up 63.2% of all Retail MMFs.
They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $22.13 billion to $4.65 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $17.69 billion to $4.39 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $4.98 billion to $240.11 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $539 million to $13.20 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 60.2% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.5% of all institutional MMF totals.
According to Crane Data's separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have increased by $18.7 billion to $8.128 trillion month-to-date in January (as of 1/28); they hit a record high of $8.165 trillion on 1/6. Assets increased by $126.3 billion in December, $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 last January. 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.
ICI's monthly "Trends" shows money fund totals increasing $170.2 billion, or 2.2%, in December to a record $7.746 trillion. MMFs increased by $893.8 billion, or 13.0%, in 2025 (through 12/31/25). Money funds' December asset increase follows an increase of $107.7 billion in November, $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 last December. Bond fund assets increased $13.8 billion to $5.515 trillion, and bond ETF assets increased $19.6 billion to $2.239 trillion in December 2025.
The monthly release states, "The combined assets of the nation's mutual funds increased by $79.86 billion, or 0.3 percent, to $31.38 trillion in December, 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 $15.10 billion in December, compared with an inflow of $7.64 billion in November.... Money market funds had an inflow of $156.81 billion in December, compared with an inflow of $93.16 billion in November. In December funds offered primarily to institutions had an inflow of $118.96 billion and funds offered primarily to individuals had an inflow of $37.85 billion."
The Institute's latest statistics show that Taxable MMFs and Tax Exempt MMFs were both higher from last month. Taxable MMFs increased by $164.3 billion in December to $7.595 trillion. Tax-Exempt MMFs increased $5.9 billion to $150.9 billion. Taxable MMF assets increased year-over-year by $878.8 billion (13.1%), and Tax-Exempt funds rose by $15.0 billion over the past year (11.0%). Bond fund assets increased by $13.8 billion (after increasing by $32.4 billion in November) to $5.515 trillion; they've increased by $444.2 billion (8.8%) over the past year.
Money funds represent 24.7% of all mutual fund assets (up 0.5% from the previous month), while bond funds account for 17.6%, according to ICI. The total number of money market funds was 265, unchanged from the prior month and up from 258 a year ago. Taxable money funds numbered 224 funds, and tax-exempt money funds numbered 41 funds.
ICI's "Portfolio Holdings" confirms a jump in Repo and an increase in Treasuries last month. Treasury holdings remain the largest composition segment. In December, they increased $69.4 billion, or 2.1%, to $3.354 trillion, or 44.2% of holdings. Treasury securities have increased by $501.3 billion, or 17.6%, over the past 12 months. (See our January 13 News, "Jan. Money Fund Portfolio Holdings: Assets Jump; FICC, Fed Repo Surge.")
Repurchase Agreements, the second largest composition segment, rose $175.6 billion, or 6.6%, to $2.845 trillion, or 37.5% of holdings. Repo holdings have increased $380.0 billion, or 15.4%, over the past year. U.S. Government Agency securities were the third largest segment; they increased $28.3 billion, or 3.1%, to $932.6 billion, or 12.3% of holdings. Agency holdings have increased by $100.3 billion, or 12.1%, over the past 12 months.
Commercial Paper was in fourth place; CP holdings increased by $7.9 billion, or 2.8%, to $295.2 billion (3.9% of assets). CP held by money funds rose by $14.9 billion, or 5.3%, over 12 months. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) were in fifth place, up $4.2 billion, or 1.8%, to $239.4 billion (3.2% of assets). CDs decreased $21.3 billion, or -8.2%, over one year. Other holdings increased to $28.0 billion (0.4% of assets), while Notes (including Corporate and Bank) increased to $35.4 billion (0.5% of assets).
The Number of Accounts Outstanding in ICI's series for taxable money funds increased to 85.059 million, while the Number of Funds was unchanged at 224. Over the past 12 months, the number of accounts rose by 9.817 million and the number of funds increased by 7. The Average Maturity of Portfolios was 40 days, up 1 day from November. Over the past 12 months, WAMs of Taxable money are up 3 days.
Fidelity announced the launch of a new stablecoin and says it will also manage the stablecoin's reserves. Their press release titled, "Fidelity Investments to Expand Digital Asset Investment Lineup with Stablecoin Launch: Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD)," tells us, "Fidelity Investments is set to launch its first stablecoin, Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), which will be issued by Fidelity Digital Assets, National Association, and available for retail and institutional investors in the coming weeks." (Note: Please join us for our upcoming Bond Fund Symposium, which is March 19-20 in Boston, Mass! To register and for more information, visit www.cranesbfsymposium.com. Ask us about speaking or getting 2-for-1 or "comp" ticket!)
Mike O'Reilly, President of Fidelity Digital Assets, comments "At Fidelity, we have a long-standing belief in the transformative power of the digital assets ecosystem and have spent years researching and advocating for the benefits of stablecoins. As a leading asset manager and a digital assets pioneer, Fidelity is uniquely positioned to provide investors with on-chain utility via a digital dollar."
The release states, "FIDD will seek to provide investors with a stable digital dollar that combines the benefits of digital assets and blockchain technology with the stability and reliability of the U.S. dollar. FIDD will be backed by the stringent operational standards of Fidelity Digital Assets, which delivers institutional-grade security and is built upon more than a decade of research and development in the digital assets space."
It continues, "FIDD's key functions will be supported by Fidelity Investments businesses, offering investors a full-service stablecoin model, including: Reserve asset management, conducted by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, and leveraging Fidelity's longstanding asset management expertise; Purchase and redemption options that will permit customers to buy or sell FIDD for $1 on the Fidelity Digital Assets, Fidelity Crypto, and Fidelity Crypto for Wealth Managers platforms."
Fidelity writes, "FIDD will also be available for purchase on major exchanges where FIDD is listed, and holders may transfer FIDD to any Ethereum mainnet address; Coin issuance, including FIDD's circulating supply and reserve net asset value, will be disclosed as of the close of every business day on https://www.fidelity.com/."
They add, "With the current stablecoin market cap at more than $316 billion and a U.S. regulatory framework now in place, Fidelity is one of the first traditional financial institutions to issue its own digital dollar."
O'Reilly adds, "The recent passage of the GENIUS Act was a significant milestone for the industry in providing clear regulatory guardrails for payment stablecoins. We're thrilled to launch a fiat-backed stablecoin at a time of increasing regulatory clarity to better support our customers' needs, provide choice in the marketplace, and enable continued progress towards a more efficient financial system."
The release says, "To learn more about stablecoins, read the latest research from Fidelity Digital Assets." For more on Stablecoin Reserve funds, see these Crane Data News stories: "'More from Irish Funds' Tokenization Paper; Decrypt Explains Stablecoins" (12/29/25), "'Dec. MFI: MMFs Hit $8.0T, Top 10; JPM '26 Outlook; Stablecoin Reserves" (12/5/25), "'State Street Files for Stablecoin Reserves MMF; BNY's Stephanie Pierce" (11/19/25), "BNY Stablecoin Reserves Goes Live; ICI: Assets Eke Out Record $7.5T" (11/14/25), "TD Securities Writes on Stablecoins, Tokenized Money Funds, Digital" (11/5/25), "BNY's Vince on Q3 Call: Money Market Evolution, Dreyfus, Stablecoins" (10/22/25), "BlackRock Breaks $1 Trillion in Money Funds; Offers Stablecoin Reserve" (10/17/25), "Sept. MFI: Assets Break $7.6T; Stablecoin Reserves; JPM on Offshore MFs" (9/8/25), "Goldman Sachs: Summer of Stablecoin; FT: Banks Lobby to Block Interest" (8/26/25), "BNY Dreyfus to Launch Stablecoin Reserves Fund; Joins Goldman, Circle" (8/20) and "Goldman Files to Launch Stablecoin Reserves Fund; Circle Q2 Earnings" (8/13/25).
In other news, J.P. Morgan's latest "Short-Term Market Outlook And Strategy," comments, "Away from the macro environment, technicals in the front-end continue to support stable funding conditions. Net T-bill supply is roughly $12bn lower month-to-date, while the Fed has accumulated about $70bn in T-bill purchases since December 12. These dynamics, alongside the usual monthly GSE cash inflows, have helped anchor repo levels this month."
It states, "These softer funding levels have persisted even as taxable MMF AUMs have reversed course from earlier this month and up $15bn.... With the S&P 500 down about 0.5% week-to-date, it seems unlikely that recent market moves will meaningfully redirect flows into MMFs -- historically, that tends to occur only during more pronounced risk-off episodes, such as a rapid 10% correction in the S&P 500 index."
JPM also tells us, "2025 was a notably strong year for the ABCP market from a net supply perspective. By our estimates, total outstandings increased by roughly $60bn, or 14% year-over-year, ending the year just shy of $485bn. This pace of expansion marks the fastest growth the market has experienced in at least five years and was driven largely by independent sponsor programs, which accounted for the majority of new issuance. That momentum has carried into the new year. Net ABCP supply is already up about $6bn month-to-date, once again led by independent sponsors. As a result, independent sponsor programs now represent close to 40% of total ABCP outstandings or $197bn underscoring how central this segment has become to overall market growth."
They write, "With supply continuing to build, attention has naturally shifted to demand -- and so far, the market has absorbed the additional issuance with little difficulty. Onshore prime MMFs have remained a consistent source of demand: as of December 31, we estimate that prime MMFs held about $80bn of ABCP overall, of which $35bn, or 44%, was tied to independent sponsor programs -- up 5%-pts year-over-year and 18%-pts from two years ago."
The piece continues, "As a percentage of the independent sponsored ABCP programs, onshore prime MMFs comprise 20%. That said, demand appears somewhat concentrated: two fund families have accounted for about 70% of independent sponsor ABCP holdings on average over the past year.... Other buyers that make up the remaining 80% include offshore prime MMFs, state and local governments, securities lenders, ultrashort funds, and SMAs."
JPM adds, "From a relative value perspective, ABCP continues to trade cheap compared to unsecured bank CP/CDs.... While spreads in the unsecured bank CP market have tightened, ABCP has not seen a comparable move, leaving valuations relatively wide. With ABCP supply expected to increase modestly and unsecured bank CP/CD issuance potentially muted, it is plausible that ABCP will continue to trade wide to unsecured alternatives on a relative basis in the near term."
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 (Q2'25) at $389 billion (up from $374 billion in Q1'25 and up from $343 billion in Q2'24). We also again briefly review the SEC's "Amendments to Form PF Reporting Requirements for Large Liquidity Fund Advisers" which went into effect a year and a half ago, below. (Note: We're still looking for sponsors and speakers for our upcoming Bond Fund Symposium, which is March 19-20 in Boston, Mass.)
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 January 02, 2026, for the reporting periods from Second Calendar Quarter 2023 through Second 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: Second 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), unchanged from last quarter and down 3 from a year ago. (There are 50 Section 3 Liquidity Funds out of the 73 Liquidity Funds.) The SEC receives Form PF reports from 33 Liquidity Fund advisers (22 of which are Section 3 Liquidity Fund advisers), down 1 from last quarter and down 6 from a year ago.
The SEC's table on "Aggregate Private Fund Net Asset Value" shows total Liquidity Fund assets at $389 billion, up $15 billion from Q1'25 and up $46 billion from a year ago (Q2'24). Of this total, $387 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 $402 billion, up $18 billion from Q1'25 and up $49 billion from a year ago (Q2'24). Of this total, $401 billion in is Section 3 (large manager) Liquidity Funds.
A table on "Beneficial Ownership for Section 3 Liquidity Funds" shows $78 billion is held by Other (20.2%), $94 billion is held by Unknown Non-U.S. Investors (24.3%), $53 billion is held by Private Funds (13.7%), $15 billion is held by Insurance Companies (3.9%) and $4 billion is held by Non-Profits (1.0%).
The tables also show that 62.0% of Section 3 Liquidity Funds have a liquidation period of one day, $363 billion of these funds may suspend redemptions, and $327 billion of these funds may have gates. WAMs average a short 32.6 days (46.2 days when weighted by assets), WALs are 52.9 days (68.6 days when asset-weighted), and 7-Day Gross Yields average 4.2% (4.3% asset-weighted). Daily Liquid Assets average about 53.2% (47.1% asset-weighted) while Weekly Liquid Assets average about 59.4% (60.6% 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."
Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) decreased by 1 bp to 3.50% on average during the week ended Friday, January 23 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after decreasing 2 bps the week prior. Fund yields haven't been below 3.5% since November 2022, and they are down from a recent high of 5.20% in November 2023. They should remain flat in coming days as the market expects the Fed to hold rates steady this week (and perhaps this year). Yields were 3.58% on 12/31/25, 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, 4.14% 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 681), shows a 7-day yield of 3.40%, down 1 bp in the week through Friday.
Prime Inst money fund yields were unchanged at 3.62% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were unchanged at 3.51%. Treasury Inst MFs were unchanged at 3.46%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.23%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.21% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.41%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were up 6 bps to 1.09%.
Money market mutual fund assets have fallen since hitting a record high of $8.165 trillion on January 6, according to our Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Assets have risen $7.9 billion in the week through Friday, but they've decreased by $16.9 billion in January month-to-date (through 1/23). MMF assets increased by $126.3 billion in December, $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, and $52.8 billion last January.
Weighted average maturities were at 40 days for the Crane MFA and 42 days the Crane 100 Money Fund Index. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (1/23), just 160 money funds (out of 791 total) yield under 3.0% with $190.8 billion in assets, or 2.4%, while the vast majority (631) of funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($7.901 trillion, or 97.6%). No funds yield over 4.0%.
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 five weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of January 23, shows no changes over the past week. Four 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, Morgan Stanley and Schwab.
In other news, The Wall Street Journal recently wrote a brief titled, "Stablecoin Rewards Resemble Traditional Loyalty Programs, Says Circle CEO." It says, "The annual payouts on stablecoins offered by crypto platforms are similar in nature to loyalty and reward programs found in traditional products, Circle Internet Group Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire said [last] Thursday. Allaire's comments come as the crypto and banking industries remain locked in a lobbying battle over stablecoin rewards, or yield-bearing token products that banks claim are unregulated deposits that threaten traditional savings accounts."
The brief quotes, "'Even your Uber cash or whatever it is. All of these kinds of products, whether they're in brokerage or in payments or in e-commerce, in credit cards, there's lots of different examples of this,' Allaire told Journal House at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 'And so that's really important, we think, for people who are building products and services that use this technology to be able to do those kinds of things.'"
It adds, "The fight is threatening to derail legislation known as the Clarity Act that is intended to bring crypto into mainstream finance. A Senate Banking Committee vote on the Clarity Act was postponed last week after crypto exchange Coinbase Global abruptly withdrew its support. Coinbase offers a 3.5% reward rate on USD Coin to consumers who participate in its premium program. Circle issues the USD Coin, which has a $74 billion market cap."
Finally, ACT and HSBC Asset Management wrote an article earlier this month, "Stablecoins and tokenised MMFs: opportunities and challenges." They explain, "The financial landscape is undergoing a significant transformation with the emergence of digital assets, particularly stablecoins and tokenised assets. These innovations present both opportunities and challenges for traditional finance practitioners including corporate treasurers. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of stablecoins and tokenised money market funds, highlighting their potential impact on the financial ecosystem, and comment on current developments in certain markets."
The paper says, "Stablecoins are close to $300bn in market cap and reportedly reached $28tn in transaction volume in 2024. The growth has been rapid but still pales in comparison to the scale of traditional finance alternatives to stablecoins, such as deposits and money market funds. Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) make up 61% and 25% of the total market cap of stablecoins. USD stablecoins currently account for 99% of the total market cap."
The update comments, "It is worth noting that stablecoins do not, and in most cases are not permitted by regulation, to pay any yield/return. This has been consistently reflected in existing regulation across multiple jurisdictions to distinguish stablecoins as a digital payment instrument and not an investment product. As a result, stablecoins in their current form are not likely to supplant MMFs or interest-bearing deposits as a cash investment vehicle."
It adds, "From a money market fund user perspective, the ability to move (transfer, trade, pledge) units without necessarily redeeming offers significant advantages. Their use as collateral pledged to third parties but also intercompany transfers can only enhance the utility of a money fund holding."
State Street Investment Management posted a brief earlier this month titled, "An oddly quiet year end." It says, "Front-end markets ended 2025 in rare calm, with tight spreads and steady ABCP pricing. As supply constraints loom and Fed policy evolves, tactical entry points and extensions remain key. US front-end markets closed the year in an unusually orderly fashion -- which, in money-market terms, is a bit like turbulence-free airspace in December: appreciated but treated with suspicion. Year-end funding needs were completed, and activity shifted to day-to-day liquidity management, with little urgency evident as we rolled through year-end. It was exceptionally quiet. Unlike prior years, term spreads have avoided the significant seasonal widening." (Note: We're still looking for sponsors and speakers for our upcoming Bond Fund Symposium, which is March 19-20 in Boston, Mass.)
The piece explains, "Asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP), in particular, failed to cheapen meaningfully, reflecting stronger balance sheet capacity and a notable absence of forced cash movements. While there were a few large prints, the overall tone has been steady rather than desperate, a meaningful change for investors accustomed to year-end funding drama."
SSIM writes, "Looking ahead, supply constraints are likely to drive incremental spread tightening in the new year, particularly in the 3–9-month sector. Early visibility into 2026 funding calendars suggests a relatively benign environment, aside from the seasonal patterns, encouraging selective extension further out the curve. Interest in ABCP remains strong, especially collateral programs (repo). Optimism is not exuberance -- but in front-end markets, 'functional' is high praise."
They tell us, "Treasury bill markets remain well bid, though positioning continues to be highly tactical and resolutely month-to-month. Issuance volumes have been substantial, and we expect continued net bill supply even outside of the typical Q1 seasonal dynamics tied to tax refunds and April tax receipts. Dealers remain active, with desks regularly soliciting bids, suggesting no one ever quite feels 'long enough' bills."
They add, "Looking ahead, the US Federal Reserve's new Reserve Management Program could become a meaningful source of incremental T-bill demand in the new year. With the Fed's Standing Repo Operations firmly embedded in the toolkit, and reserves, repo rates, and bill supply all interacting dynamically, the funding landscape has plenty of moving parts. Conditions remain orderly for now -- but this is money markets, so vigilance remains mandatory. In the near term, we continue to favor the 4-month sector and one-year maturities north of 3.50% offer good value. We remain disciplined with our entry points, balancing income with flexibility."
In other news, the Public Funds Investment Institute published a research report, "LGIP Disclosure and Transparency: What Investors Are Missing." It states, "Last November we released results of our annual survey of local government investment pools, which covered 161 pools with nearly $1 trillion in assets. One observation we made in that report was that LGIPs lack uniform disclosure/transparency with the result that self-governance within the industry is challenging and investors are limited in their ability to assess principal stability and liquidity risk and to compare LGIPs."
The PFII release says, "We've now taken a deeper dive into this with a survey of the specific disclosure and transparency policies of 30 LGIPs. The sample includes state-sponsored and local-sponsored pools and those managed internally and by external managers. The survey also was designed to include pools managed by all of the private sector firms that support offerings of multiple LGIPs. These funds generally employ practices that are recommended by the individual managers, and they utilize what appears to be a common disclosure template. In this sense the current survey of 30 pools can be seen to cover all of the significant disclosure policies of the industry."
It continues, "Key findings of the survey: Disclosure varies tremendously from fund to fund but is generally much less than disclosure required by the Securities and Exchange Commission for money market funds ...; The most common disclosure is LGIP yield, but even here the lack of a common definition of yield makes it difficult for investors to compare funds or to compare yields with those on other investments; More important than yield for any public funds investors is principal stability and liquidity. LGIPs promise this but many do not offer any ongoing information on how they are managing these issues. Investors are left with a 'trust us' approach."
The update adds, "LGIP investors can promote LGIP transparency. We've developed a simple form that can be used to score LGIP transparency. And there are web-based automations, some based on artificial intelligence, that can facilitate gathering key information and monitoring LGIP risk and performance. These require that LGIPs publish key information in an accessible form. Treasurers and public sector investment managers should insist on this as a condition of approving an LGIP for investment. The Public Funds Investment Institute is available to assist investors in completing evaluations and encouraging LGIPs to adopt full disclosure formats."
As we wrote earlier this month (and reprint here), our January MFI issue recognized the top performing money funds, ranked by total returns, for calendar year 2025, as well as the top funds for the past 5-year and 10-year periods. We present the funds below with our annual Money Fund Intelligence Awards. These are given to the No. 1‐ranked funds based on 1-year, 5-year and 10-year returns, through Dec. 31, 2025, in each of our major fund categories -- Prime Institutional, Government Institutional, Treasury Institutional, Prime Retail, Government Retail, Treasury Retail and Tax‐Exempt. (Let us know if you'd like to see our latest Money Fund Intelligence issue with the MFI Awards article or our latest MFI XLS product with the performance data and rankings behind the awards. (Note: Register soon for our upcoming Bond Fund Symposium, which is March 19-20 in Boston, Mass.)
The Top-Performing Prime Institutional fund (and fund overall) was BlackRock Cash Inst MMF SL (BISXX), which returned 4.46%. Among Prime Retail funds, Morgan Stanley Inst Liq MMP Wealth (MWMXX) had the best return in 2025 (4.37%). (Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index returned 4.11% in 2025.)
The Top‐Performing Govt Institutional funds in 2025 were Dreyfus Inst Pref Govt Plus MF (DRF03) and Fidelity Series Govt Money Market Fund (FGNXX), which both returned 4.40%. Vanguard Cash Reserves Federal MM Adm (VMRXX) was the Top Government Retail fund with a 4.23% return. BlackRock Lq T-Fund Inst (TSTXX) ranked No. 1 in the Treasury Institutional class with a return of 4.34%. Vanguard Treasury Money Market (VUSXX) was No. 1 among Treasury Retail, returning 4.23%.
For the 5‐year period through Dec. 31, 2025, BlackRock Cash Inst MMF SL (BISXX) took top honors for the best performing Prime Institutional money fund with a return of 3.41%. Allspring MMF Premium (WMPXX) ranked No. 1 among Prime Retail with an annualized return of 3.33%.
JPMorgan Sec Lending MM Agency SL (VSLXX) ranked No. 1 among Govt Institutional funds with a return of 3.55%, while Vanguard Cash Reserves Federal MM Adm (VMRXX) ranked No. 1 among Govt Retail funds over the past 5 years with a return of 3.21%. BlackRock Lq T-Fund Inst (TSTXX) ranked No. 1 in 5-year performance among Treasury Inst funds with a return of 3.28%. Vanguard Treasury Money Market (VUSXX) ranks No. 1 among Treasury Retail funds with a return of 3.19%.
The highest performers of the past 10 years and No. 1 among Prime Inst MMFs was BlackRock Cash Inst MMF SL (BISXX), which returned 2.41%. Morgan Stanley Inst Liq MMP Wealth (MWMXX), which returned 2.31%, was best among Prime Retail. ` Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund <b:>`_ (VAN01) returned 2.32% and ranked No. 1 among Govt Inst funds. Vanguard Cash Reserves Federal MM Adm (VMRXX) ranked No. 1 among Govt Retail funds, returning 2.25%.
BlackRock Lq T-Fund Inst (TSTXX) returned the most among Treasury Inst funds over the past 10 years at 2.25%. Vanguard Treasury Money Market (VUSXX) ranked No. 1 among Treasury Retail money market funds at 2.13%.
We're also giving out awards for the best-performing Tax-Exempt MMFs. Federated Hermes Muni Obligs WS (MOFXX) ranked No. 1 among T-E funds over 1-year with a return of 2.82%. Federated Hermes Muni Obligs WS (MOFXX) also ranked No. 1 over 5-years ended Dec. 31, 2025 with a return of 2.19%. Federated Hermes Muni Obligs WS (MOFXX) also ranked No. 1 for the 10-year period with a return of 1.56%.
See the MFI Award Winner listings on page 6 of January's MFI, and see our latest Money Fund Intelligence XLS for more detailed rankings. The tables on page 6 show the No. 1 ranked money fund for each category based on 1‐year, 5‐year, and 10‐year annualized total returns.
In other news, the Investment Company Institute's latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets falling by $30.8 billion to $7.699 trillion, after decreasing by $74.7 billion the previous week. (January 15 was a quarterly corporate tax date and money funds are normally weak following Monday Holidays.) Two weeks prior assets were a record $7.804 trillion. Assets have still risen in 14 of the last 18 weeks and 22 of the past 27 weeks. MMF assets are up by $795 billion, or 11.5%, over the past 52 weeks (through 1/21/26), with Institutional MMFs up $484 billion, or 11.7% and Retail MMFs up $311 billion, or 11.3%. Year-to-date, MMF assets are down by $35 billion, or -0.4%, with Institutional MMFs down $32 billion, or -0.7% and Retail MMFs down $3 billion, or -0.1%.
ICI's weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets decreased by $30.85 billion to $7.70 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, January 21, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds decreased by $27.73 billion and prime funds increased by $1.10 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds decreased by $4.21 billion." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs decreasing $24.6 billion and Retail MMFs decreasing $6.3 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $6.318 trillion (82.1% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $1.235 trillion (16.0%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $145.2 billion (1.9%).
It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds decreased by $6.27 billion to $3.07 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets decreased by $1.83 billion to $1.94 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $743 million to $999.99 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $3.69 billion to $131.49 billion." Retail assets account for 39.9% of the total, and Government Retail assets make up 63.2% of all Retail MMFs.
They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds decreased by $24.58 billion to $4.62 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets decreased by $25.90 billion to $4.37 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $1.84 billion to $235.13 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $516 million to $13.74 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 60.1% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.6% of all institutional MMF totals.
According to Crane Data's separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have decreased by $14.8 billion to $8.094 trillion month-to-date in January (as of 1/21); they hit a record high of $8.165 trillion on 1/6. Assets increased by $126.3 billion in December, $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 last January. 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.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published its latest monthly "Money Market Fund Statistics" summary Tuesday. The report shows that total money fund assets rose by $125.0 billion in December 2025 to a record high $8.180 trillion, after hitting $8.055 trillion the month prior. The SEC shows Prime MMFs increased $1.2 billion in December to $1.342 trillion, Govt & Treasury funds increased $117.3 billion to $6.680 trillion and Tax Exempt funds increased $6.6 billion to $157.9 billion. Taxable yields were lower again in December following declines in November. 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 $129.2 billion in December 2025 to a record of $8.121 trillion. In January month-to-date through 1/20, total money fund assets have decreased by $9.2 billion to $8.100 trillion, according to Crane Data's separate, and slightly smaller, MFI Daily series.)
December's asset increase follows an increase of $125.1 billion in November, $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 and $113.1 billion last December. Over the 12 months through 12/31/25, total MMF assets have increased by $941.7 billion, or 13.0%, according to the SEC's series.
The SEC's stats show that of the $8.180 trillion in assets, $1.342 trillion was in Prime funds, up $1.2 billion in December. Prime assets were up $3.1 billion in November, $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 and $27.3 billion in January and $4.0 billion last December. Prime funds represented 16.4% of total assets at the end of December. They've increased by $151.3 billion, or 12.7%, 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 $6.680 trillion, or 81.7% of assets. They increased $117.3 billion in December, 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, $23.2 billion in January and $109.4 billion last December. Govt & Treasury MMFs are up $773.5 billion over 12 months, or 13.1%. Tax Exempt Funds increased $6.6 billion to $157.9 billion, or 1.9% of all assets. The number of money funds was 283 in December, up 2 from the previous month and up 7 funds from a year earlier.
Yields for Taxable MMFs were lower in December, while Tax Exempt MMFs yields were higher. The Weighted Average Gross 7-Day Yield for Prime Institutional Funds on December 31 was 3.91%, down 20 bps from the prior month. The Weighted Average Gross 7-Day Yield for Prime Retail MMFs was 3.93%, down 20 bps from the previous month. Gross yields were 3.83% for Government Funds, down 20 bps from last month. Gross yields for Treasury Funds were down 18 bps at 3.82%. Gross Yields for Tax Exempt Institutional MMFs were up 20 basis points to 3.09% in December. Gross Yields for Tax Exempt Retail funds were up 26 bps to 3.06%.
The Weighted Average 7-Day Net Yield for Prime Institutional MMFs was 3.80%, down 21 bps from the previous month and down 68 bps from 12/31/24. The Average Net Yield for Prime Retail Funds was 3.67%, down 20 bps from the previous month and down 68 bps since 12/31/24. Net yields were 3.61% for Government Funds, down 20 bps from last month. Net yields for Treasury Funds were down 18 bps from the previous month at 3.61%. Net Yields for Tax Exempt Institutional MMFs were up 21 bps from November to 2.99%. Net Yields for Tax Exempt Retail funds were up 25 bps at 2.83% in December. (Note: These averages are asset-weighted.)
WALs and WAMs were mixed in December. The average Weighted Average Life, or WAL, was 52.5 days (down 0.7 days) for Prime Institutional funds, and 48.3 days for Prime Retail funds (down 1.9 days). Government fund WALs averaged 88.6 days (down 0.5 days) while Treasury fund WALs averaged 95.1 days (up 0.3 days). Tax Exempt Institutional fund WALs were 5.0 days (unchanged), and Tax Exempt Retail MMF WALs averaged 30.6 days (down 1.6 days).
The Weighted Average Maturity, or WAM, was 28.1 days (down 0.2 days from the previous month) for Prime Institutional funds, 30.7 days (down 0.8 days from the previous month) for Prime Retail funds, 39.1 days (up 1.0 days from previous month) for Government funds, and 46.2 days (up 1.3 days from previous month) for Treasury funds. Tax Exempt Inst WAMs were down 0.2 days at 4.8 days, while Tax Exempt Retail WAMs were down 1.7 days from previous month at 29.7 days.
Total Daily Liquid Assets for Prime Institutional funds were 53.1% in December (down 2.2% from the previous month), and DLA for Prime Retail funds was 47.2% (down 2.3% from previous month) as a percent of total assets. The average DLA was 65.1% for Govt MMFs and 94.8% for Treasury MMFs. Total Weekly Liquid Assets was 65.0% (down 1.7% from the previous month) for Prime Institutional MMFs, and 60.4% (down 1.3% from the previous month) for Prime Retail funds. Average WLA was 79.8% for Govt MMFs and 98.9% 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."
BlackRock, the 4th largest manager of money market funds with $715.9 billion, reported its Q4 2025 Earnings last week, and discussed a number of cash and fund issues on its Q4 Earnings Call. CFO Martin Small tells us, "BlackRock Cash Management saw $74 billion of net inflows in the fourth quarter and $131 billion in 2025, driven by U.S. Government, International, Prime and Circle Reserve Funds. BlackRock's platform is anchored by growth engines tied to the long-term expansion of global capital markets and fast-growing client product channels. The opportunity ahead is inspiring to reshape portfolios for more complex markets, to deepen partnerships with clients and to deliver durable, profitable growth for our shareholders."
CEO Laurence Fink comments, "In 2025, we generated over $45 billion of net inflows across our high-performing active fixed income franchise, led by Rick Rieder. We believe 2026 is shaping up to be another year where returns may be driven primarily by income rather than price appreciation. We're well positioned to capture flows with strong performance and differentiated strategies across municipals, high yield, total return and unconstrained fixed income strategies. And we're leveraging active ETFs to provide access to our portfolio managers inside along with the benefits of the ETF wrapper. Our active ETFs drove more than $50 billion in net inflows in 2025, nearly tripling their assets in the last year. Rick's flexible active income ETF, BINC, ... led our active ETF flows for the year."
He continues, "In 2000, with just 40 ETFs, BlackRock's iShares set out to revolutionize investing. And over those 25 years, iShares has led the way in democratization of access to the growth of capital markets. BlackRock shaped the industry and we continue to expand the choice and access for investors around the world. We brought U.S. investors access to international markets and we introduced ETFs to Europe. We launched the world's first bond ETF. We provide over 1,700 ETFs today, more than 6x the next largest issuer. And we're focused on providing investors value for their money while driving growth and margin expansion for our shareholders. iShares AUM was about $300 billion when we announced our acquisition in 2009. Today, it's $5.5 trillion and iShares revenues have more than quadrupled to over $8 billion."
During the Question-and-Answer Session, Craig Siegenthaler of BofA Securities asks, "A sort of follow-up would be your money market business, which is not a new modern business, has done really, really well over the last 5 years. Higher rates has been a factor there. But with the Fed cutting, do you see flows reversing in this business? And if it does, where do you think that liquidity goes?"
Small responds, "I think 2026, to your point on money funds, it's shaping up to be the year of a steeper yield curve. And we think that era of easy 2a-7 fund income looks to be fading. We think that bond returns are going to be driven more by income rather than rate moves or spread compression.... And I think even though cash is always going to be an allocation in a well-balanced portfolio, we'd expect that rate cuts are going to cause money market yields to fall and that some of the best opportunities for investors to be locking in bond yields are going to be in intermediate-term bonds."
He says, "I think if the bond team was here, they'd say there's a generational opportunity to earn high-quality, steady income in the front and middle of the yield curve using that full toolkit in fixed income, credit, securitized, government bonds, munis, active and index. And we're seeing that energy on our platform. We saw more than $80 billion of fixed income flows in Q4.... We manage over $3 trillion in fixed income. So we think we can meet clients with fixed income offerings across sectors and durations wherever they need it and to do it in a vehicle that works best for them."
Fink states, "Let me just add one more point. As global capital markets grow, cash is going to grow alongside of it. So the base holdings of cash will be elevated as long as the global capital markets continues to grow. And if you overlay -- if tokenization becomes more real and the opportunity to have a tokenized money market fund alongside tokenizing other assets -- I actually believe you're going to see probably above-trend holdings in cash. That being said, I agree with everything what Martin said, ... you're going to see more and more investors going up the curve, especially if the yield curve becomes steeper and steeper, which probably is going to be the outcome."
He adds, "But I think we have to look at the overall scale of the capital markets and its growth globally and that is one of the foundational reasons why cash holdings will -- they look larger than ever, which they certainly are. But I think as the capital markets grows, so does holdings in capital markets cash. And I think that is important -- there's an important connection between that.... Cash is just not an outcome of people are nervous and holding ... it. As the capital markets grow and as more people's wallets are in the capital markets, the role of the money market fund just grows. And I think that is one of the foundational reasons why we continue to believe that money market holdings will continue to be quite large."
Morgan Stanley CFO Sharon Yeshaya comments on their Q4 2025 Earnings Call, "Sequentially, total period deposits grew $10 billion to $408 billion, and net interest income increased to $2.1 billion. The growth in NII was driven by the increase in sweep deposits and loan balances. Looking ahead to the first quarter, we expect NII to remain roughly flat quarter-over-quarter as higher average sweeps and lending balances should help to offset the full impact of the two rate cuts in the fourth quarter. As we look ahead to the remainder of 2026, assuming the current forward curve incremental loan growth, and our projections for the deposit mix, we expect NII to continue to trend higher."
Finally, State Street also released Q$'25 earnings, and CEO Ron O'Hanley says on their Q4'25 Earnings Call, "We finalized and recently launched our Digital Asset Platform which will enable tokenization of assets, funds and cash for institutional investors, unlocking new efficiencies, improving liquidity and creating opportunities for growth. As a result, we are strategically positioning State Street to be the bridge between traditional and digital finance and the connection point among Digital Asset Platforms. State Street Investment Management ended 2025 with record quarterly and full year management fee revenue.... This consistent organic growth helped drive period-end AUM to an all-time high of $5.7 trillion, just 2 quarters after surpassing the $5 trillion mark for the first time."
CFO John Woods states, "The fourth quarter represented the culmination of a record year for Investment Management revenue, delivering a strong finish to 2025 and reinforcing the strength of our platform. Management fees increased 15% year-over-year to a new quarterly record of $662 million, driven by higher average market levels and quarterly net inflows of $85 billion, supported by strong performance across our ETFs, cash and institutional segments."
During the Q&A, Betsy Graseck of Morgan Stanley, asks about the "digital transformation," "What are clients actually looking to do with you in digital assets? Could you help us understand, is this just crypto? Or is it beyond that?" O'Hanley replies, "Actually, relatively little of it is in crypto, is -- if you mean by crypto, kind of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, right. It really is about the digitalization of transactions. `So a fair amount of it is around how do you digitize and transform things like cash, money market bonds into tokens, number one."
He continues, "Number two, working with a lot of the digital rail providers to help them, one, in some cases, they need a partner like this, whether it's for reserve cash or things like that. But more importantly, to be able to make the bridge between traditional finance and digital finance. And I may have used this analogy before here, so forgive me if I have, but where we are in this space is like kind of mid 1800s railroads. There's a lot of rails being laid, not all of them are the same gauge. Everybody wants to charge everybody else to cross over from one set of rails to the other. And it's the role of somebody like us to actually enable that movement between and amongst these different rails."
O'Hanley tells us, "But if you think about our business, in the asset management business, we've got a big money market business. So you'll be seeing from us tokenized money market funds, which have lots of benefits that we can talk about, if you'd like. But in the services business, we, as you know, are the largest servicer of asset managers, and they all want to do similar things plus in terms of digitalizing collateral, tokenizing money market funds, et cetera. So it's to be able to enable those institutions to make this transition from traditional finance into digital finance and to do it in a cost-effective way."
Graseck then asks, "What's the benefit of tokenized money market funds?" O'Hanley responds, "We can collateralize them.... I mean, they now can function as collateral.... [T]here's lots of others. There's the speed of settlement, things like that. But I mean the most important would be that.... The other part of it is, I think -- we all have a view as to how this is going to turn out, but nobody can predict it with accuracy. So for example, to the extent to which stablecoins become some kind of regular way of settling securities transactions, you need these kinds of capabilities to enable that kind of cash, if you will, that digital cash to be able to settle a traditional securities transaction."
The Investment Company Institute published, "Retirement Assets Total $48.1 Trillion in Third Quarter 2025," which includes data tables showing that money market funds held in retirement accounts jumped to $987 billion (up from $966 billion) in the latest quarter, accounting for 13% of the total $7.321 trillion in money funds. MMFs represent just 6.8% of the total $14.5 trillion of mutual funds in retirement accounts. The release says, "Total US retirement assets were $48.1 trillion as of September 30, 2025, up 4.5 percent from June. Retirement assets accounted for 34 percent of all household financial assets in the United States at the end of September 2025. Assets in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) totaled $18.9 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 5.2 percent from the end of the second quarter of 2025." (Note: Please join us for our next conference, Bond Fund Symposium, which is March 19-20 in Boston, Mass.)
It continues, "Defined contribution (DC) plan assets were $13.9 trillion at the end of the third quarter, up 5.1 percent from June 30, 2025. Government defined benefit (DB) plans—including federal, state, and local government plans -- held $9.5 trillion in assets as of the end of September 2025, a 3.1 percent increase from the end of June 2025. Private-sector DB plans held $3.1 trillion in assets at the end of the third quarter of 2025, and annuity reserves outside of retirement accounts accounted for another $2.6 trillion."
The ICI tables show money funds accounting for $750 billion, or 10%, of the $7.265 trillion in IRA mutual fund assets and $237 billion, or 3%, of the $7.278 trillion in defined contribution plan holdings. Money funds in 401k plans totaled $158 billion, or 3% of the $5.772 trillion of mutual funds in 401k's.
The ICI also 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 December, prime money market funds held 46.2 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid assets and 59.9 percent in weekly liquid assets, while government money market funds held 77.4 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid assets and 88.5 percent in weekly liquid assets." Prime DLA was down from 48.3% in November, and Prime WLA was down from 61.4%. Govt MMFs' DLA rose from 76.9% and Govt WLA was up from 87.9% for the previous month.
ICI explains, "At the end of December, prime funds had a weighted average maturity (WAM) of 31 days and a weighted average life (WAL) of 51 days. Average WAMs and WALs are asset-weighted. Government money market funds had a WAM of 42 days and a WAL of 92 days." Prime WAMs were down 1 day while WALs were down 2 days from the previous month. Govt WAMs were up while WALs were down from the previous month, WAMs were 1 day longer 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 $763.89 billion in November to $785.86 billion in December. Government money market funds’ holdings attributable to the Americas rose from $5,748.69 billion in November to $6,085.24 billion in December."
The Prime Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas-related holdings at $785.9 billion, or 64.9%; Asia and Pacific at $181.5 billion, or 15.0%; Europe at $218.3 billion, or 18.0%; and, Other (including Supranational) at $25.4 billion, or 2.2%. The Government Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas at $6.085 trillion, or 93.4%; Asia and Pacific at $113.3 or 1.7%; Europe at $313.4 billion, 4.8%, and Other (Including Supranational) at $6.5 billion, or 0.1%.
In other news, a press release, "State Street Launches Digital Asset Platform to Power Tokenized Finance," tells us, "State Street ... announced the launch of its Digital Asset Platform, a secure, scalable infrastructure for tokenized assets strategically positioning State Street to be the bridge between traditional and digital finance and the connection point between digital asset platforms for its clients. This foundational build is critical in enabling State Street's digital ambitions to develop core products for its clients, including tokenized Money Market Funds (MMFs), ETFs, tokenized assets, and cash products including tokenized deposits and stablecoins."
It explains, "The platform includes wallet management, custodial, and cash capabilities, designed to support tokenized product development across jurisdictions covering both private and public permissioned blockchain networks. Underpinned by enhanced security and operational and on-chain compliance controls, integrated with existing systems, the platform supports secure, scalable access for institutional clients offering a seamless interface between digital and traditional services."
Joerg Ambrosius, president of Investment Services at State Street, comments, "This launch marks a significant step in State Street's digital asset strategy. We are moving beyond experimentation and into practical, scalable solutions that meet the highest standards of security and compliance. By pairing blockchain connectivity with robust controls and global servicing expertise, we're enabling institutions to confidently embrace tokenization as part of their core strategy with an organization like us that they can trust."
The release adds, "This launch reflects State Street's commitment to supporting its clients in navigating the evolving digital asset sector. Our unified approach to digital innovation draws expertise from teams across the bank and State Street Investment Management to deliver integrated, secure, and scalable solutions for institutional clients."
Bloomberg covers the news in its piece, "State Street Joins Crypto Rush With Digital-Asset Rollout." They tell us, "State Street Corp. is rolling out a digital-asset platform as the firm pushes to grow in the increasingly popular asset class. The custody bank will develop and support money-market and exchange-traded funds and cash products such as tokenized deposits and stablecoins, the Boston-based company said in an emailed statement. State Street will collaborate with money managers and institutional clients it serves, as well as with its own asset-management arm, which has been launching separate products."
They add, "Money managers including Franklin Resources Inc., Fidelity Investments and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s asset management unit have launched tokenized money-market funds, while even more traditional firms such as T Rowe Price Group Inc. have decided to create crypto funds. State Street, which oversees $51.7 trillion for many of the world's largest asset managers and institutions, already provides administration and accounting services for clients holding cryptocurrencies as well as for crypto ETFs. The new platform is a departure from merely providing such back-office support."
Crane Data's latest Money Fund Intelligence International shows that assets in European or "offshore" money market mutual funds increased over the past 30 days to a record $1.634 trillion, rising from $1.604 trillion the month prior. Yields were mostly lower, while assets for USD, EUR and GBP MMFs all rose 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 $48.4 billion over the 30 days through 1/14. The totals are up $49.3 billion (3.1%) year-to-date for 2026. They were up $151.9 billion (10.6%) for 2025, 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.)
Offshore US Dollar money funds increased $26.8 billion over the last 30 days and are up $25.1 billion YTD to $861.1 billion; they increased $92.3 billion in 2025. Euro funds increased E13.3 billion over the past month. YTD, they're up E8.8 billion to E339.2 billion, for 2025, they increased by E12.6 billion. GBP money funds increased L4.7 billion over 30 days, and they're up L10.5 billion YTD at L283.6B, for 2025, they rose L10.5 billion. U.S. Dollar (USD) money funds (313) account for over half (52.7%) of the "European" money fund total, while Euro (EUR) money funds (229) make up 24.1% and Pound Sterling (GBP) funds (206) total 23.2%. We summarize our latest "offshore" money fund statistics and our Money Fund Intelligence International Portfolio Holdings (which went out to subscribers Thursday), below.
Offshore USD MMFs yield 3.66% (7-Day) on average (as of 1/14/26), down 18 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, unchanged 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 29 months ago, but they broke back below 5.0% 18 months ago. They now yield 3.79%, down 15 bps from a month ago, but up from 3.17% on 12/30/22. Sterling yields were 0.01% on 12/31/21.
Crane's January MFI International Portfolio Holdings, with data as of 12/31/25, show that European-domiciled US Dollar MMFs, on average, consist of 30% in Commercial Paper (CP), 16% in Certificates of Deposit (CDs), 24% in Repo, 18% in Treasury securities, 10% in Other securities (primarily Time Deposits) and 2% in Government Agency securities. USD funds have on average 46.6% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 4.5% maturing in 2-7 Days, 10.3% maturing in 8-30 Days, 9.0% maturing in 31-60 Days, 8.4% maturing in 61-90 Days, 14.0% maturing in 91-180 Days and 7.2% maturing beyond 181 Days. USD holdings are affiliated with the following countries: the U.S. (35.9%), Canada (12.4%), France (10.6%), Japan (9.5%), Australia (6.0%), Germany (4.4%), the U.K. (4.2%), the Netherlands (3.6%), Sweden (2.6%) and Finland (2.4%).
The 10 Largest Issuers to "offshore" USD money funds include: the US Treasury with $157.5B (18.5%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp with $36.9B (4.3%), RBC with $29.7B (3.5%), Wells Fargo with $25.9B (3.0%), Toronto-Dominion Bank with $22.4B (2.6%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd with $21.9B (2.6%), Credit Agricole with $21.0B (2.5%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd with $19.0B (2.2%), Nordea Bank with $18.0B (2.1%) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc with $17.7B (2.1%).
Euro MMFs tracked by Crane Data contain, on average 39% in CP, 22% in CDs, 15% in Other (primarily Time Deposits), 19% in Repo, 4% in Treasuries and 1% in Agency securities. EUR funds have on average 33.5% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 13.6% maturing in 2-7 Days, 12.9% maturing in 8-30 Days, 11.9% maturing in 31-60 Days, 8.2% maturing in 61-90 Days, 13.4% maturing in 91-180 Days and 6.5% maturing beyond 181 Days. EUR MMF holdings are affiliated with the following countries: France (27.1%), Japan (11.3%), Canada (9.5%), the U.S. (8.8%), Germany (5.8%), the Netherlands (5.7%), the U.K. (4.7%), Australia (4.7%), Belgium (4.4%) and Finland (3.7%).
The 10 Largest Issuers to "offshore" EUR money funds include: Credit Agricole with E15.6B (5.3%), BNP Paribas with E14.4B (4.9%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp with E9.8B (3.3%), Agence Central de Organismes de Securite Sociale with E9.7B (3.3%), Republic of France with E9.5B (3.2%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd with E8.9B (3.0%), JP Morgan with E8.6B (2.9%), Societe Generale with E8.4B (2.9%), ING Bank with E7.8B (2.7%) and Bank of Nova Scotia with E7.2B (2.5%).
The GBP funds tracked by MFI International contain, on average (as of 12/31/25): 35% in CDs, 21% in CP, 21% in Other (Time Deposits), 18% in Repo, 4% in Treasury and 1% in Agency. Sterling funds have on average 36.2% of their portfolios maturing Overnight, 8.6% maturing in 2-7 Days, 12.7% maturing in 8-30 Days, 15.3% maturing in 31-60 Days, 8.3% maturing in 61-90 Days, 10.3% maturing in 91-180 Days and 8.6% maturing beyond 181 Days. GBP MMF holdings are affiliated with the following countries: France (15.2%), Japan (15.2%), Canada (14.7%), the U.K. (12.4%), Australia (8.3%), the U.S. (7.8%), Singapore (4.0%), Germany (3.5%), the Netherlands (3.2%) and Finland (2.8%).
The 10 Largest Issuers to "offshore" GBP money funds include: UK Treasury with L14.5B (6.4%), RBC with L10.6B (4.7%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd with L9.1B (4.1%), BNP Paribas with L8.5B (3.8%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp with L8.5B (3.8%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank with L7.4B (3.3%), Bank of Nova Scotia with L6.4B (2.9%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd with L6.4B (2.8%), Agence Central de Organismes de Securite Sociale with L6.3B (2.8%) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc with L6.1B (2.7%).
The January issue of our Bond Fund Intelligence, which was sent to subscribers Thursday a.m., features the articles, "Top Stories & Funds of '25: Another Big Year for Bonds," which mentions some highlights and the best-performing funds by category in 2025; and "Worldwide BF Assets Jump to $15.8 Trillion, Led by U.S.," which summarizes the latest statistics on bond fund markets outside the U.S. BFI also recaps the latest Bond Fund News and includes our Crane BFI Indexes, which show that bond fund returns and yields were mixed in December. 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, and join us for our upcoming Bond Fund Symposium, which is March 19-20 in Boston, Mass.)
BFI's lead article states, "After a slow start to the year, bond funds ended up outperforming money funds in 2025, unlike 2024 where the opposite was true. In 2023 they had an ugly start but staged a nice comeback in later months. (This followed a brutal 2022.) Bond assets were up moderately in 2025 after being up in 2024. They rose by $267.8 billion, or 9.4%, to $3.104 trillion, according to our BFI XLS. Bond ETFs rose $252.2B (21.4%) to $1.431 trillion."
It continues, "According to ICI's broader fund asset series, bond funds hit a record $5.5 trillion on 11/30/25, with assets growing $375.6 billion (7,3%) over the past 12 months, after seeing increases of $379B for the same period in 2024. Bond ETFs totaled $2.219 trillion on 11/30/25, up $436.6 billion, or 24.5%, over 12 months."
Our "Worldwide BF Assets" article states, "Bond fund assets worldwide increased in the latest quarter to $15.76 trillion, led higher by four of the five largest markets — the U.S., Luxembourg, Ireland and Brazil, according to the ICI’s '`Worldwide Regulated Open-End Fund Assets and Flows, Third Quarter 2025.' The report says, 'Worldwide regulated open-end fund assets, excluding assets in funds of funds, increased 5.0% to $84.90 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025 <b:>`_… The `Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide regulated open-end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association (IIFA).'"
It continues, "They explain, '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.... Bond fund assets increased by 3.9% to $15.76 trillion in the third quarter. Balanced/mixed fund as sets increased by 4.2% to $8.40 trillion in the third quarter, while money market fund assets increased by 3.5% globally to $12.75 trillion.'"
Our first News brief, "Returns & Yields Mixed in December," states, "Bond fund returns were mostly higher in December and yields were mostly lower. Our BFI Total Index rose 0.18% over 1 month and rose 6.39% over 12 months. (Money funds rose 4.12% over 1-year as measured by our Crane 100 Index.) The BFI 100 increased 0.07% in Dec. and rose 7.13% over 12 mos. Our BFI Conservative Ultra-Short Index was up 0.39% over 1 month and 4.79% for 1-year; Ultra-Shorts rose 0.42% and 4.98%. Short-Term gained 0.35% and 6.07%, and Intm-Term fell 0.06% in Dec. and 7.63% over 12 mos. BFI’s Long-Term Index was down 0.38% and up 7.41%. High Yield returned 0.58% in Dec. and 7.50% over 12 months."
A second News brief, "Morningstar on 'How the Largest Bond Funds Did in 2025.' They write, 'Each of the 10 largest active bond funds beat their category averages in 2025, while six of the 10 largest bond index funds outperformed. PIMCO Total Return Fund and PIMCO Income Fund held the highest category rankings among the largest active bond funds for their 2025 returns. Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF ranked highest among the largest bond index funds for its performance in the intermediate core bond category.'"
Another brief states: "Barron's Says, 'Worries About the Bond Market Are Rising. Don't Sell.' They write, 'Bonds ... remain attractive, even if income-oriented investors should make some adjustments to their portfolios to prepare for the year ahead. This has been a good year for bonds. Every major subcategory, from emerging market and high-yield bonds to Treasuries and bank loans, has generated positive returns.... The Vanguard Short-Term Treasury exchange-traded fund, for instance, had a marginally better year than the Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF <b:>`_…. For investors, that can mean shifting some capital into ETFs like `iShares MBS, Schwab Short-Term Treasury, or Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond.'"
A BFI sidebar, "Mstar on Bond ETF Moment," says, "Morningstar says, 'Bond ETFs Are Having a Moment. Here’s How They Can Benefit Your Portfolio in 2026.' The article explains, 'Bond exchange-traded funds rarely get the attention they deserve. Until recently, most have tracked indexes. They’re less volatile than stocks and often used to fine-tune a portfolio’s overall risk, so it’s easy to write them off as boring.'"
Finally, another sidebar, "FT Looks at Passive vs. Active," says, "The Financial Times asks, 'When it comes to bond funds, which is better: passive or active?' They respond, 'For those retail investors keen to protect their portfolios, there is a retro solution: add more bonds to your portfolio. The simplistic 60/40 equities/bonds strategy may have gone out of fashion ..., but the appetite for bonds in an uncertain world is back in a big way. `The question is, how best to gain access to defensive income investments: through active or passive management? When it comes to stocks, passive inflows now far exceed the amount put into active funds. But ... over the past decade, cumulative flows into active open-ended and exchange traded bond funds (ETFs) have outpaced those of passive funds by roughly a trillion dollars, according to data from Morningstar.'"
The Federal Reserve released its latest quarterly "Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States" statistical survey (a.k.a. "Flow of Funds") recently, and among the 4 tables it includes on money market mutual funds, the Third Quarter 2025 edition shows that Total MMF Assets increased by $293 billion to $7.774 trillion in Q3'25. The Household Sector, by far the largest investor segment with $5.035 trillion, saw the biggest asset increase in Q3, followed by Nonfinancial Corporate Business and Other Financial Business (formerly Funding Corps). The Fed's latest Z.1 numbers, which contain one of the few looks at money fund investor segments available, also showed noticeable increases for the Mutual Funds and Rest of the World categories in Q3 2025.
Households, Nonfinancial Corporate Business, Other Financial Business, Mutual Funds, Rest of the World, Private Pension Funds, Life Insurance Companies, Nonfinancial Noncorporate Business, Exchange-traded funds and State & Local Governments categories saw asset increases in Q3, while Property-Casualty Insurance and State & Local Govt Retirement saw asset decreases last quarter. Over the past 12 months, the Household Sector, Nonfinancial Corporate Business and Other Financial Business categories showed the biggest asset increases.
The Fed's "Table L.206," "Money Market Mutual Fund Shares," shows that total assets increased by $293 billion, or 3.9%, in the third quarter to $7.774 trillion. The largest segment, the Household sector, totals $5.035 trillion, or 64.8% of assets. The Household Sector increased by $186 billion, or 3.8%, in the quarter. Over the past 12 months through Sept. 30, 2025, Household assets were up $635 billion, or 14.4%.
Nonfinancial Corporate Businesses, the second-largest segment according to the Fed's data series, held $1.028 trillion, or 13.2% of the total. Assets here increased by $42 billion in the quarter, or 4.2%, and they've increased by $115 billion, or 12.6%, over the past year. Other Financial Business was the third-largest investor segment with $526 billion, or 6.8% of money fund shares. This category rose $36 billion, or 7.3%, in the latest quarter. Other Financial Business, which we believe includes Securities Lending, has increased by $64 billion, or 13.9%, over the previous 12 months.
The Mutual Funds category was the fourth-largest investor segment with $244 billion, or 3.1%, while the fifth-largest segment, Rest of the World, held $229 billion (2.9%), and the sixth-largest category, Private Pension Funds, held $227 billion (2.9%). Nonfinancial Noncorporate Business held $145 billion (1.9%), Life Insurance Companies held $113 billion (1.5%), State & Local Governments held $88 billion (1.1%), Property-Casualty Insurance held $68 billion (0.9%), Exchange-traded Funds held $44 billion (0.6%), and State & Local Govt Retirement held $28 billion (0.4%) according to the Fed's Z.1 breakout.
The Fed's "Flow of Funds" Table L.121 shows "Money Market Mutual Funds" largely invested in "Security Repurchase Agreements" with $2.772 trillion, or 35.7%, and "Debt Securities," or Credit Market Instruments, with $4.698 trillion, or 60.4% of the total. Debt securities include: Open market paper ($314 billion, or 4.0%; we assume this is CP), Treasury securities ($3.232 trillion, or 41.6%), Agency and GSE-backed securities ($999 billion, or 12.8%), Municipal securities ($140 billion, or 1.8%) and Corporate and foreign bonds ($13 billion, or 0.2%).
Another large MMF position in the Fed's series includes `Time and savings deposits ($261 billion, or 3.4%). Money funds also hold minor positions in Miscellaneous assets ($43 billion, or 0.6%) and Foreign deposits ($0.0 billion). Note: The Fed also lists "Variable Annuity Money Funds," which currently total $50 billion.
During Q3, Debt Securities were up $628 billion. This subtotal included: Open Market Paper (up $1 billion), Treasury Securities (up $618 billion), Agency- and GSE-backed Securities (up $6 billion), Corporate & Foreign Bonds (up $4 billion) and Municipal Securities (down $1 billion). In the third quarter of 2025, Security Repurchase Agreements were down $333 billion, Foreign Deposits were down $800 million, Time & Savings Deposits were down $42 billion, and Miscellaneous Assets were up $41 billion.
Over the 12 months through 9/30/25, Debt Securities were up $810 billion, which included Open Market Paper (up $21B), Treasury Securities (up $573B), Agencies (up $205B), Municipal Securities (up $9B), and Corporate and Foreign Bonds (up $3B). Foreign Deposits fell $3B and Time and Savings Deposits decreased $53B. Securities Repurchase Agreements were up $84B over the year, while Miscellaneous Assets rose $97B.
The L.121 table shows `Stable NAV money market funds with $7,407 billion, or 95.3% of the total (up $270.8B or 3.8% in Q3 and up $915B or 14.1% over 1-year), and Floating NAV money market funds with $367 billion, or 4.7% (up $22.0B or 6.4% in Q3 and up $20B or 5.9% over 1-year). Government money market funds total $6.302 trillion, or 81.1% (up $246.5B or 4.1% in Q3 and up $755.3B or 13.6% over 1-year), `Prime money market funds total $1.329 trillion, or 17.1% (up $46.1B or 3.6% in Q3 and up $171B or 14.8% over 1-year) and Tax-exempt money market funds $143B, or 1.8% (up $0.3B or 0.2% in Q3 and up $9B or 6.4% last year).
Note that the Federal Reserve made some changes to its Z.1 tables several years ago. Describing a "Money market funds sector data source change," the report says, "The money market mutual funds (MMF) sector (tables F.121 and L.121) has been revised beginning 2010:Q4 to reflect a change in data source to Securities and Exchange Commission Form NMFP. The level of assets and shares outstanding of the sector have increased due to the inclusion of private placement MMFs in the source data. Changes in the level due to changes in the data source in 2010:Q4 are recorded as other volume changes in the Financial Accounts."
On "Mutual funds sector holdings of money market funds," Z.1 tells us, "The mutual funds sector (tables F.122 and L.122) has been revised beginning 2010:Q4 to reflect holdings of money market funds not previously reported on the tables. In addition, holdings of repurchase agreements, commercial paper, corporate bonds, and miscellaneous assets have been revised. Additional and revised holdings are estimated using data from Morningstar and Investment Company Institute.... The exchange-traded funds sector (tables F.124 and L.124) has been revised beginning 2010:Q4 to reflect holdings of money market funds not previously reported on the tables."
Crane Data's January Money Fund Portfolio Holdings, with data as of Dec. 31, 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 $231.8 billion to $8.119 trillion in December, after increasing $134.3 billion in November, $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 and $84.1 billion in January. Treasuries, the largest portfolio composition segment, increased by $44.8 billion. Repo, the second largest segment, increased $156.0 billion in December. 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 $44.8 billion (1.3%) to $3.509 trillion, or 43.2% of holdings, after increasing $67.4 billion in November, $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 $156.0 billion (5.5%) to $2.982 trillion, or 36.7% of holdings, in December, after increasing $69.5 billion in November, 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 up $22.9 billion, or 2.3%, to $1.006 trillion, or 12.4% of holdings. Agencies decreased $4.0 billion in November, $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 $7.498 trillion, representing 92.3% of all taxable holdings.
Money fund holdings of CP and CDs fell while Other (mainly Time Deposits) rose in December. Commercial Paper (CP) decreased $26.7 billion (-8.7%) to $279.3 billion, or 3.4% of holdings. CP holdings increased $0.6 billion in November, increased $2.0 billion in October, decreased $18.3 billion in September, increased $7.6 billion in August and increased $12.3 billion in July. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) decreased $0.7 billion (-0.4%) to $183.7 billion, or 2.3% of taxable assets. CDs decreased $5.1 billion in November, increased $0.1 billion in October, decreased $16.5 billion in September, increased $3.4 billion in August and increased $1.9 billion in July. Other holdings, primarily Time Deposits, increased $34.5 billion (32.2%) to $142.0 billion, or 1.7% of holdings, after increasing $6.2 billion in November, decreasing $15.8 billion in October, $36.8 billion in September, decreasing $4.4 billion in August and increasing $13.0 billion in July. VRDNs increased to $16.2 billion, or 0.2% of assets. (Note: This total is VRDNs for taxable funds only. We will post our Tax Exempt MMF holdings separately Tuesday around noon.) Prime money fund assets tracked by Crane Data decreased to $1.333 trillion, or 16.4% of taxable money funds' $8.119 trillion total. Among Prime money funds, CDs represent 13.8% (unchanged from 13.8% a month ago), while Commercial Paper accounted for 21.0% (down from 23.0% a month ago). The CP totals are comprised of: Financial Company CP, which makes up 13.3% of total holdings, Asset-Backed CP, which accounts for 6.4%, and Non-Financial Company CP, which makes up 1.3%. Prime funds also hold 0.6% in US Govt Agency Debt, 9.1% in US Treasury Debt, 22.3% in US Treasury Repo, 1.1% in Other Instruments, 7.3% in Non-Negotiable Time Deposits, 10.2% in Other Repo, 13.2% in US Government Agency Repo and 0.9% in VRDNs.
Government money fund portfolios totaled $4.411 trillion (54.3% of all MMF assets), up from $4.314 trillion in November, while Treasury money fund assets totaled another $2.370 trillion (29.2%), up from $2.232 trillion the prior month. Government money fund portfolios were made up of 22.6% US Govt Agency Debt, 16.9% US Government Agency Repo, 35.1% US Treasury Debt, 24.8% in US Treasury Repo, 0.4% in Other Instruments.Treasury money funds were comprised of 77.5% US Treasury Debt and 22.5% in US Treasury Repo. Government and Treasury funds combined now total $6.781 trillion, or 83.5% of all taxable money fund assets.
European-affiliated holdings (including repo) decreased by $92.9 billion in December to $601.7 billion; their share of holdings fell to 7.4% from last month's 8.8%. Eurozone-affiliated holdings decreased to $407.6 billion from last month's $466.3 billion; they account for 5.0% of overall taxable money fund holdings. Asia & Pacific related holdings were up at $326.9 billion (4.0% of the total) from last month's $312.8 billion. Americas related holdings rose to $7.186 trillion from last month's $6.876 trillion; they now represent 88.5% of holdings.
The overall taxable fund Repo totals were made up of: US Treasury Repurchase Agreements (up $141.4 billion, or 7.9%, to $1.924 trillion, or 23.7% of assets); US Government Agency Repurchase Agreements (up $22.5 billion, or 2.5%, to $922.2 billion, or 11.4% of total holdings), and Other Repurchase Agreements (down $7.9 billion, or -5.5%, to $136.2 billion, or 1.7% of holdings). The Commercial Paper totals were comprised of Financial Company Commercial Paper (down $16.3 billion to $177.4 billion, or 2.2% of assets), Asset-Backed Commercial Paper (down $4.2 billion to $84.7 billion, or 1.0%), and Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper (down $6.2 billion to $17.2 billion, or 0.2%).
The 20 largest Issuers to taxable money market funds as of Dec. 31, 2025, include: the US Treasury ($3.509T, 43.2%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($1.272T, 15.7%), Federal Home Loan Bank ($676.7B, 8.3%), JP Morgan ($265.4B, 3.3%), RBC ($236.9B, 2.9%), Federal Farm Credit Bank ($200.4B, 2.5%), Wells Fargo ($167.8B, 2.1%), BNP Paribas ($149.7B, 1.8%), Citi ($149.5B, 1.8%), Bank of America ($94.6B, 1.2%), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp ($84.2B, 1.0%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($78.9B, 1.0%), Barclays PLC ($78.7B, 1.0%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($72.6B, 0.9%), Credit Agricole ($72.5B, 0.9%), Goldman Sachs ($69.8B, 0.9%), Toronto-Dominion Bank ($65.2B, 0.8%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($58.8B, 0.7%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($58.1B, 0.7%) and Bank of Montreal ($56.8B, 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 ($1.249T, 41.9%), JP Morgan ($252.3B, 8.5%), RBC ($187.9B, 6.3%), Wells Fargo ($165.6B, 5.6%), BNP Paribas ($143.3B, 4.8%), Citi ($142.5B, 4.8%), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ($72.6B, 2.4%), Goldman Sachs ($67.6B, 2.3%), Bank of America ($66.1B, 2.2%) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($63.8B, 2.1%).
The largest users of the $72.6 billion in Fed RRP include: Fidelity Cash Central Fund ($14.1B), Fidelity Sec Lending Cash Central Fund ($9.1B), First American Govt Oblg ($6.8B), JPMorgan US Govt MM ($5.0B), T Rowe Price Govt Reserve Fund ($5.0B), Goldman Sachs FS Treas Sol ($3.7B), UBS Select Treasury Fund ($2.7B), Allspring Govt MM ($2.4B), UBS Prime Fund ($2.4B) and First American Treas Oblg ($2.0B).
The 10 largest issuers of "credit" -- CDs, CP and Other securities (including Time Deposits and Notes) combined -- include: RBC ($49.1B, 9.1%), Toronto-Dominion Bank ($43.4B, 8.0%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($28.5B, 5.3%), Bank of America ($28.4B, 5.3%), Fixed Income Clearing Corp ($23.3B, 4.3%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($23.1B, 4.3%), Bank of Montreal ($19.8B, 3.7%), Barclays PLC ($19.6B, 3.6%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank ($19.0B, 3.5%) and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ($17.1B, 3.2%).
The 10 largest CD issuers include: Toronto-Dominion Bank ($17.2B, 9.4%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($14.9B, 8.1%), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank ($14.6B, 8.0%), Bank of America ($14.0B, 7.6%), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd ($13.7B, 7.5%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp ($12.3B, 6.7%), Credit Agricole ($10.3B, 5.6%), Barclays PLC ($10.2B, 5.6%), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ($7.9B, 4.3%) and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation ($7.6B, 4.2%).
The 10 largest CP issuers (we include affiliated ABCP programs) include: RBC ($30.5B, 11.7%), Toronto-Dominion Bank ($22.7B, 8.7%), Bank of Montreal ($13.3B, 5.1%), JP Morgan ($13.2B, 5.1%), National Bank of Canada ($9.6B, 3.7%), Bank of Nova Scotia ($9.4B, 3.6%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc ($8.0B, 3.1%), Barclays PLC ($7.5B, 2.9%), Bank of America ($7.0B, 2.7%) and BPCE SA ($6.8B, 2.6%).
The largest increases among Issuers include: Fixed Income Clearing Corp (up $125.8B to $1.272T), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (up $65.8B to $72.6B), the US Treasury (up $44.8B to $3.509T), RBC (up $12.0B to $236.9B), JP Morgan (up $11.7B to $265.4B), the Federal Home Loan Bank (up $10.4B to $676.7B), the Federal Farm Credit Bank (up $8.7B to $200.4B), Northern Trust (up $8.5B to $15.8B), Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd (up $8.3B to $49.0B) and Bank of Nova Scotia (up $8.1B to $32.7B).
The largest decreases among Issuers of money market securities (including Repo) in December were shown by: Barclays PLC (down $28.8B to $78.7B), ING Bank (down $16.3B to $12.4B), Societe Generale (down $12.6B to $41.8B), Deutsche Bank AG (down $8.8B to $19.2B), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (down $8.6B to $10.9B), Credit Agricole (down $7.1B to $72.5B), BNY Mellon (down $6.4B to $17.7B), ABN Amro Bank (down $5.0B to $7.5B), Nomura (down $3.4B to $17.0B) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (down $3.3B to $58.8B).
The United States remained the largest segment of country-affiliations; it represents 82.8% of holdings, or $6.720 trillion. Canada (5.7%, $466.1B) was in second place, while France (3.8%, $312.1B) ranked third. Japan (3.1%, $255.0B) occupied fourth place. The United Kingdom (2.0%, $158.2B) remained in fifth place. Australia (0.6%, $50.8B) was sixth, followed by Spain (0.4%, $35.7B), Germany (0.4%, $33.3B), Netherlands (0.3%, $25.2B), and Sweden (0.2%, $17.4B). (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 Dec. 31, 2025, Taxable money funds held 46.6% (up from 45.2%) of their assets in securities maturing Overnight, and another 9.1% maturing in 2-7 days (down from 10.3%). Thus, 55.7% in total matures in 1-7 days. Another 10.5% matures in 8-30 days, while 10.5% matures in 31-60 days. Note that over three-quarters, or 76.7% 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 7.3% of taxable securities, while 11.6% matures in 91-180 days, and just 4.4% matures beyond 181 days.
Crane Data's latest monthly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics will be sent out Monday, and we'll be writing our regular monthly update on the new December data for Tuesday'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 Friday. (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 December 31, includes holdings information from 987 money funds (down 1 from last month), representing assets of $8.298 trillion (up from $8.056 trillion a month ago). Prime MMFs rose to $1.229 trillion (down slightly from $1.229 trillion), or 14.8% 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 $21.6 billion (annualized) in December.
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 $3.515 trillion (up from $3.470 trillion), or 42.4% of all assets, while Repo holdings rose to $2.992 trillion (up from $2.833 trillion), or 36.1% of all holdings. Government Agency securities total $1.011 trillion (up from $988.7 billion), or 12.2%. Holdings of Treasuries, Government agencies and Repo (almost all of which is backed by Treasuries and agencies) combined total $7.518 trillion, or a massive 90.6% of all holdings.
The Other category (primarily Time Deposits) totals $109.6 billion (down from $117.1 billion), or 1.3%, and Commercial Paper (CP) totals $318.5 billion (up from $316.6 billion), or 3.8% of all holdings. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) total $196.8 billion (up from $184.2 billion), 2.4%, and VRDNs account for $155.0 billion (up from $147.2 billion), or 1.9% of money fund securities.
Broken out into the SEC's more detailed categories, the CP totals were comprised of: $200.1 billion, or 2.4%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $88.6 billion, or 1.1%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and $29.7 billion, or 0.4%, in Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals were made up of: U.S. Treasury Repo ($1.949 trillion, or 23.5%), U.S. Govt Agency Repo ($900.5 billion, or 10.9%) and Other Repo ($143.4 billion, or 1.7%).
The N-MFP Holdings summary for the Prime Money Market Funds shows: CP holdings of $278.1 billion (up from $275.5 billion), or 22.6%; Repo holdings of $566.2 billion (down from $571.1 billion), or 46.1%; Treasury holdings of $122.9 billion (down from $124.6 billion), or 10.0%; CD holdings of $171.7 billion (up from $161.4 billion), or 14.0%; Other (primarily Time Deposits) holdings of $71.5 billion (down from $77.9 billion), or 5.8%; Government Agency holdings of $7.5 billion (down from $7.7 billion), or 0.6%; and VRDN holdings of $11.5 billion (up from $11.0 billion), or 0.9%.
The SEC's more detailed categories show CP in Prime MMFs made up of: $182.8 billion (up from $175.4 billion), or 14.9%, in Financial Company Commercial Paper; $76.4 billion (down from $78.0 billion), or 6.2%, in Asset Backed Commercial Paper; and $18.8 billion (down from $22.1 billion), or 1.5%, in Non-Financial Company Commercial Paper. The Repo totals include: U.S. Treasury Repo ($274.4 billion, or 22.3%), U.S. Govt Agency Repo ($166.5 billion, or 13.5%), and Other Repo ($125.3 billion, or 10.2%).
In related news, money fund charged expense ratios (Exp%) were mostly flat in December. Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index and Crane Money Fund Average were 0.27% and 0.37%, respectively, as of December 31, 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 Friday 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% unchanged from last month's level (also 19 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 December 31, 2025, unchanged from the month prior and slightly below the 0.40% at year-end 2019.
Crane Data's latest monthly Money Fund Market Share rankings show assets sharply higher among the largest U.S. money fund complexes in December, after also jumping in November. Assets have increased in 17 of the past 18 months (only April 2025 saw declines). Money market fund assets rose by $123.5 billion, or 1.5%, last month to a record $8.111 trillion. Total MMF assets have increased by $398.8 billion, or 5.2%, over the past 3 months, and they've increased by $930.2 billion, or 13.0%, over the past 12 months. The largest increases among the 25 largest managers last month were seen by JPMorgan, Fidelity, BlackRock, Federated Hermes and Morgan Stanley, which grew assets by $40.7 billion, $36.1B, $28.4B, $16.1B and $14.3B, respectively. Declines in December were seen by American Funds, Vanguard, Allspring, PGIM and Columbia, which decreased by $31.5 billion, $7.5B, $6.8B, $1.6B and $876M, 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 December.
Over the past year through Dec. 31, 2025, Fidelity (up $206.4B, or 14.1%), JPMorgan (up $135.6B, or 17.7%), BlackRock (up $100.4B, or 16.3%), Schwab (up $97.7B, or 16.4%) and Vanguard (up $88.0B, or 13.7%) were the largest gainers. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, BlackRock and Morgan Stanley had the largest asset increases over the past 3 months, rising by $72.6B, $53.9B, $52.9B, $50.2B and $46.7B, respectively. The largest decline over 12 months was seen by: Columbia (down $921M). The largest declines over 3 months included: American Funds (down $25.0B), Western (down $2.6B), Allspring (down $1.3B), Invesco (down $1.1B) and RBC (down $849M).
Our latest domestic U.S. Money Fund Family Rankings show that Fidelity Investments remains the largest money fund manager with $1.673 trillion, or 20.6% of all assets. Fidelity was up $36.1B in December, up $52.9B over 3 mos., and up $206.4B over 12 months. JPMorgan ranked second with $900.5 billion, or 11.1% market share (up $40.7B, up $72.6B and up $135.6B for the past 1-month, 3-mos. and 12-mos., respectively). Vanguard ranked in third place with $732.7 billion, or 9.0% of assets (down $7.5B, up $21.3B and up $88.0B). BlackRock ranked fourth with $715.9 billion, or 8.8% market share (up $28.4B, up $50.2B and up $100.4B), while Schwab was the fifth largest MMF manager with $694.3 billion, or 8.6% of assets (up $8.7B, up $27.7B and up $97.7B for the past 1-month, 3-mos. and 12-mos.).
Federated Hermes was in sixth place with $525.5 billion, or 6.5% (up $16.1B, up $19.8B and up $45.3B), while Goldman Sachs was in seventh place with $478.2 billion, or 5.9% of assets (up $3.9B, up $53.9B and up $14.6B). BNY Dreyfus ($342.0B, or 4.2%) was in eighth place (up $1.4B, up $16.4B and up $51.3B), followed by Morgan Stanley ($324.6B, or 4.0%; up $14.3B, up $46.7B and up $17.5B). SSIM was in 10th place ($303.6B, or 3.7%; up $6.3B, up $39.5B and up $52.1B).
The 11th through 20th-largest U.S. money fund managers (in order) include: Allspring ($229.5B, or 2.8%), Northern ($196.2B, or 2.4%), First American ($186.9B, or 2.3%), Invesco ($154.9B, or 1.9%), American Funds ($134.8B, or 1.7%), UBS ($124.1B, or 1.5%), HSBC ($53.7B, or 0.7%), T Rowe Price ($52.6B, or 0.6%), DWS ($39.6B, or 0.5%) and Western ($37.9B, or 0.5%). 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 ($1.696 trillion), JP Morgan ($1.186 trillion), BlackRock ($1.078 trillion), Vanguard ($732.7B) and Schwab ($694.3B). Goldman Sachs ($646.9B) was in sixth, Federated Hermes ($538.5B) was seventh, followed by Morgan Stanley ($435.2B), Dreyfus/BNY ($404.8B) and SSIM ($352.8B), 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 January issue of our Money Fund Intelligence and MFI XLS, with data as of 12/31/25, shows that yields were down in December across all the Crane Money Fund Indexes. The Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds covered by Crane Data (currently 727), was 3.48% (down 18 bps) for the 7-Day Yield (annualized, net) Average, the 30-Day Yield was down 15 bps to 3.52%. The MFA's Gross 7-Day Yield was at 3.85% (down 18 bps), and the Gross 30-Day Yield was down 15 bps at 3.89%. (Gross yields will be revised once we download the SEC's Form N-MFP data for 12/31/25 on Friday.)
Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index shows an average 7-Day (Net) Yield of 3.58% (down 19 bps) and an average 30-Day Yield at 3.62% (down 16 bps). The Crane 100 shows a Gross 7-Day Yield of 3.85% (down 19 bps), and a Gross 30-Day Yield of 3.89% (down 16 bps). Our Prime Institutional MF Index (7-day) yielded 3.69% (down 20 bps) as of December 31. The Crane Govt Inst Index was at 3.59% (down 20 bps) and the Treasury Inst Index was at 3.54% (down 18 bps). Thus, the spread between Prime funds and Treasury funds is 15 basis points, and the spread between Prime funds and Govt funds is 10 basis points. The Crane Prime Retail Index yielded 3.47% (down 18 bp), while the Govt Retail Index was 3.31% (down 16 bps), the Treasury Retail Index was 3.31% (down 17 bps from the month prior). The Crane Tax Exempt MF Index yielded 2.67% (up 23 bps) at the end of December.
Gross 7-Day Yields for these indexes to end December were: Prime Inst 3.92% (down 20 bps), Govt Inst 3.84% (down 20 bps), Treasury Inst 3.83% (down 18 bps), Prime Retail 3.96% (down 18 bps), Govt Retail 3.85% (down 17 bps) and Treasury Retail 3.83% (down 17 bps). The Crane Tax Exempt Index rose to 3.06% (up 23 bps). The Crane 100 MF Index returned on average 0.31% over 1-month, 0.96% over 3-months, 4.12% YTD, 4.11% over the past 1-year, 4.68% over 3-years annualized), 3.08% over 5-years, and 2.02% over 10-years.
The total number of funds, including taxable and tax-exempt, was up 5 in December at 838. There are currently 727 taxable funds, up 5 from the previous month, and 111 tax-exempt money funds (unchanged from last month). (Contact us if you'd like to see our latest MFI XLS, Crane Indexes or Market Share report.)
The January issue of our flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter, which was sent to subscribers Thursday morning, features the articles: "Yields Drop to 3.6%; Assets Break Through $8.1 Trillion," which discusses the decline in yields but continued jump in assets; "ICI: Worldwide MMFs Jump in Q3'25 to $12.7T; China $2T," which looks at the latest MMF statistics outside the U.S.; and "Top Money Funds of 2025; 17th Annual MFI Awards," which reviews the best performing MMFs of 2025. We also sent out our MFI XLS spreadsheet Thursday a.m., and we've updated our Money Fund Wisdom database with 12/31/25 data. Our January Money Fund Portfolio Holdings are scheduled to ship on Monday, Jan. 12, and our January Bond Fund Intelligence is scheduled to go out on Thursday, Jan. 15.
MFI's "Yields Drop to 3.6%" story says, "Money market mutual fund assets jumped by another $123.5 billion in December to a record $8.116 trillion, according to our monthly MFI XLS. In 2025, assets rose by $932.6 billion, or 13.0%. Assets have continued higher in January month-to-date, rising by $56.6B to a record $8.165 trillion (as of 1/6/26).
The story continues, "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."
We write in the "ICI: Worldwide," story, "The Investment Company Institute's 'Worldwide Regulated Open-Fund Assets and Flows, Third Quarter 2025' shows that money fund assets globally rose by $430.2 billion, or 3.5%, in Q3'25 to a record $12.745 trillion. 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 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."
It adds, "ICI's release says, 'Worldwide regulated open-end fund assets, excluding assets in funds of funds, increased 5.0% 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.'"
Our "Top Money Funds of 2025" article says, "This issue recognizes the top performing money funds, ranked by total returns, for calendar year 2025, as well as the top funds for the past 5‐year and 10‐year periods. We present the funds below with our annual Money Fund Intelligence Awards. These are given to the No. 1‐ranked funds based on 1‐year, 5‐year and 10‐year returns, through Dec. 31, 2025, in each of our major fund categories -- Prime Institutional, Government Institutional, Treasury Institutional, Prime Retail, Government Retail, Treasury Retail and Tax‐Exempt."
It continues, "The Top-Performing Prime Inst fund (and fund overall) was BlackRock Cash Inst MMF SL (BISXX), which returned 4.46%. Among Prime Retail money funds, Morgan Stanley Inst Liq MMP Wealth (MWMXX) had the best return in 2025 (4.37%). (Our Crane 100 Money Fund Index returned 4.11% in 2025.)
MFI also includes the News brief, "Fed Cuts Funds Target to 3.5-3.75%." It says, "As expected, the Federal Reserve's FOMC cut interest rates by a quarter percent to a range of 3.5-3.75% on Dec. 10. See the release, 'Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement.'"
Another News brief, "Boston Fed Paper Examines Vulnerabilities of MM ETFs, Tokenized MMFs," comments, "The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston published, 'A Framework for Understanding the Vulnerabilities of New Money-Like Products.' It says, '[T]he recent emergence of new types of non-bank money-like products, such as stablecoins, tokenized money market funds (MMFs), and money market exchange-traded funds (MMETFs), could be transformative for finance.... [L]ike other money-like assets, such as uninsured deposits and MMFs, the new products can be susceptible to costly, disruptive runs and thus contribute to financial system vulnerabilities.'"
A third News brief, "JPM Treasury MM ETF Live," says: "A release, 'J.P. Morgan Asset Management Unveils New JPMorgan 100% U.S. Treasury Securities Money Market ETF (JMMF),' states, 'J.P. Morgan Asset Management ... announced the launch of the JPMorgan 100% U.S. Treasury Securities Money Market ETF (JMMF) on the NYSE Arca. JMMF is designed to offer investors current income, easy access to their funds, and low volatility of principal, while also providing the convenience and transparency of an ETF. As demand for active ETFs continues to grow, investors are seeking more strategies across asset classes that offer greater transparency and ... flexibility.'"
A sidebar, "JPMAM Tokenized MMF Live," says, "A release titled, 'J.P. Morgan Asset Management Launches Its First Tokenized Money Market Fund.' states, 'JPMAM ... 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 ... 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.'"
Our January MFI XLS, with December 31 data, shows total assets rose $123.5 billion to a record high $8.116 trillion, after increasing $129.3 billion in November, $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 and $47.9 billion last January.
Our broad Crane Money Fund Average 7-Day Yield was down 20 bps at 3.48%, and our Crane 100 Money Fund Index (the 100 largest taxable funds) was down 20 bps at 3.58% in December. On a Gross Yield Basis (7-Day) (before expenses are taken out), the Crane MFA and the Crane 100 averaged 3.85% and 3.85%. Charged Expenses averaged 0.37% and 0.27% for the Crane MFA and the Crane 100. (We'll revise expenses once we upload the SEC's Form N-MFP data for 12/31/25 on Friday, 1/9.) The average WAM (weighted average maturity) for the Crane MFA was 38 days (unchanged) and the Crane 100 WAM was unchanged from the previous month at 40 days. (See our Crane Index or craneindexes.xlsx history file for more on our averages.)
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston posted a research paper, "A Framework for Understanding the Vulnerabilities of New Money-Like Products." It states, "Money and money-like assets are central components of our financial system and economy. As such, the recent emergence of new types of nonbank money-like products, such as stablecoins, tokenized money market funds (MMFs), and money market exchange-traded funds (MMETFs), could be transformative for finance. These nonbank products may offer significant potential benefits, such as enhanced liquidity and higher returns for investors as well as reduced costs for a wide range of transactions, from everyday consumer purchases to large international deals. At the same time, like other money-like assets, such as uninsured deposits and MMFs, the new products can be susceptible to costly, disruptive runs and thus contribute to financial system vulnerabilities."
It explains, "In this paper, we introduce a general framework for analyzing the vulnerabilities in novel money-like products. Our framework builds on the well-documented vulnerabilities in an older nonbank innovation with wide-ranging benefits and well-understood risks -- MMFs -- and the features that contribute to MMF vulnerabilities. To illustrate the utility of the framework, we focus on three promising novel money-like products and examine the extent to which each: (1) engages in liquidity transformation, or the conversion of illiquid assets into liquid liabilities; (2) is subject to threshold effects, which are sharp discontinuities in investors' expected payoffs amid stress; (3) serves as a private money-like asset, that is, the degree to which it has 'moneyness' because it is perceived as safe and liquid; (4) poses contagion risks because problems in one product trigger runs on similar products; and (5) has a base of reactive investors who are more prone to run during periods of stress."
The paper tells us, "These features include structural attributes that arise directly from the core business model of a product or the legal framework that governs it, as well as other features reflecting how a product is perceived and used. Structural features, such as liquidity transformation and threshold effects, are unlikely to change significantly without changes to laws or rules. Non structural features that reflect how a product is used or perceived are more malleable, more likely to evolve, and thus more difficult to predict. Notably, MMF vulnerabilities stem from the presence of combinations of these features, so a novel product with just one or two of them may not be particularly susceptible to runs."
It continues, "Because our framework builds on the literature on MMF vulnerabilities, it is best suited for study of potential vulnerabilities arising from store-of-value functions of money-like products, that is, from their role as cash-like investments. Money-like products may also provide payment functions that facilitate transactions. Although the features we discuss would be less relevant for a product purely used for payments, in practice a product employed at very large scale would probably also have a significant store-of-value function for some users."
The Boston Fed piece says, "As reported in Table 1, using this framework, we find that features that contribute to vulnerabilities are present to varying extents in U.S. MMETFs, tokenized MMFs, and stablecoins. For example, although MMETFs may have the flexibility to redeem largely in-kind (which would reduce liquidity transformation), they currently redeem mostly or exclusively in cash, so their liquidity transformation is similar to that of MMFs. Threshold effects in MMETFs are smaller than those in MMFs, largely because ETFs use market pricing, which also probably diminishes their money-like status relative to most MMFs. MMETFs can increase contagion effects if ETF price discounts signal that MMF investors should redeem their shares. Finally, the reactivity of the MMETF investor base is probably less than that of MMFs because ETFs' fluctuating market prices are unlikely to attract institutional investors that can hold stable-NAV government MMFs."
It states, "We illustrate our framework by focusing on U.S. MMETFs, tokenized MMFs, and stablecoins because these products may grow rapidly in scale and scope and be offered to a wide range of investors, from households to large financial institutions. Some other money-like products, such as specialized investment funds that offer cash-management options for a narrow set of investors -- notably, tokenized private funds -- could be analyzed using the framework we offer in this paper. However, to demonstrate the utility of our framework, we limit our examination to instruments that are more widely available and may have meaningful potential effects on aggregate financial vulnerabilities."
The paper adds, "To be sure, the new products we examine are still evolving rapidly, and their nascency limits our ability to foresee the full range of possible uses and how they might affect financial stability. In particular, the structural features of these products may change if laws, regulations, or business models are altered, while non-structural features are likely to shift as products become more familiar in the marketplace, and both types of changes could affect our assessments of vulnerabilities considerably. Yet, even as products' features vary, the framework itself remains useful: By comparing the new products' features to those of MMFs, which have vulnerabilities that are extensively documented in both the academic and official-sector literatures, we can learn much about how new products may contribute to financial vulnerabilities as they evolve."
Finally, the piece explains, "Moreover, the analysis provides some key insights into what to watch for as products develop. For example, a pivotal issue for MMETFs is whether they can continue to redeem in cash, and a key issue for tokenized MMFs is whether transferring the token can effect a transfer of the underlying MMF, which would make this product more money-like. Section 2 of this paper provides a brief introduction to each of the novel products we examine. Section 3 describes our framework for assessing how these products may contribute to financial vulnerabilities. Section 4 analyzes each product using our framework. Section 5 concludes."
In other news, Federated Hermes' Deborah Cunningham writes in her monthly commentary on "Maintaining Momentum." She tells us, "The last few years have been remarkable for stable value investments. Even as the Federal Reserve has pivoted to easing rates, assets in liquidity products have marched steadily upward. Depending on your sources, which all calculate it differently, total industry money market fund assets hit record highs in 2025. How investors view money funds this year will probably be influenced by recency bias."
She comments, "With the Fed's latest Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) indicating at least one 25 basis-point cut in 2026, yields are likely to slide. Behavioral economics posits that some investors will focus on the decline, despite the likelihood that yields across the industry will remain attractive. We expect most investors, however, will remain happy with money funds even if the terminal fed funds rate rests in the lower 3% area, as the SEP dot plot forecasts. Total assets might decline, but if they do, it should be gradual."
Cunningham adds, "The adoption of tokenized money funds and the progress toward stablecoin shares that began last year should expand in 2026. It is an exciting time for the industry as digitalization is increasing investor opportunities and indicating that liquidity products can be attractive no matter the wrapper."
Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) increased by 1 bp to 3.58% on average during the week ended Friday, January 2 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after decreasing 1 bp the week prior. Fund yields should inch lower in coming days as they digest the last of the Fed's Dec. 10 25 bps rate cut. Yields were 3.58% on 12/31/25, 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, 4.14% 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 3.48%, up 1 bp in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were up 3 bps at 3.69% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were up 2 bps at 3.59%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 3.52%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.30%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.29% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.49%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down 36 bps to 2.40%.
Money market mutual fund assets surged by $42.5 billion on Friday (1/2), hitting a new record high of $8.151 trillion after breaking the $8.1 trillion barrier for the first time ever on 12/26, according to our Money Fund Intelligence Daily. Assets have risen $47.1 billion in the week through Friday and they've jumped by $42.5 billion in January month-to-date (through 1/2). MMF assets increased by $126.3 billion in December, $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, and $52.8 billion last January.
Weighted average maturities were at 38 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 (1/2), 151 money funds (out of 789 total) yield under 3.0% with $197.3 billion in assets, or 2.4%; 638 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($7.954 trillion, or 97.6%); and now zero funds yield over 4.0%.
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 two weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of January 2, shows no changes over the past week. Four 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, Morgan Stanley and Schwab.
In related brokerage sweep news, a notice titled, "FINRA Orders American Portfolios Financial Services to Pay $4.6 Million in Restitution for Overcollection of Fees, Retention of Surplus Interest," tells us, "FINRA has ordered American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS) to pay $4.6 million in restitution to customers impacted by the firm's inaccurate representation of how it calculated its fees and its retention of undisclosed, surplus interest. The fees and surplus interest were earned from customers' funds in the firm's bank deposit program between April 2018 and September 2022. The firm was also fined $550,000 for the violations."
FINRA continues, "Bank deposit programs allow broker-dealers to automatically transfer customers' uninvested cash balances from their brokerage accounts into interest-bearing, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured bank accounts. These programs are designed to help customers earn interest on cash that might otherwise sit idle. During the period at issue, APFS enrolled approximately 85,000 customers in its bank deposit program."
They explain, "From April 2018 through September 2022, APFS provided customers with inaccurate disclosures about how it calculated per-account fees for customers enrolled in its bank deposit program. Rather than using a formula tied to the Federal Funds Target rate, as stated in the disclosures, APFS first determined customer yields based on factors such as the rates paid by its competitors and retained the remaining interest paid by the participating banks, less other administrative fees, as its fee. Over the entire relevant period, APFS collected more than $3 million in aggregate fees beyond what the disclosed formula would have yielded."
The release states, "APFS also did not disclose that it retained surplus interest—totaling approximately $1.25 million -- when interest rate changes created excess proceeds. Finally, APFS incorrectly credited the retained excess administrative fees and surplus interest as revenue in its net capital calculation, resulting in the firm filing inaccurate monthly reports with FINRA."
Bill St. Louis, Executive VP and Head of FINRA Enforcement, comments, "While bank deposit programs may offer useful features to customers, it is important for firms to ensure compliance with a range of relevant FINRA and SEC rules. Firms must ensure accuracy in customer communications, including how fees are calculated and what interest customers will earn. When firms fail in that obligation -- whether through inaccurate formulas, undisclosed interest retention or inadequate supervisory controls -- customers can suffer real financial harm, as demonstrated by the substantial restitution required in this case."
FINRA adds, "From April 2018 to May 2023, APFS lacked a system reasonably designed to supervise the bank deposit program. APFS had no supervisory system, including written procedures, to ensure that the customer disclosures accurately communicated all material information about the bank deposit program or that the firm calculated its fees in accordance with disclosures sent to its customers."
Finally, the release says, "APFS was acquired by Osaic Holdings, Inc. in November 2022, and was merged into Osaic Wealth, Inc. in October 2024. The fine imposed in this matter reflects that Osaic provided substantial assistance to FINRA in calculating the appropriate restitution, that APFS disclosed the underpayments to FINRA in October 2022, at which time it began applying the disclosed formula to calculate its fee, and that Osaic began paying restitution to affected customers before the settlement in this matter was finalized. In settling this matter, APFS consented to the entry of FINRA's findings, without admitting or denying the charges."
For more, see Investment News' article, "FINRA orders Osaic-owned firm to repay millions after cash sweep fee failures," and see these Crane Data News stories on Brokerage Sweeps actions: "BNY to Manage OpenEden Tokenized $TBILL Fund; Schwab Sweeps Sued" (8/18/25), "Weekly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings; Barron's: SEC Done w/MS Sweeps" (5/21/25), "MMF Assets Plunge on Tax Outflows; ignites on Brokerage Sweep Suits" (4/21/25), "Weekly Portfolio Holdings; Inv News on Pershing Cash Grab; Osaic Suit" (2/20/25), "MMF Assets Plunge on Tax Outflows; ignites on Brokerage Sweep Suits" (4/21/25), "WSJ: SEC, Brokerage Sweeps Settle" (1/21/25), "Schwab Latest Firm Sued Over Sweeps; BlackRock's Small: MMFs Stickier" (12/12/24), "Wells Quiet on Sweeps on Q3 Call" (10/18/24), "Barron's Writes on Brokerage Sweep Woes; Reuters on Rate Cuts, MMFs" (9/23/24), "Alight Money Fund Liquidates; Bloomberg Law on Brokerage Sweep Suits" (9/19/24), "Sept. MFI: Sticking with Prime Inst; MMFs Hit Record; Sweeps Scrutiny" (9/9/24), "Barron's: JPMorgan Sued on Sweeps" (8/29/24), "More on SEC Sweeps Scrutiny; Inv News on Sweeps, UBS's Earnings Call" (8/20/24), "Law Firm Says Bolster Disclosures, Rates on Sweeps; Crane Index 5.11%" (8/13/24), "Barron's: BofA Cites Risk from Sweeps" (8/8/24), "Central Bank of Ireland on Fund Regulations; Brokerage Sweeps Lawsuits" (8/5/24), "Tradeweb Completes ICD Acquisition; AdvisorHub on Wells Sweep Suit" (8/2/24) and "IN: Ameriprise Sued Over Sweeps" (7/31/24).
Happy New Year! We hope you had a nice Holiday season and break. Crane Data is ramping up preparations for its 2026 conference calendar. We hosted our latest "basic training" Money Fund University event a little over 2 weeks ago, and we're now getting ready for our next show, Bond Fund Symposium, which is March 19-20, 2026, in Boston, Mass. But our focus will soon shift to our big show, Crane's Money Fund Symposium, which will take place June 24-26, 2026 at The Hyatt Regency Jersey City, in Jersey City, NJ. The draft agenda for the largest gathering of money market fund managers and cash investors in the world is now available and registrations are now being taken. Money Fund Symposium attracts money fund managers, marketers and servicers, cash investors, money market securities dealers, issuers, and regulators. We review the MFS preliminary agenda, as well as Crane Data's other 2026 conferences, below.
Our Money Fund Symposium lineup kicks off on Wednesday, June 24 with a "Keynote: Money Funds Stay Hot (& Cool) in '26" featuring George Gatch of J.P. Morgan Asset Management (invited but not confirmed). The rest of the Day 1 Agenda includes: "World Cup of MMF Markets: Ireland vs. France" with Laurie Brignac of Invesco and Alastair Sewell of Aviva Investors & Chair, IMMFA; "Repo Developments: RRP, FICC & Platforms," with Dina Marchioni of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and, a "Major Money Fund Issues 2026" panel with moderator Peter Crane of Crane Data, Deborah Cunningham of Federated Hermes, Kevin Gaffney of Fidelity Investments and John Tobin, of Dreyfus. The evening's reception is sponsored by J.P. Morgan.
Day 2 of Money Fund Symposium 2026 begins with "State of the Money Market Fund Industry," with Peter Crane of Crane Data; followed by a "Senior Portfolio Manager Perspectives" panel with moderator Robert Callagy of Moody's Ratings, Doris Grillo of J.P. Morgan Asset Mgmt, Rob Sabatino of UBS A.M. and Nafis Smith of Vanguard. Next up is "Treasury & Government Money Fund Issues," with Mike Bird of Allspring Global Investments and Geoff Gibbs of DWS Group. The morning concludes with a "Muni & Tax Exempt Money Fund Update," featuring John Vetter of Fidelity, Cameron Ullyatt of Schwab Asset Mgmt and David Elmquist of J.P. Morgan Securities.
The Afternoon of Day 2 (after a Dreyfus-sponsored lunch) features the segments: "Dealer's Choice: Supply, New Securities & CP" with moderator Dan LaRocco of Northern Trust, Robe Crowe of Citi Global Markets, John Kodweis of J.P. Morgan Securities and Stewart Cutler of Barclays; "Treasury Clearing Issues, Impact on Repo, T-Bills" with Laura Klimpel of DTCC, Nathaniel Wuerffel of BNY and Tom Katzenbach of the US Dept of Treasury; "Money Market & Ultra-Short ETFs" with Bob Cousart of BlackRock, Jon-Luc Dupuy of K&L Gates LLP and Michael Masih of S&P Global Ratings; and "Stablecoin Reserves & Tokenized Money Funds" with Adam Ackermann of Paxos, Brenden Carroll of Dechert LLP and Teresa Ho of J.P. Morgan Securities (The Day 2 reception is sponsored by Barclays.)
The third day of the Symposium features the sessions: "Strategists Speak '26: Rates, More Repo, Supply" with Sam Earl of Barclays, Gennadiy Goldberg of TD Securities and Ian Lyngen of BMO Capital Markets; "Ultra-Shorts, LGIPs, SMAs & Alt-Cash Options" with Peter Gargiulo of Fitch Ratings, Marty Margolis of Public Funds Investment Institute and Jeffrey Rowe of PFM Asset Management; "Investors, Portals & Distribution Topics" with Justin Brimfield of Tradeweb's ICD Portal and Vanessa McMichael of Wells Fargo Securities; and, "Money Fund Statistics, Technology & News" with Peter Crane.
Visit the Money Fund Symposium website at www.cranesmfsymposium.com for more details. Registration is $1,000, and discounted hotel reservations are available. We hope you'll join us in Jersey City this June! Note that some of our speakers have yet to confirm their participation, and the agenda is still in the process of being finalized, so watch for tweaks in coming weeks. E-mail us at info@cranedata.com to request the full brochure.
We're also making plans for our ninth annual ultra-short bond fund event, Bond Fund Symposium, which will take place March 19-20, 2026 in Boston, Mass. at the Hyatt Regency. Crane's Bond Fund Symposium offers a concentrated and affordable educational experience, as well as an excellent networking venue, for bond fund and fixed-income professionals. Registrations are now being accepted ($1,000) and sponsorship opportunities are available. See the latest agenda here and details here.
Portfolio managers, analysts, investors, issuers, service providers, and anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of bond funds and fixed-income investing will benefit from our comprehensive program. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hyatt Regency Boston. We'd like to thank our past sponsors and exhibitors -- Northern Trust, Fitch Ratings, Fidelity Investments, Capitolis, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Allspring Global, UBS Asset Management, Bloomberg Intelligence, Federated, GLMX, Payden & Rygel, PIMCO and Dechert -- for their support. (We'd love to get some new ones!) E-mail us for more details.
Finally, mark your calendars for our next European Money Fund Symposium, which is scheduled for Sept. 24-25, 2026, in Paris, France, and for our next Crane's Money Fund University, which is scheduled for Greenwich, Conn., Dec. 17-18, 2026. Let us know if you'd like more details on any of our events, and we hope to see you in Boston in March, in Jersey City in June, in Paris in September or in Greenwich in December 2026. Thanks again for your patience and support in 2025 and we look forward to another great year in the money markets in 2026!
The Investment Company Institute's latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets surging higher by $59.9 billion to a record $7.733 trillion after increasing by $7.5 billion the previous week. Assets have risen in 13 of the last 15 weeks and 21 of the past 24 weeks. MMF assets are up by $883 billion, or 12.9%, over the past 52 weeks (through 12/30/25), with Institutional MMFs up $541 billion, or 13.1% and Retail MMFs up $342 billion, or 12.5%. Year-to-date, MMF assets are also up by $883 billion, or 12.9%, with Institutional MMFs up $541 billion, or 13.1% and Retail MMFs up $342 billion, or 12.5%. (Note: Happy New Year from Crane Data! Thanks for your readership and support in 2025 and best of luck in 2026!)
ICI's weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $59.91 billion to $7.73 trillion for the week ended Tuesday, December 30, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $63.13 billion and prime funds decreased by $4.99 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds increased by $1.76 billion." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs increasing $50.8 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $9.1 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $6.364 trillion (82.2% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $1.219 trillion (15.9%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $150.3 billion (1.9%).
It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $9.14 billion to $3.08 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $6.58 billion to $1.94 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $980 million to $996.66 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $1.57 billion to $137.81 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 increased by $50.77 billion to $4.66 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $56.55 billion to $4.42 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $5.97 billion to $222.06 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $186 million to $12.44 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 $130.6 billion to a record $8.113 trillion month-to-date in December (as of 12/30). 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, Kiplinger's writes on "Where to Stash Cash as Yields Fall, According to Advisers." They tell us, "The Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts during the fall are having a ripple effect across most consumer savings rates. The federal funds rate -- the rate banks use to borrow and lend to one another -- recently dropped to a target range of 3.75% to 4%, the lowest level in about three years. And the consensus among economists is that rates will continue to fall modestly in 2026, perhaps by another half a percentage point or so by year-end."
The piece says, "The result for savers: The days of easily earning 5% or more on cash have passed, financial advisers say. 'Many people were getting used to 4% and 5% yields on short-term money, but this is quickly drifting down, to as low as 2% to 3% in some cases,' says certified financial planner Todd Calamita, president of Calamita Wealth Management in Charlotte, N.C. 'Complacency can cost people thousands of dollars if they don't keep a watchful eye on the interest their accounts are paying.'"
It continues, "Today's lower savings rates, though, are still higher than cash yields have been for much of the past 15 years -- 1% or less was common during the period between the Great Recession and the pandemic -- and, on average, they continue to outpace inflation. So you can still earn a solid real return if you shop around."
Kiplinger's comments, "If you want fuss-free, nearly instant access to your cash, your best bet is a high-yield savings account or a money market deposit account. Many banks and credit unions are paying about 3.5% on these federally insured accounts now, while some online banks are promoting rates of 4% or better."
They add, "Sold by mutual fund and investment companies, money market funds invest in high-quality short-term Treasury bills and municipal and corporate debt. While they're not backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., they aim to maintain a stable net asset value of $1 per share."
