The December issue of Crane Data's flagship Money Fund Intelligence newsletter predicts that 2009's sharp money fund asset outflows will moderate and come to an end in 2010, and MFI also discusses recent regulatory issues with JPMorgan Asset Management's Robert Deutsch. The 30-page monthly PDF features the articles, "MF Assets Down $500B, But Are Declines Ending?," "Defending the $1 NAV: JPMorgan's Bob Deutsch," and "BlackRock, BGI Merger Shrinks MF Mgr Universe." It also features news, fund performance, and more, and shows the Crane Money Fund Indexes continuing to hit record low yield levels.
MFI writes, "Money fund assets are currently at $3.319 trillion according the Investment Company Institute's weekly totals. They have declined by 13.3% year-to-date, likely making 2009 funds' second worst year in history after 1983's 18.4% decline. But the latest weekly and monthly statistics appear to show the outflows slowing."
Deutsch discusses client concerns, regulatory issues, ultra-low yields, and more in our monthly Q&A. He tells Crane, "This financial crisis has challenged every investor and manager of money funds. It was the most challenging environment we had ever seen, and there are still the unresolved regulatory issues to be addressed. In addition, the challenges for our clients continue."
In November, our Crane Indexes continued drifting lower or remained flat. The Crane 100 saw its 7-day and 30-day yields (as of Nov. 30) fall to 0.07% and 0.08%, respectively, while the broader Crane Money Fund Average fell to 0.04% on both its 7-day and 30-day yields. The Crane Institutional MF Index dipped to 0.06% (7-day annualized) and 0.07% (30-day), while the Crane Retail MF Index remained at a rock-bottom 0.02%. The Crane Tax Exempt MF Index remained at 0.05% for its 7-day and 30-day yield average.
Assets tracked by Crane declined by $49 billion in November, a slower rate of decrease than October's $65 billion or September's sharp $115 billion. To request the full issue of Money Fund Intelligence or our Crane Index benchmarking excerpt, e-mail Pete Crane. Or look for more excerpts from our articles in coming weeks.
