Crane 100 MF Index Dips to 3.94%
Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) declined by 1 bp to 3.94% on average during the week ended Friday, October 3 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after falling 8 bps the week prior. Fund yields should continue to inch lower in the coming weeks as they finish digesting the Fed's Sept. 17 25 bps cut. They've declined by 112 bps since the Fed first cut in the Fed funds target rate by 50 bps on Sept. 18, 2024, and they've declined by 69 bps since the Fed cut rates by 1/4 point on 11/7/24. Yields were 3.94% on 9/30, 4.11% on 8/31, 4.12% on 7/31, 4.13% on 6/30, 4.10% on 5/31, 4.13% on 4/30/25, 4.14% on 3/31/25 and 4.28% on average on 12/31/24. MMFs averaged 4.75% on 9/30/24, 5.10% on 6/28/24, 5.14% on 3/31/24 and 5.20% on 12/31/23. The broader Crane Money Fund Average, which includes all taxable funds tracked by Crane Data (currently 676), shows a 7-day yield of 3.84%, down 1 bp in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were unchanged at 4.05% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were unchanged at 3.95%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 1 bps at 3.88%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.65%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.65% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.84%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were up 7 bps to 2.51%. Assets of money market funds rose by $18.4 billion last week to $7.749 trillion, according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. MMF assets hit a record high of $7.763 trillion on October 2. Month-to-date in October (through 10/2), MMF assets have increased $41.0 billion, after increasing by $105.2 trillion in September, $132.0 billion in August, $63.7 billion in July, $6.7 billion in June, $100.9 billion in May, decreasing $24.4 billion in April, increasing by $2.8 billion in March, $94.2 billion in February, $52.8 billion in January, $110.9 billion in December, $200.5 billion in November, and $97.5 billion last October. Weighted average maturities were at 41 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 (10/3), 113 money funds (out of 787 total) yield under 3.0% with $140.9 billion in assets, or 1.8%; 463 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($3.416 trillion, or 44.1%), 211 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($4.191 trillion, or 54.1%) and following the recent rate cut there continue 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 down 3 bps at 0.36%, after falling 1 bp two weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of October 3, shows one change over the past week. Ameriprise lowered rates for all accounts of $1K to $249K to 0.10% and for accounts of $250K to $999K to 0.25%. 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.
