As we wrap up our Money Fund University in Providence Friday, Crane Data preparing for our eighth annual ultra-short bond fund event, Bond Fund Symposium, which will take place March 27-28, 2025 at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach, Calif. 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 preliminary agenda here and details below. 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. We'd like to thank our past sponsors and exhibitors -- Wells Fargo Securities, Fitch Ratings, Fidelity Investments, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Allspring Global, S&P Global Ratings, StoneX, Invesco, BofA Securities, Northern Trust, Bloomberg Intelligence, Goldman Sachs, Federated, Payden & Rygel, PIMCO and Dechert -- for their support. (We'd also love to get some new ones!) E-mail us for more details. We'll also soon be making plans for our next "big show," Money Fund Symposium, which will be held June 23-25, 2025, at The Renaissance Boston Seaport in Boston. (Let us know if you'd like details on speaking or sponsoring.) Finally, mark your calendars for next year's European Money Fund Symposium, which will be held Sept. 25-26, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. Watch for details on these shows in coming weeks and months.
A press release titled, "Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement" tells us, "Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has made progress toward the Committee's 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated. The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance. The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate." The piece explains, "In support of its goals, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent. In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. The Committee will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage backed securities. The Committee is strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2 percent objective." Finally, the Fed's statement adds, "In assessing the appropriate stance of monetary policy, the Committee will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook. The Committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee's goals. The Committee's assessments will take into account a wide range of information, including readings on labor market conditions, inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and financial and international developments."
Barron's writes, "Brokerage Firms Are Cutting Payouts on Uninvested Cash. What To Do Now." They tell us, "Cash has been king ever since the Fed began hiking rates two years ago, but it’s getting a little harder lately for investors to earn a nice return off idle dollars. That's not just because interest rates have fallen on certain short-term investing and savings products as the Fed cuts its benchmark rate. Investors and advisors also have to keep close tabs on where brokerage firms are putting uninvested cash that is held in so-called sweep accounts. Case in point: Next year, Fidelity Investments will move client cash held in nonretirement brokerage accounts overseen by independent financial advisors into FCash, Fidelity's in-house sweep account. FCash's interest rate was 2.32% as of Nov. 11. That's about two percentage points less than investors could earn in Fidelity's Government Money Market Fund (SPAXX), which was previously available as a default sweep option for advisors." The article explains, "Fidelity's FCash doesn't yield as much as a money-market fund, but it still pays out more than other brokerage firms on cash held in sweep accounts. It's a common practice at many brokerage firms to pay paltry interest rates on cash held in sweep accounts." Barron's adds, "Following recent Fed rate cuts, Charles Schwab lowered the rate it pays on cash in sweep accounts to just 0.1% from 0.48%. The company pays a higher yield of 4.23% in managed accounts, and advisors and investors can choose to move money from sweep accounts to higher-paying options such as money-market funds and certificates of deposit. But, again, the onus is on the advisor or individual investor. The company has previously said it encourages clients to review their cash needs and allocations.... Meager rates paid on sweep accounts have prompted some investors to sue brokerage firms, such as LPL Financial, Morgan Stanley, and Schwab. The lawsuits filed in federal courts generally accuse the companies of breach of fiduciary duty, arguing that the brokerage firms have an obligation to put clients in higher-paying products. The companies deny the allegations, and the cases are ongoing."
Money fund yields declined by 2 basis point to 4.41% on average during the week ended Friday, Dec. 13 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after falling 1 bp the week prior and 1 bp two weeks prior. Yields reflect almost all of the Federal Reserve's 25 basis point cut on November 7, and they should move lower again following the Fed's Dec. 18 meeting (if the Fed cuts as expected). They've declined by 65 bps since the Fed cut its Fed funds target rate by 50 bps percent on Sept. 18 and they've declined by 22 bps since the Fed cut rates by 1/4 point on 11/7. Yields were 4.65% on average on 10/31, 4.75% on 9/30, 5.10% on 8/31, 5.13% on 7/31 and 6/28, 5.14% on 5/31, 5.13% on 4/30, 5.14% on 3/31 and 2/29/24, 5.17% on 1/31/24, and 5.20% on 12/31/23. The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 678), shows a 7-day yield of 4.31%, down 2 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were down 1 bps at 4.53% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 2 bps at 4.42%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 3 bps at 4.34%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.13%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.12%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 4.32%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were up 17 bps to 2.22%. Assets of money market funds fell by $28.1 billion last week to $7.079 trillion, decreasing after seeing a new record high on 12/5 at $7.124 trillion, according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. For the month of December, MMF assets have jumped by $16.0 billion, after increasing by $200.5 billion in November, $97.5 billion in October and $149.8 billion in September. Weighted average maturities were up 1 bp at 37 days for the Crane MFA and up 1 bp at 38 days for the Crane 100 Money Fund Index. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (12/13), 113 money funds (out of 790 total) yield under 3.0% with $137.4 billion in assets, or 1.9%; 84 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($78.7 billion, or 1.1%), 593 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($6.863 trillion, or 96.9%) and following the recent rate cut there continues to be zero funds yielding 5.0% or more. Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.46%, after dropping 2 basis points four weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of Dec. 13, shows that there was one change over the past week. Merrill Lynch lowered rates once again for their advisory accounts; they're now at 4.42% (down 3 bps from the week prior). Three of the 10 major brokerages tracked by our BSI still offer rates of 0.01% for balances of $100K (and lower tiers). These include: E*Trade, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
ICI's 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, tells us, "The Investment Company Institute (ICI) reports that, as of the final Friday in November, prime money market funds held 41.3 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid assets and 58.7 percent in weekly liquid assets, while government money market funds held 77.6 percent of their portfolios in daily liquid assets and 87.7 percent in weekly liquid assets." Prime DLA was unchanged from October, and Prime WLA was down from 60.4%. Govt MMFs' DLA rose from 76.0% and Govt WLA increased from 86.8% the previous month. ICI explains, "At the end of November, prime funds had a weighted average maturity (WAM) of 32 days and a weighted average life (WAL) of 54 days. Average WAMs and WALs are asset-weighted. Government money market funds had a WAM of 39 days and a WAL of 91 days." Prime WAMs were 3 days longer and WALs were unchanged from the previous month. Govt WAMs were 1 day longer and WALs were unchanged from October. Regarding Holdings by Region of Issuer, the release tells us, "Prime money market funds' holdings attributable to the Americas declined from $518.33 billion in October to $514.59 billion in November. Government money market funds' holdings attributable to the Americas rose from $4,880.05 billion in October to $5,061.10 billion in November." The Prime Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas-related holdings at $514.6 billion, or 48.8%; Asia and Pacific at $200.0 billion, or 19.0%; Europe at $316.3 billion, or 30.0%; and, Other (including Supranational) at $23.9 billion, or 2.3%. The Government Money Market Funds by Region of Issuer table shows Americas at $5.061 trillion, or 91.0%; Asia and Pacific at $124.8 billion, or 2.2%; Europe at $353.0 billion, 6.3%, and Other (Including Supranational) at $22.4 billion, or 0.4%.
ICI's latest "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money funds inching lower by $0.4 billion to $6.771 trillion in the latest week, after jumping $95.9 billion to a record $6.771 trillion the previous week. Money fund assets have risen in 14 of the last 19, and 25 of the last 34, weeks, increasing by $467.1 billion (or 7.4%) since the Fed cut on 9/18 and increasing by $793.4 billion (or 13.3%) since April 24. MMF assets are up by $884 billion, or 18.7%, year-to-date in 2024 (through 12/11/24), with Institutional MMFs up $482 billion, or 15.8% and Retail MMFs up $402 billion, or 24.0%. Over the past 52 weeks, money funds have risen by $884 billion, or 15.0%, with Retail MMFs up by $425 billion (18.8%) and Inst MMFs rising by $459 billion (12.7%). ICI's weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets decreased by $451 million to $6.77 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, December 11, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $2.18 billion and prime funds increased by $1.23 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds decreased by $3.86 billion." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs increasing $0.7 billion and Retail MMFs decreasing $1.2 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $5.563 trillion (82.2% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $1.075 trillion (15.9%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $133.3 billion (2.0%). It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds decreased by $1.16 billion to $2.69 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets decreased by $774 million to $1.72 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $2.29 billion to $854.81 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $2.67 billion to $121.72 billion." Retail assets account for over a third of total assets, or 39.8%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.7% of all Retail MMFs. They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $705 million to $4.08 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $2.95 billion to $3.85 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $1.06 billion to $219.82 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets decreased by $1.18 billion to $11.53 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 60.2% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.3% of all institutional MMF totals. According to Crane Data's separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have risen by $47.4 billion in December through 12/11 to $7.110 trillion. On December 5, assets hit an all-time high of $7.124 trillion. But they've inched lower since. Assets rose by $200.5 trillion in November, $97.5 billion in October, $149.8 billion in September, $109.7 billion in August, $16.6 billion in July, $15.7 billion in June and $91.4 billion in May. They declined by $15.8 billion in April and $68.8 billion in March. They rose $72.1 billion in February, $93.9 billion in January and $32.7 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 about $340 billion lower than Crane's asset series.
The website Pymnts writes on "Three Things to Watch as FDIC Tightens Up on FinTech." They tell us, "Several watchdogs and agencies are sharpening their gaze on FinTechs, specifically bank-FinTech relationships and the risks tied to those partnerships. In July, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a request for information on those partnerships and a statement that discussed the risks. 'The statement details the potential risks and provides examples of effective risk management practices for these arrangements,' the agencies said in a press release at the time. 'In addition, the statement reminds banks of relevant existing legal requirements, guidance and related resources, and provides insights that the agencies have gained through their supervision.'" It comments, "Although three agencies were involved in the July action, it may be the FDIC that winds up fundamentally altering the nature of the bank-FinTech interactions, certainly when it comes to how those pacts are forged and how they operate day to day. The Synapse bankruptcy helped set that closer examination in motion." The piece adds, "The FDIC does not regulate FinTechs directly, but it oversees banks, so it has a hand in directing how traditional financial institutions work with digital innovators. It also has the ability to monitor FinTechs and has begun more closely tracking FinTechs that partner with banks, aiming to spot potential problems before they affect banks and track FinTechs as they switch banking partners. Beyond monitoring, actions on the part of the FDIC, including proposed rules, give insight into key regulatory themes. As the expanded list of actions that would be required of the banks indicates, banks will more closely vet those partnerships."
VettaFi writes on "Money Market ETFs: An Opportunity to Attract Mutual Fund Assets." They tell us, "Until recently, only one major sector of the U.S. mutual fund market remained safely untouched. That was the $6.6 trillion money market mutual fund segment (MMF). Two months ago, a team at Texas Capital, led by longtime ETF executive Ed Rosenberg, broke through the barriers and launched the first money market ETF, the Texas Capital Government Money Market Fund (MMKT). Although money market funds are perhaps the most generic and boring investment in the world, $6.6 trillion is a lot of money. Half of MMF assets are held by just 20 funds managed by the biggest investment firms, including BlackRock, Schwab, JPMorgan, and Vanguard, among others. The management fees for just those 20 funds total almost $10 billion annually. Now there is a new competitor to those existing funds." VettaFi explains, "To create a money market ETF, some changes to the mechanics of a traditional MMF had to be made. First, anything trading on an exchange will have a bid/ask spread between buyers and sellers. If the money market ETFs had a $1 NAV, then a penny spread would be equal to 1% cost to buy or sell. This is too high. But if the NAV was $100, a penny would only be a 0.01% spread/cost. Texas Capital went with a $100 NAV, and the bid/ask spread since launch averages 1 to 2 basis points. This is a cost that reduces your overall yield, but it's a very small amount. And since investors in money funds look at dollars, and not number of shares, the share count difference between a $1 NAV and a $100 NAV itself is just math that means nothing." They add, "The second change made to accommodate exchange listing is accounting for interest. Every day, the MMF or money market ETF accumulates interest. With an MMF, the fund managers declare the interest as dividends daily and then pay it out at the end of the month. That way, the accumulating interest does not alter the $1.00 daily NAV. The money market ETF skips the daily declaration and lets the interest slightly increase the NAV every day. At the end of the month, the money market ETF declares the dividend and pays it." See our Crane Data News, "BlackRock Debuts First Euro MM ETF" (12/5/24) , "FT on BlackRock Money Market ETFs" (11/18/24), "BlackRock Files for Money Market ETFs" (11/12/24), and "Texas Capital Launches Govt MM ETF" (9/26/24).
Money fund yields declined by 1 basis point to 4.43% on average during the week ended Friday, Dec. 6 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after falling 1 bp the week prior and 3 bps two weeks prior. Yields reflect most of the Federal Reserve's 25 basis point cut on November 7, but they should inch a little lower ahead of the Fed's Dec. 18 meeting. They've declined by 63 bps since the Fed cut its Fed funds target rate by 50 bps percent on Sept. 18 and they've declined by 20 bps since the Fed cut rates by 1/4 point on 11/7. Yields were 4.65% on average on 10/31, 4.75% on 9/30, 5.10% on 8/31, 5.13% on 7/31 and 6/28, 5.14% on 5/31, 5.13% on 4/30, 5.14% on 3/31 and 2/29/24, 5.17% on 1/31/24, and 5.20% on 12/31/23. The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 672), shows a 7-day yield of 4.33%, down 2 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were down 2 bps at 4.54% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 4.44%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 3 bps at 4.37%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 4.16%, Government Retail MFs yield 4.13%, and Prime Retail MFs yield 4.32%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down 62 bps to 2.04%. Assets of money market funds rose by $44.1 billion last week to $7.107 trillion, decreasing after seeing a new record high the day prior (12/5) at $7.124 trillion, according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. For the month of December, MMF assets have surged by $44.1 billion, after increasing by $200.5 billion in November, $97.5 billion in October and $149.8 billion in September. Weighted average maturities were down 1 bp at 36 days for the Crane MFA and unchanged at 37 days for the Crane 100 Money Fund Index. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (12/6), 115 money funds (out of 786 total) yield under 3.0% with $141.6 billion in assets, or 2.0%; 75 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($52.7 billion, or 0.7%), 596 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($6.913 trillion, or 97.3%) and following the recent rate cut there continues to be zero funds yielding 5.0% or more. Our Brokerage Sweep Intelligence Index, an average of FDIC-insured cash options from major brokerages, was unchanged at 0.46%, after dropping 2 basis points three weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of Dec. 6, shows that there were two changes over the past week. Merrill Lynch lowered rates once again for their advisory accounts; they're now at 4.45% (down 2 bps from the week prior). UBS lowered rates to 0.10% for accounts between $1M and $1.9M and also to 0.25% for accounts between $4M and $9.9M, this week we also added UBS advisory account rates to the report. Three of the 10 major brokerages tracked by our BSI still offer rates of 0.01% for balances of $100K (and lower tiers). These include: `E*Trade, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
A piece on the website Zawya published by Reuters News titled, "Biggest Chinese money market fund's yield nears record low," tells us, "The yield on China's popular Yu'Ebao money market fund has dropped to near record lows, reflecting lower interest rates and anaemic growth, despite efforts to stabilise the economy. Analysts said the yield on the Tianhong Yu'Ebao, which is China's largest with more than 600 million investors, will likely fall further as the country's economy faces fresh headwinds." They quote Rocky Fan, economist at Guolian Securities, "In the medium term, the yield could go down further if China fails to stabilise the economy." The piece says, "The seven-day, annualised yield of Tianhong Yu'Ebao, the $100 billion fund sold via popular payment app Alipay, has dropped to 1.294%, just above the record low hit during the COVID-19 pandemic in November, 2022. Money market funds, which park most of their assets in bank deposits, have been hard hit by recent rounds of reductions in deposit rates, said Ivan Shi, head of research at fund consultancy Z-Ben Advisors, predicting their yields will fall." She tells Reuters, "Fund managers may also be under pressure to lower their fees, now that lower yields have made the cost of holding money market funds relatively higher." The piece adds, "Yu'Ebao was launched in 2013 by Tianhong Asset Management Co, a mutual fund company controlled by Ant Group. Its seven-day yield of less than 1.3% compares with a peak of around 7% a decade ago, and the downward trend could continue. Wang Honglin, professor of the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, suggested China should cut lending rates by around 150 basis points in the face of 'unprecedented challenges facing Chinese exporters' as a trade war looms."
ICI's latest "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money funds jumping $95.9 billion to a record $6.771 trillion in the latest week, after rising $26.8 billion the previous week. Money fund assets have risen in 14 of the last 18, and 25 of the last 33, weeks, increasing by $467.5 billion (or 7.4%) since the Fed cut on 9/18 and increasing by $793.6 billion (or 13.3%) since April 24. MMF assets are up by $885 billion, or 18.7%, year-to-date in 2024 (through 12/4/24), with Institutional MMFs up $481 billion, or 15.7% and Retail MMFs up $403 billion, or 24.0%. Over the past 52 weeks, money funds have risen by $873 billion, or 14.8%, with Retail MMFs up by $429 billion (19.0%) and Inst MMFs rising by $444 billion (12.2%). ICI's weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $95.86 billion to $6.77 trillion for the eight-day period ended Wednesday, December 4, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $89.40 billion and prime funds increased by $5.14 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds increased by $1.31 billion." ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs increasing $74.7 billion and Retail MMFs rising $21.2 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $5.560 trillion (82.1% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $1.073 trillion (15.9%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $137.1 billion (2.0%). It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $21.19 billion to $2.69 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased $14.86 billion to $1.72 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $5.72 billion to $852.53 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $611 million to $124.39 billion." Retail assets account for over a third of total assets, or 39.8%, and Government Retail assets make up 63.7% of all Retail MMFs. They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $74.67 billion to $4.08 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $74.55 billion to $3.84 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $578 million to $220.88 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $700 million to $12.72 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 60.2% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.3% of all institutional MMF totals. According to Crane Data's separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have risen by $53.4 billion in December through 12/4 to $7.116 trillion. The day prior (12/3), assets hit an all-time high of $7.121 trillion. Assets rose by $200.5 trillion in November, $97.5 billion in October, $149.8 billion in September, $109.7 billion in August, $16.6 billion in July, $15.7 billion in June and $91.4 billion in May. They declined by $15.8 billion in April and $68.8 billion in March. They rose $72.1 billion in February, $93.9 billion in January and $32.7 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 about $340 billion lower than Crane's asset series.
The Financial Times published an article titled, "BlackRock launches active short-term money market ETF," which discusses a new European-domiciled Euro-denominated money market ETF. They tell us, "BlackRock has rolled out an actively managed short-term money market exchange traded fund. The iShares € Cash Ucits ETF offers investors 'the quality and liquidity of regulated money market funds within the convenience of the ETF wrapper,' according to the worlds largest asset manager. The product was the first actively managed short-term money market fund regulated ETF in Europe, the company said. It provided access to 'highly rated short-term money market instruments that follow the strict guidelines of European [money market fund] regulation', BlackRock added." They quote Jane Sloan, head of global product solutions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at BlackRock, "Bringing the regulatory guidelines of the [money market fund] to the ETF ecosystem should help a broader range of investors actively manage their cash. The product enables individual investors, such as those using a digital investment platform, to access income using high credit quality securities with no minimum holding periods from as little as €1. The ETF combines the flexibility and access of the ETF wrapper, including continuous pricing and the ability to trade seamlessly throughout the day, with the security of money market fund regulation, delivering a first-to-market solution to investors who want to do more with their money." The FT says, "The ETF has a total expense ratio of 0.1 per cent and will be listed on the Xetra segment of Frankfurt's stock exchange." Beccy Milchem, BlackRock's global head of cash distribution, adds, "Demand for money market funds has surged in the higher rate environment and investors have sought to more actively manage their cash holdings."
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