Ignites on UBS Sweep Changes
On Thursday, fund news source ignites published the article "UBS Eliminates Money Funds for Most Sweeps," which says, "Investors at UBS can no longer use the wirehouse's money market funds as their sweep option, according to a recent regulatory disclosure. UBS discontinued its money market funds as a sweep option effective Nov. 18, according to regulatory disclosures filed this week. Fund shares were sold last month, and their proceeds were deposited at UBS Bank, the firm's bank affiliate, one brochure states. Two money market funds used by the sweep program, the UBS RMA Government Money Market Fund and the UBS Liquid Assets Government Fund, both saw significant outflows the day the change took effect. The RMA Fund bled $4.3 billion that day, while the Liquid Assets Fund lost $1.3 billion, according to daily flow data posted on the UBS website." The piece explains, "With UBS's switch, now nearly every brokerage defaults to a bank deposit option for its sweep program, says Peter Crane, CEO of Crane Data. Edward Jones removed its money market fund as a sweep option for new brokerage accounts in February, following similar moves by Charles Schwab, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley." The ignites article quotes our Peter Crane, "Brokerages, for a couple years now, have been focused on getting rid of [legacy money fund assets] and moving as much as they can into bank deposits, which are much more profitable for them.... It's pretty clear, the brokerages keep shoveling money into the banks, but investors keep moving it back into money market funds."
