Money Fund Assets Jump $29.5 Billion in Week, August Breaks Record. The latest weekly asset totals from the Investment Company Institute show money market mutual fund assets increasing by $29.51 billion to a record $2.855 trillion. Institutional assets shift into money funds to "ride the lag" following Fed rate cuts, and money fund assets continue to benefit from a massive shift away from lower-yielding and higher-risk alternatives. Money fund assets also posted a record increase in August, gaining $162.5 billion, according to ICI's just-released monthly asset series. Year-to-date through Sept. 26, money fund assets have increased by $473 billion, or 19.9%. Money fund assets YTD in 2007 have already surpassed their previous full-year calendar record asset increase, which was a $440 billion surge in 2001. Over the past 52 weeks money funds have increased by a stunning $638 billion, or 28.8%.