Link of The Day
PFII Says LGIPs Nearly $1 Trillion
The Public Funds Investment Institute posted a brief titled, "2024 LGIP Survey: LGIPs Hold Nearly $1 Trillion of Public Funds." It explains, "This year we expanded our survey to include local sponsored LGIPs. In total we identified 161 portfolios. They operate in all but seven states. The survey is the only comprehensive look at the LGIP industry which invests assets for thousands of public units across the country." The update tells us, "Here are some highlights: LGIPs held $931 billion in state and local government assets at the end of last year. State sponsored programs dominate the industry with assets totaling $691 billion in 32 states. Average portfolio size was $14.7 billion in 47 portfolios." It continues, "Local sponsored LGIPs are smaller, with average size of $2.1 billion, but there are many more of them -- 114 portfolios in our survey. After several years of rapid growth, the path leveled in 2024, with assets of state-sponsored programs growing by 3% over 2023. (We did not survey local sponsored programs in 2023.)" The release says, "Most state sponsored portfolio assets are managed internally, but outside mangers are responsible for nearly 30% of assets. All local sponsored LGIPs have external managers. Stable value portfolios constituted more than 99% of LGIP assets. These seek to provide a constant net asset value just as money market mutual funds do. Some LGIPs also offer longer duration investment portfolios. While there were 28 of these offered, their assets totaled barely $15 billion." The piece adds, "LGIPs compete with money market funds whose assets totaled more than $7 trillion at the end of last year. LGIPs are not subject to most Securities and Exchange Commission rules, and they operate with greater flexibility than registered funds. State sponsored LGIPS operate at low expense ratios. They averaged 5.8 basis points last year, much lower than the average for institutional money market funds. Local sponsored LGIP expense ratios were appreciably higher, averaging 18.2 basis points." Finally, it says, "Disclosure and transparency among LGIPs vary from some whose disclosure follows SEC requirements for money market funds to others that provide little public disclosure of their shareholder and investment activities. The survey results provide state treasurers and trustees of LGIPs with details on how programs operate across the nation. They also provide investors with key information to help them evaluate and monitor LGIPs that they invest in. Download the LGIP Survey Report here"
Crane 100 MF Index Falls to 3.80%
Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) decreased by 10 bps to 3.80% on average during the week ended Friday, November 7 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after falling 2 bps the week prior. Fund yields should continue moving lower in coming days as they digest the remainder of the Fed's Oct. 29 25 bps cut. Yields were 3.90% on 10/31, 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 679), shows a 7-day yield of 3.70%, down 9 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were down 14 bps at 3.89% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 11 bps at 3.82%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 6 bps at 3.75%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.52%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.52% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.70%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were down 19 bps to 2.47%.`Assets of money market funds rose by $35.2 billion last week to $7.885 trillion <b:>`_, according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. MMF assets hit a record high of $7.925 trillion on November 4. Month-to-date in November (through 11/7), MMF assets have increased $35.2 billion, after increasing by $142.1 billion in October, $105.2 billion 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 and $200.5 billion last November. Weighted average maturities were at 39 days for the Crane MFA and 41 days the Crane 100 Money Fund Index. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (11/7), 121 money funds (out of 790 total) yield under 3.0% with $150.6 billion in assets, or 1.9%; 636 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($7.180 trillion, or 91.1%), 33 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($554.6 billion, or 7.0%) 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 2 bps to 0.33%, after falling 1 basis point the week prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of November 7, shows three changes over the past week. Ameriprise Financial Services lowered rates for accounts of $250K to $999K to 0.20% and accounts of $1M to $4.9M to 1.39%. Raymond James lowered rates for accounts of $1K to $249K to 0.05%, accounts of $250K to $499K to 0.10%, accounts of $500K to $999K to 0.12%, accounts of $1M to $4.9M to 1.15% and accounts of $10M or greater to 1.75%. RW Baird lowered rates for accounts of $1K to $999K to 1.05%, accounts of $1M to $1.9M to 1.69% and accounts of $5M or greater to 2.22%. Three of the 10 major brokerages tracked by our BSI offer rates of 0.01% for balances of $100K (and lower tiers). These include: E*Trade, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
FFN on Tokenized MMF Sandbox
FinTech Finance News writes, "Major Banks and Firms Complete Largest Ever Tokenized MMF Sandbox." The article says, "Global Digital Finance (GDF), the leading global digital assets members association, announced the results of a working group reporting on the legal certainty of collateral eligibility and the mobility of Tokenized Money Market Funds (TMMF) in Luxembourg, Ireland, and the UK. Ireland and Luxembourg host more than 80% of the MMFs and cross-border funds in Europe and English law governs the Credit Support Annex (CSA). The report concludes: There is relative legal certainty of TMMFs located in Luxembourg in a digitally native or registered form due to the availability of statutory frameworks to govern such transactions; Longstanding historical legal interaction between Luxembourg and the UK in respect of financial and investment contractual arrangements, including CSAs, also makes this an attractive place to establish a TMMF where the tokens will be posted as collateral under a CSA governed by English law." It adds, "There is not yet express statutory or judicial authority in Ireland specifically addressing tokenized shares or TMMFs. Legal certainty in respect of ownership and treatment of tokenized shares under Irish law therefore requires an analogy to traditional shares and electronic contracts, rather than being directly established. It is reasonable to conclude that Irish courts would treat digitally native TMMF shares in a manner consistent with traditional shares. This alignment reinforces the view that TMMF shares can be accommodated within existing property law principles in Ireland, supporting their recognition and enforceability under Irish legal standards. Where an MMF is tokenized using a digitally native TMMF and is located in the UK, there is a low degree of legal uncertainty concerning the legal treatment of ownership and a similarly low level of uncertainty concerning the replication of rights for market participants between the traditional MMF and a digitally native TMMF.... Over 70 firms participated in the working group including S&P, Federated Hermes, R3, JP Morgan, Ownera, Finastra, Lloyds Banking Group, Hogan Lovells, LSEG, Archax, Blackrock, State Street, ISDA, EY, Commerzbank, Fireblocks, Northern Trust, Apex Group, Franklin Templeton, and Goldman Sachs." Sharon Lewis, Lead Partner for Future of Finance and Co-Chair of Digital Asset & Blockchain Practice, Hogan Lovells, comments, "There is relative legal certainty of TMMFs located in Luxembourg in a digitally native or registered form, where both Ireland and the UK have a low degree of uncertainty as the courts are likely to treat digitally native TMMF shares in a manner consistent with traditional shares. The cross discipline collaboration involved in this work has been outstanding and it is a credit to the industry participants."
The Investment Company Institute's latest weekly "Money Market Fund Assets" report shows money fund assets surging by $116.4 billion and breaking above the $7.5 trillion level for the first time to a new record high of $7.535 trillion. Assets have risen in 6 of the last 7 weeks, and 14 of the past 16 weeks. MMFs rose $20.6 billion last week, after increasing $30.4 billion two weeks ago. MMF assets are up by $945 billion, or 14.3%, over the past 52 weeks (through 11/5/25), with Institutional MMFs up $587 billion, or 14.9% and Retail MMFs up $358 billion, or 13.5%. Year-to-date, MMF assets are up by $684 billion, or 10.0%, with Institutional MMFs up $401 billion, or 9.7% and Retail MMFs up $283 billion, or 10.4%. ICI's weekly release says, "Total money market fund assets increased by $116.36 billion to $7.53 trillion for the week ended Wednesday, November 5, the Investment Company Institute reported.... Among taxable money market funds, government funds increased by $111.12 billion and prime funds increased by $2.01 billion. Tax-exempt money market funds increased by $3.22 billion" ICI's stats show Institutional MMFs increasing $102.5 billion and Retail MMFs increasing $13.9 billion in the latest week. Total Government MMF assets, including Treasury funds, were $6.178 trillion (82.0% of all money funds), while Total Prime MMFs were $1.214 trillion (16.1%). Tax Exempt MMFs totaled $142.2 billion (1.9%). It explains, "Assets of retail money market funds increased by $13.88 billion to $3.02 trillion. Among retail funds, government money market fund assets increased by $5.76 billion to $1.90 trillion, prime money market fund assets increased by $5.60 billion to $988.89 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $2.52 billion to $129.55 billion." Retail assets account for 40.1% of the total, and Government Retail assets make up 62.9% of all Retail MMFs. They add, "Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $102.48 billion to $4.52 trillion. Among institutional funds, government money market fund assets increased by $105.36 billion to $4.28 trillion, prime money market fund assets decreased by $3.59 billion to $225.56 billion, and tax-exempt fund assets increased by $707 million to $12.61 billion." Institutional assets accounted for 59.9% of all MMF assets, with Government Institutional assets making up 94.7% of all institutional MMF totals. According to Crane Data's separate Money Fund Intelligence Daily series, money fund assets have increased by $65.0 billion to $7.915 trillion month-to-date in November (as of 11/5). They hit a record high of $7.925 trillion on November 4, but dipped slightly on Wednesday. Assets increased by $142.1 billion in October, $105.2 billion in September and $132.0 billion in August. They rose $63.7 billion in July, $6.7 billion in June and $100.9 billion in May. MMFs fell by $24.4 billion in April, but rose $2.8 trillion in March, $94.2 billion in February and $52.8 billion in January. They jumped $110.9 billion in December, $200.5 billion last November. Note that ICI's asset totals don't include a number of funds tracked by the SEC and Crane Data, so they're almost $400 billion lower than Crane's asset series.
Franklin Tokenised MMF in Hong Kong
"Franklin Templeton introduces tokenised money market fund in Hong Kong," says a brief in the South China Morning Post. It says, "Digital trading in Hong Kong has taken a step forward with the launch of the city's first Luxembourg-registered tokenised money market fund by US asset manager Franklin Templeton.... The Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund, which invests in US government securities and was registered in Luxembourg last year, would be available to institutional and professional investors in Hong Kong who had a minimum of HK$8 million (US$1 million) in assets, according to a statement from Franklin Templeton.... Tokenisation allows investors to own blockchain-based digital representations of various assets, including deposits, bonds, stocks, cryptocurrencies and loyalty points." `Tariq Ahmad, head of Asia-Pacific at Franklin Templeton, comments, "This launch reflects our ongoing commitment to delivering innovative investment solutions that address the needs of modern investors by expanding the accessibility of tokenised products in this dynamic market. Looking ahead, we aim to offer a retail-approved tokenised fund, subject to the Securities and Futures Commission's approval, as part of our broader efforts to democratise access to investment solutions and foster a vibrant digital assets ecosystem in the region." The piece adds, "The new fund is the first Luxembourg-registered tokenised UCITS money market fund issued on a blockchain platform developed by Franklin Templeton, providing investors with the opportunity to invest in high-quality, short-term US government securities. UCITS is a regulatory framework that allows for the cross-border sale of mutual funds among European Union member states. Franklin Templeton has been collaborating with HSBC and OSL Group, operator of Hong Kong's first licensed virtual-asset trading platform, to engage in the HKMA's Project Ensemble since 2024."
Weekly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings
Crane Data published its latest Weekly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings statistics Tuesday, which track a shifting subset of our monthly Portfolio Holdings collection. The most recent cut (with data as of October 31) includes Holdings information from 47 money funds (down 27 from a week ago), or $2.871 trillion (down from $4.836 trillion) of the $7.850 trillion in total money fund assets (or 36.6%) tracked by Crane Data. (Note: Our Weekly MFPH are e-mail only and aren't available on the website. See our latest Monthly Money Fund Portfolio Holdings here and our October 10 News, "Oct. Money Fund Portfolio Holdings: T-Bills Jump Again, Repo Rebounds.") Our latest Weekly MFPH Composition summary shows Government assets dominating the holdings list with Treasuries totaling $1.409 trillion (down from $2.139 trillion a week ago), or 49.1%; Repurchase Agreements (Repo) totaling $965.7 billion (down from $1.492 trillion a week ago), or 33.6%, and Government Agency securities totaling $286.5 billion (down from $390.4 billion a week ago), or 10.0%. Commercial Paper (CP) totaled $104.2 billion (down from $168.9 billion a week ago), or 3.6%. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) totaled $44.4 billion (down from $89.6 billion a week ago), or 1.5%. The Other category accounted for $30.2 billion or 1.1%, while VRDNs accounted for $31.2 billion or 1.1%. The Ten Largest Issuers in our Weekly Holdings product include: the US Treasury with $1.409 trillion, Fixed Income Clearing Corp with $344.2B, the Federal Home Loan Bank with $174.9B, JP Morgan with $74.8B, BNP Paribas with $70.8B, Federal Farm Credit Bank with $69.4B, RBC with $60.9B, Wells Fargo with $57.8B, Citi with $55.9B and Bank of America with $33.3B. The Ten Largest Funds tracked in our latest Weekly include: JPMorgan US Govt MM ($310.7B), JPMorgan 100% US Treas MMkt ($270.9B), Fidelity Inv MM: Govt Port ($265.4B), State Street Inst US Govt ($176.9B), Fidelity Inv MM: MM Port ($165.7B), Morgan Stanley Inst Liq Govt ($161.4B), Dreyfus Govt Cash Mgmt ($157.7B), Allspring Govt MM ($141.2B), First American Govt Oblg ($123.8B) and Fidelity Inv MM: Treas Only ($113.9B). (Let us know if you'd like to see our latest domestic U.S. and/or "offshore" Weekly Portfolio Holdings collection and summary.)
MMF Yields Inch Down to 3.90%
Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) decreased by 2 bps to 3.90% on average during the week ended Friday, October 31 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after falling 1 bp the week prior. Fund yields should move lower in coming days as they digest the Fed's Oct. 29 25 bps cut. They've declined by 116 bps since the Fed first cut in the Fed funds target rate by 50 bps on Sept. 18, 2024, and they've declined by 73 bps since the Fed cut rates by 1/4 point on 11/7/24. Yields were 3.90% on 10/31, 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 3.80%, down 2 bps in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were down 3 bps at 4.03% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were down 2 bps at 3.92%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 3 bps at 3.81%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.58%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.62% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.83%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were up 48 bps to 2.66%.`Assets of money market funds rose by $85.4 billion last week to $7.850 trillion <b:>`_, according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. MMF assets hit a record high of $7.850 trillion on October 31. Month-to-date in October (through 10/31), MMF assets have increased $142.1 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 40 days for the Crane MFA and 41 days the Crane 100 Money Fund Index. According to Monday's Money Fund Intelligence Daily, with data as of Friday (10/31), 104 money funds (out of 787 total) yield under 3.0% with $111.0 billion in assets, or 1.4%; 542 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($4.633 trillion, or 59.0%), 141 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($3.106 trillion, or 39.6%) 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 1 bp at 0.35%, after falling 3 bps four weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of October 31, shows one change over the past week. Fidelity lowered rates for all accounts of $1k to greater than $5 million to 1.94%. 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.
NYT: Why People Are Buying MMFs
The New York Times asks in a new article, "Interest Rates Are Falling. Why Are People Still Buying Money Market Funds?" They write, "Money market funds seem to be defying gravity. They are paying less in interest to investors, but becoming more popular. Given a choice, people usually want more for their money, not less. Yet since the Federal Reserve began pushing short-term interest rates down more than a year ago, investors have been funneling hundreds of billions of additional dollars into these funds." The piece says, "That may seem strange but there are good reasons for it. Thanks to a combination of convenience, good returns, and favorable comparisons with alternatives, money market funds are likely to continue attracting enormous wads of cash, even though the Fed announced on Wednesday that it was lowering short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Big money market funds have been paying more than 4 percent annualized interest, according to Crane Data, an independent financial market research firm. Within the next several weeks, these funds are almost certain to offer about a quarter of a percentage point less. But Peter G. Crane, a founder of Crane Data, is quite confident that their appeal will be undiminished." They quote Crane, "I expect about $100 billion to pour into money market funds each month for the rest of the year.... The funds will probably reach $8 trillion in assets by the end of this calender year up from around $7.8 trillion now." The Times adds, "Basically, it’s because money market funds are still a good deal, even if they are no longer paying more than 5 percent interest, as many of the biggest funds did through much of last year.... In certain periods, money market funds have been an effective stand-in for investment-grade bonds and bond funds, especially if you were looking for a stable and safe place for holding cash. We are living through one of those periods.... The more extreme the stock market's valuations, the more comforting it is to own an ample stash of cash. Still-handsome money market rates make holding cash even sweeter."
Maybank, BNP Launch Tokenized MMF
A story titled, "Maybank Launches Tokenized On-Chain Money Market Fund with Marketnode and BNP Paribas," on Yahoo Finance tells us, "Malaysian multinational bank Maybank and BNP Paribas have teamed up with Singapore based digital market infrastructure firm Marketnode to launch Maybank's Money Market Fund on-chain, marking a major move toward tokenized investment products.... [T]he firms' said the collaboration is a step toward mainstream fund tokenization, improving the accessibility and transparency of traditional investment products. BNP Paribas will serve as the transfer agent, integrating tokenization seamlessly into existing capital markets infrastructure." The article explains, "The initiative matches Singapore's growing role as a global hub for regulated tokenization, particularly in the funds and fixed-income sectors, where financial institutions are actively piloting blockchain-based solutions to unlock liquidity and automate settlement." It quotes Andrew Scott, Head of Digital Assets at Marketnode, "As tokenization accelerates from concept to reality, the industry's infrastructure must evolve just as boldly. By bridging infrastructural gaps and uniting expertise across our partners, we are defining what the next generation of trusted, interoperable markets can look like in Asia." Maybank's Ivan Won, Head of Product & Marketing, adds, "We are excited to collaborate with Marketnode and BNP Paribas to bring our Maybank Money Market Fund on-chain. This enhances modern-day investors' access to our products and reflects our commitment to leverage technology as we venture into a tokenized future -- one that the Singapore financial industry is rapidly embracing."
Sui, Figure Tech Deploy $YLDS Token
A recent SEC filing, includes a press release titled, "Sui Partners with Figure Technology Solutions to Deploy $YLDS on Sui." Subtitled, "Partnership Marks First L1 Blockchain Native Deployment Beyond Provenance Blockchain for Figure Certificate Company (FCC), a subsidiary of Figure Technology Solutions, Inc.," it says, "Figure Technology Solutions, Inc. (FIGR) ... announced a strategic partnership between Sui and Figure Certificate Company (FCC), or 'Figure', a subsidiary of Figure Technology Solutions, Inc. FCC will deploy $YLDS, its SEC-registered yield-bearing security token, natively on the Sui blockchain. The partnership is initially designed to offer yield on DeepBook, Sui's leading limit order book, with further collaboration planned around both $YLDS and SUI." It continues, "`$YLDS is a SEC-registered debt security, which is backed by short-term treasury securities and repurchase agreements involving treasury securities, yielding SOFR minus 35 basis points with daily accrual and monthly payments. The native deployment on Sui will power DeepBook's margin trading. Stablecoins will be automatically swapped into $YLDS, a yield-bearing token that enables both individuals and institutions to access yield-generating digital dollars with instant peer-to-peer transfers and 24/7 liquidity." The update adds, "The native deployment on Sui will initially allow DeepBook users access to $YLDS. $YLDS will convert stablecoin holdings into yield-bearing assets. Holding $YLDS has the secondary benefit of enabling both individuals and institutions to access robust fiat rails and yield-generating digital dollars with instant peer-to-peer transfers and 24/7 liquidity." Mike Cagney, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Figure, comments, "Issuing $YLDS on Sui represents the beginning of a broader initiative to deploy SEC-compliant, yield-bearing security tokens across multiple blockchain networks. We're proud to take this first step with Sui and remove traditional intermediaries in order to level the playing field and democratize access to institutional-grade financial products." Evan Cheng, Co-Founder and CEO of Mysten Labs, the original contributor to Sui, adds, "Bringing $YLDS to Sui marks a significant upgrade for regulated DeFi, where institutions can access compliant and dynamic assets with the speed and security that only Sui can provide. By combining regulated, yield-bearing security tokens with seamless composability, $YLDS further cements Sui as the premier platform for real-world asset adoption and institutional-grade financial infrastructure."
Money Fund University in Pittsburgh
We're ramping up preparations for our upcoming Money Fund University conference, which will be in Pittsburgh, Dec. 18-19. Crane's Money Fund University is designed for those new to the money market fund industry or those in need of a concentrated refresher on the basics. The event also focuses on hot topics like money market fund regulations, money fund alternatives, offshore markets, and other recent industry trends. Our educational conference features a faculty of the money fund industry's top lawyers, strategists, and portfolio managers, and the Pittsburgh show will include our Holiday cocktail party Dec. 18 and a free product training session for Crane Data clients. Money Fund University offers a 2-day crash course on money market mutual funds, educating attendees on the history of money funds, the Fed, interest rates, ratings, rankings, and money market instruments such as commercial paper, Treasury bills, CDs and repo. We also cover portfolio construction and credit analysis. Registrations are $750 and are now being taken, and the latest agenda is available here. (E-mail us to request the latest brochure, and make your hotel reservations here!) New portfolio managers, analysts, investors, issuers, service providers, and anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of "cash" investing should benefit from our comprehensive program. Even experienced professionals may enjoy a refresher course and the opportunity to interact with peers in an informal setting. Exhibit space for Crane's Money Fund University is $2,000, and sponsorship opportunities are $3K (Bronze), $4K (Silver), and $5K (Gold). A block of rooms has been reserved at The Westin Convention Center Pittsburgh Hotel. (Please reserve before 11/18.) We'd like to thank our current and past MFU sponsors -- Federated Hermes, Fitch Ratings, CastleOak Securities, Silicon Valley Bank, BlackRock, TD Securities, Capitolis, Northern Trust, Dechert LLP, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, K&L Gates, Dreyfus, Citi and GLMX -- for their support, and we look forward to seeing you in Pittsburgh in December! E-mail Pete Crane (pete@cranedata.com) for the latest brochure or visit www.moneyfunduniversity.com to register or for more details. Mark your calendars too for our next Bond Fund Symposium, which will be held in Boston, Mass., on March 19-20, 2026. (Click here to see last year's agenda.) Bond Fund Symposium is the only conference devoted entirely to bond mutual funds, bringing together bond fund managers, marketers, and professionals with fixed-income issuers, investors and service providers. The majority of the content is aimed at the growing ultra-short and conservative ultra-short bond fund marketplace. Finally, Crane Data is making preliminary preparations for our next big show, Money Fund Symposium, which is scheduled for June 24-26, 2026 in Jersey City, N.J. The agenda will be released later this fall and registrations will open soon. Let us know if you'd like more details on any of our events, and we hope to see you in Dublin in September, in Pittsburgh in December, in Boston in March 2026 or in Jersey City in June 2026. Thanks to all of our speakers and sponsors and for your support!
MMF Yields Inch Back Down to 3.92%
Money fund yields (7-day, annualized, simple, net) decreased by 1 bp to 3.92% on average during the week ended Friday, October 24 (as measured by our Crane 100 Money Fund Index), after rising 2 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, and they should move lower again if, as expected, the Fed cuts again on October 29. They've declined by 114 bps since the Fed first cut in the Fed funds target rate by 50 bps on Sept. 18, 2024, and they've declined by 71 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 3.82%, unchanged in the week through Friday. Prime Inst money fund yields were unchanged at 4.06% in the latest week. Government Inst MFs were unchanged at 3.94%. Treasury Inst MFs were down 1 bp at 3.84%. Treasury Retail MFs currently yield 3.61%, Government Retail MFs yield 3.65% and Prime Retail MFs yield 3.85%, Tax-exempt MF 7-day yields were up 6 bps to 2.17%. Assets of money market funds rose by $22.4 billion last week to $7.764 trillion, according to Crane Data's Money Fund Intelligence Daily. MMF assets hit a record high of $7.793 trillion on October 21. Month-to-date in October (through 10/24), MMF assets have increased $56.7 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 (10/24), 116 money funds (out of 787 total) yield under 3.0% with $144.5 billion in assets, or 1.9%; 495 funds yield between 3.00% and 3.99% ($3.600 trillion, or 46.4%), 176 funds yield between 4.0% and 4.99% ($4.020 trillion, or 51.8%) 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 unchanged at 0.36%, after falling 3 bps three weeks prior. The latest Brokerage Sweep Intelligence, with data as of October 24, shows no changes over the past week. 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.
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