- Money fund
Money funds (or "money market funds", "money market mutual funds") are
mutual fund s that invest inshort-term debt instruments.Explanation
Money market funds, also known as principal stability funds, seek to limit exposure to losses due to credit, market, and
liquidity risk s.Clarifyme|date=October 2008 Money market funds in theUnited States are regulated by theSecurities and Exchange Commission 's (SEC)Investment Company Act of 1940 . Rule 2a-7 of the act restricts investments in money market funds by quality, maturity and diversity. Under this act, a money fund mainly buys the highest rated debt which matures in under 13 months. The portfolio must maintain aWeighted Average Maturity (WAM) of 90 days or less and not invest more than 5% in any one issuer, except for government andrepurchase agreement securities.Eligible money market securities include
commercial paper ,repurchase agreements , short-term bonds or other money funds. Money market securities must be highly liquid, and have a stable value.Breaking the buck
Money market funds seek a stable $1.00
net asset value (NAV): they aim never to lose money. If a fund's NAV drops below $1.00, one says that the fund "broke the buck".This has rarely happened: as of
September 16 ,2008 , two money funds have broken the buck (in the 37 year history of money funds), and from1971 toSeptember 15 ,2008 , there was only one failure.The Community Bankers US Government Fund broke the buck in
1994 , paying investors 96 cents per share. This was the first failure in the then 23 year history of money funds, and there were no further failures for 14 years. The fund had invested a large percentage of its assets into adjustable rate securities. As interest rates increased, these floating rate securities lost value. This fund was an institutional money fund, not a retail money fund, thus individuals were not directly affected.No further failures occurred until September 2008, a month that saw tumultuous events for money funds.
September 2008
The week of
September 15 ,2008 toSeptember 19 ,2008 was very turbulent for money funds, and a key part of financial markets seizing up.cite news
url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122186683086958875.html
title=Bailout of Money Funds Seems to Stanch Outflow: Fear That Had Gripped $3.4 Trillion Market Abates, Ending the Reluctance of Funds to Buy Vital Commercial Paper
first=Diya
last=Gullapalli
coauthors=Shefali Anand
date=2008-09-20
accessdate=2008-09-21]Events
On Monday,
September 15 ,Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed forbankruptcy .On Tuesday,
September 16 ,Reserve Primary Fund , the oldest money fund, broke the buck when its share fell to 97 cents after writing off debt issued by Lehman Brothers. [citeweb
url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5O2y1go1GRU
title=Reserve Primary Money Fund Falls Below $1 a Share
accessdate=2008-09-16
author=Christopher Condon
date=2008-09-16
publisher=Bloomberg]On the same day, BNY
Institutional Cash Reserves , which was not a money fund, but a securities lending fund run byBNY Mellon , also broke the buck – its NAV fell to 99.1.cents – also due to Lehman holdings. [citeweb
url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLCm3FmG9zX4
title=BNY Mellon, Reserve Primary Rattle Fund Investors
accessdate=2008-09-20
author=Matthew Keenan and Christopher Condon
date=2008-09-18
publisher=Bloomberg]The resulting investor anxiety almost caused a
run on the bank for money funds, as investors redeemed their holdings and funds were forced to liquidate assets or impose limits on redemptions: through Wednesday, institutional funds saw net outflows of $173 billion, to $2.17 trillion, a withdrawal of over 7%.cite web
url=http://www.ici.org/stats/mf/mm_09_18_08.html
title=Money Market Mutual Fund Assets: September 18, 2008
accessdate=2008-09-20] cite news
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/business/20moneys.html?em
title=Treasury to Guarantee Money Market Funds
publisher=The New York Times
date=2008-09-19
accessdate=2008-09-20
first=Diana B.
last=Henriques] Retail funds saw net inflows of $4 billion, for a net outflow from all funds of $169 billion, to $3.4 trillion (5%). The lack of retail outflows is attributedFact|date=September 2008 to the lag required for individuals to open a new account to transfer their funds out, and retail funds expected significant withdrawals the following week.Fact|date=September 2008On Thursday,
September 18 ,Putnam Investments ’Putnam Prime Money Market Fund , a $12.3 institutional fund, announced that it was liquidating, due to redemptions.In response, on Friday,
September 19 , theUnited States Treasury announced an optional program to "insure the holdings of any publicly offered eligible money market mutual fund — both retail and institutional — that pays a fee to participate in the program." The insurance will guarantee that if a covered fund breaks the buck, it will be restored to $1 NAV. [cite web
url=http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/hp1147.htm
title=Treasury Announces Guaranty Program for Money Market Funds
publisher=Treasury Department
date=2008-09-19
accessdate=2008-09-20] This program is similar to theFDIC ,cite news
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/business/20fund.html
title=Rescue Plan for Funds Will Come at a Cost
publisher=The New York Times
date=2008-09-19
accessdate=2008-09-21
first=Diana B.
last=Henriques] in that it insures deposit-like holdings, and seeks to prevent runs on the bank. The guarantee is backed by assets of the Treasury Department'sExchange Stabilization Fund up to a maximum of $50 billion.The program immediately stabilized the system and stanched the outflows, and drew criticism from banking organizations, including the
Independent Community Bankers of America andAmerican Bankers Association , who expected funds to drain out of bank deposits and into newly insured money funds, as these latter would combine higher yields with insurance.Analysis
The crisis almost developed into a run on the
shadow banking system : the redemptions caused a drop in demand forcommercial paper , preventing companies fromrolling over their short-term debt, potentially causing an acuteliquidity crisis : if companies cannot issue new debt to repay maturing debt, and do not have cash on hand to pay it back, they will default on their obligations, and may have to file forbankruptcy . Thus there was concern that the run could cause extensive bankruptcies, a debtdeflation spiral, and serious damage to thereal economy , as in theGreat Depression .Fact|date=September 2008The drop in demand resulted in a "buyers strike", as money funds could not (because of redemptions) or would not (because of fear of redemptions) buy commercial paper, driving yields up dramatically: from around 2% the previous week to 8%, and funds put their money in Treasuries, driving their yields close to 0%.
This is a bank run in the sense that there is a mismatch in maturities, and thus a money fund is a "virtual bank": the assets of money funds, while short term, nonetheless typically have maturities of several months, while investors can request redemption at any time, without waiting for obligations to come due. Thus if there is a sudden demand for redemptions, the assets may be liquidated in a
fire sale , depressing their sale price.An earlier crisis occurred in 2007–2008, where the demand for
Asset Backed Commercial Paper dropped, causing the collapse of someStructured Investment Vehicle s.Similar investments
Money market accounts
Banks in the United States offer savings and money market deposit accounts, but these shouldn't be confused with money market mutual funds. These bank accounts offer higher yields than traditional
passbook savings account s, but often with higher minimum balance requirements and limited transactions. A money market account may refer to a money market mutual fund, a bank money market deposit account (MMDA) or a brokerage sweep free credit balance.Enhanced cash funds
Enhanced cash funds are
bond fund s similar to money market funds, in that they aim to provide liquidity and principal preservation, but which:cite web
url=http://www.pimco.com/LeftNav/Bond+Basics/2006/Short+Term+Basics.htm
title=Investing Cash: Money Market and Enhanced Cash Strategies
date=April 2006
work=Bond Basics
accessdate=2008-09-22]
* invest in a wider variety of assets, and do not meet the restrictions of SEC Rule 2a-7;
* aim for higher returns;
* have less liquidity;
* do not aim as strongly for stable NAV.Enhanced cash funds will typically invest some of their portfolio in the same assets as money market funds, but others in riskier, higher yielding, less liquid assets such as:
* lower rated bonds;
* longer maturity;
* foreign currency denominated debt;
*Asset Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP);cite web
url=http://www.pimco.com/LeftNav/PIMCO+Spotlight/2008/Spotlight+Sept+2008+Reisz+Money+Market.htm
work=Spotlight
date=September 2008
title=Paul Reisz Discusses Cash Investing and the Impact of Recent Market Events
first=Paul W.
last=Reisz]
* Mortgage-backed securities (MBSs);cite news
url=http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/institutions-pull-600-million-loss-stricken/story.aspx?guid=%7B50F1A128%2D4D2E%2D4244%2DA9BF%2DF07C5F4C7DBD%7D
title=Institutions pull $600 mln from loss-stricken GE fund
first=Christopher
last=Hinton
publisher=MarketWatch
date=2007-11-15
accessdate=2009-09-22]
*Structured Investment Vehicle s (SIVs).In general, the NAV will stay close to $1, but is expected to fluctuate above and below, and will break the buck more often. [cite news
url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bank-america-shutting-12-billion/story.aspx?guid=%7BF95A43CE-78D1-4F35-867C-3CCF31863757%7D
title=Bank of America shutting $12 billion cash fund: Cash withdrawals halted; investor redemptions paid 'in kind'
first=Alistair
last= Barr
publisher=MarketWatch
date=2007-12-10
accessdate=2009-09-22] Different managers place different emphases on risk versus return in enhanced cash – some consider preservation of principal as paramount, and thus take few risks, while others see these as more bond-like, and an opportunity to increase yield without necessarily preserving principal. These are typically available only to institutional investors, not retail investors.The purpose of enhanced cash funds is not to replace money markets, but to fit in the continuum between cash and bonds – to provide a higher yielding investment for more permanent cash. That is, within one's
asset allocation , one has a continuum between cash and long-term investments:
* cash – most liquid and least risky, but low yielding;
* money markets / cash equivalents;
* enhanced cash;
* long-term bonds and other non-cash long-term investments – least liquid and most risky, but highest yielding.Enhanced cash funds were developed due to low spreads in traditional cash equivalents.
There are also funds which are billed as "money market funds", but are not 2a-7 funds (do not meet the requirements of the rule). In addition to 2a-7 eligible securities, these funds invest in
Eurodollar s and repos (repurchase agreement s), which are similarly liquid and stable to 2a-7 eligible securities, but are not allowed under the regulations.History
In 1971,
Bruce R. Bent established the first money market fund in the U.S. [http://www.ther.com/ The Reserve Fund] was offered to investors who were interested in preserving their cash and earning a small rate of return.Outside of the U.S., the first money market fund was set up in 1968 and was designed for small investors. The fund was called [http://www.capital-flow-analysis.info/investment-tutorial/case_1k.html Conta Garantia] and was created by John Oswin Schroy. The fund's investments included low denominations of commercial paper.
Statistics
The
Investment Company Institute reports statistics on money funds weekly as part of its [http://www.ici.org/stats/mf/index.html Mutual Fund Statistics] , as part of its [http://www.ici.org/stats/latest/index.html industry statistics] , including total assets and net flows, both for institutional and retail funds. It also provides annual reports in the [http://www.icifactbook.org/ ICI Fact Book] .As of
September 17 ,2008 , almost 2,000 money funds are in operation,Fact|date=September 2008 with totalassets of over US$3.4 trillion.Types of money funds
Institutional money fund
Institutional money funds are high minimum investment, low expense share classes which are marketed to corporations, governments, or fiduciaries. They are often set up so that money is swept to them overnight from a company's main operating accounts. Large national chains often have many accounts with banks all across the country, but electronically pull a majority of funds on deposit with them to a concentrated money market fund.
The largest institutional money fund is the JPMorgan Prime Money Market Fund, with over US$100 billion in assets. Among the largest companies offering institutional money funds are BlackRock, Federated, Columbia (Bank of America), Dreyfus, AIM and Evergreen (Wachovia).
Retail money funds
Retail money funds are offered primarily to individuals with moderate-sized accounts. Their primary use is as temporary holding funds at stock brokerage firms. Retail money market funds hold roughly 40% of all money market fund assets.
Retail money funds invest in
short-term debt , such as US Treasury bills andcommercial paper , come in a few different breeds:government-only funds ,non-government funds andtax-free funds . Yields are typically somewhat higher than insavings accounts .Fact|date=September 2008 Investors will obtain a slightly higher yield in the non-government variety, whose principal holdings are high-quality commercial paper and other instruments. Instruments of the United States Government are usually exempt from state income taxes, and their returns are lower as a result.The largest money market mutual fund is Fidelity Investments' Cash Reserves (Nasdaq:FDRXX), with assets exceeding US$110 billion. The largest retail money fund providers include: Fidelity, Vanguard (Nasdaq:VMMXX), and Schwab (Nasdaq:SWVXX).
ee also
*
Money market
*Money supply
*Sweep account References
Recommended reading
* [http://www.treasury-management.com/articles.php?pubid=4&issueid=20 Money Market Fund Publication]
External links
* [http://www.imoneynet.com iMoneyNet - leading provider of money market fund data since 1975]
* [http://www.cranedata.us Crane Data and Money Fund Intelligence - news, yields, and basics about money market funds and cash investing]
* [http://www.thestreet.com/funds/deardagen/752732.html TheStreet.com: Dear Dagen: Where Can I Park My Money for Nine Months?]
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