| U.S. MMF ASSETS GROW AGAIN 5/16/2013 |
| Total U.S. money-market mutual fund assets added another $2.93 billion during the week ended May 14, according to Money Fund Report®, a service of iMoneyNet of Westborough, Mass. Assets rose by $6.63 billion the previous week. more |
| USD, EURO PRIME FUND ASSETS FALL, STERLING PRIME FUND ASSETS RISE 5/14/2013 |
| U.S. dollar-denominated Prime money-market funds reported reduced assets of more than $3.0 billion, assets of euro-denominated Prime funds declined by more than €1.0 billion while sterling-based Prime funds posted gains for the week ending 10 May, according to iMoneyNet, an Informa business. more |
| CDs REMAIN NO. 1 PRIME-FUND INVESTMENT CHOICE, VRDNs GAIN IN APRIL 5/13/2013 |
| Preliminary iMoneyNet portfolio holdings data shows that Prime money-market mutual funds reduced exposures during April to certificates of deposit, Treasury debt and asset-backed commercial paper, while pushing up purchases of financial-company and other commercial paper and of variable-rate demand notes. more |
| FEW FLUCTUATIONS SHOWN FOR MARKET-VALUE OR “SHADOW” NAVs 5/9/2013 |
| Daily market-value NAVs reported for the 25 largest master-class shares of taxable money funds were rock steady for the five-week period ended May 3, iMoneyNet data revealed. Only six funds registered any price changes during that period and none moved up or down by more than $0.0001. The MV NAV for Federated Prime Oblig Fund/Instit ranged from $1.0004 to $1.0005 during that time frame; Fidelity Instit Prime MMF/Instit moved up from $1.0003 to $1.0004; Dreyfus Cash Mgmt/Inst, Schwab US Treasury MF, Invesco Liquid Assets Port/Inst, and Schwab Advisor Cash Resvs/PremSwp shifted between $1.0001 and $1.0002. more |
| SEC CHAIRMAN WHITE: “ACTIVE DISCUSSIONS” ON MMF-REFORM PROPOSAL 5/3/2013 |
| In remarks delivered this morning at the 2013 ICI GMM forum in Washington, D.C., SEC chairman Mary Jo White emphasized “the global nature” of financial regulation and the important role the SEC and other U.S. regulators play in international financial markets. more |
| TREASURY FRN PROGRAM ADVANCES 5/1/2013 |
| The U.S. Department of the Treasury revealed May 1 that it will use the weekly High Rate of 13-week Treasury bill auctions for indexing its first auction of Treasury floating-rate notes to occur in either the fourth quarter or first quarter of 2014. A final rule on floating-rate notes is expected in “coming months.” Treasury announced plans last August to develop an FRN program “to complement our existing suite of securities and to help achieve our objective of financing the government at the lowest cost over time.” The index question was resolved following a comment period, though officials said Treasury remains open to studying use of other benchmarks later. more |
| NEW HEIGHTS REACHED BY ULTRASHORT BOND FUNDS 4/29/2013 |
| From Enhanced Cash Report™: U.S. Ultrashort Bond funds accounted for year-end assets of $280.1 billion, a record-high total for that category since iMoneyNet began tracking the enhanced-cash universe in the first quarter of 2005. more |
| U.K. FIRST TO CHALLENGE LEGALITY OF EU TAX 4/23/2013 |
| From Offshore Money Fund Report: When the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association objected to the proposed EU financial-transaction tax, it suggested that its extraterritorial provisions could be challenged in sovereign or international courts. On April 19, the U.K. became the first EU member to follow through on such a challenge, and a new report from the Investment Company Institute may indicate it won’t be the last. more |
| ICMA SAYS FTT AIMS TO “DISMANTLE THE MARKET” 4/10/2013 |
| Excerpted from Offshore Money Fund Report™: While the International Capital Market Association earlier sounded the alarm about the imposition of a financial-transaction tax on repurchase agreements, its 8 April paper cut a much wider swath, claiming that the European Union is intentionally seeking to suppress the practice of financial intermediation and foster “an alternative financial system which largely dispenses with primary dealers, market-makers, broker-dealers and other principal intermediaries.” more |
| PRIME MMFs SHUN FRANCE, GERMANY AND THE U.K. 4/9/2013 |
| Preliminary iMoneyNet portfolio holdings data shows that Prime money-market mutual funds reduced exposure to securities issued by institutions domiciled in France, Germany and the United Kingdom between February and March. Prime MMFs overall, on an amortized-cost basis, reduced exposures to securities of U.S. issuers by $2.87 billion to $493.86 billion from Feb. 28 to March 31. Canadian issuers attracted $204.15 billion to rank second-most, a one-month rise of $11.70 billion or 6.1 percent. more |
| AGREEMENT VOICED AT MMX FOR LIMITED CHANGES TO MMFs – IF ANY 3/25/2013 |
| In the wake of comments by Commissioner Troy Paredes of the Securities and Exchange Commission, several speakers on the program at the recent iMoneyNet Money-Market Expo held in Orlando, Fla., said they were reassured that major changes considered to be “draconian” would not be proposed by that agency, which has recently reasserted its role as the industry’s primary regulator. more |
| SEC’s PAREDES AT MMX: “WHAT ARE WE SOLVING FOR?” 3/21/2013 |
| From Money Fund Report®: Although they may have arrived at iMoneyNet’s Money-Market Expo in Orlando, Fla., with the “Groundhog-Day” feeling that too little had changed since last year’s event, attendees seemed uplifted by comments from Commissioner Troy Paredes of the Securities and Exchange Commission. more |
| AT MMX FIDELITY’S PRIOR HINTS AT COMPROMISE WITH REGULATORS 3/12/2013 |
| iMoneyNet’s Money Market Expo served as the backdrop for Fidelity Investments’ Nancy Prior to tell regulators in Washington, D.C. her company’s view of how to approach MMF reform. more |
| VNAV CONVERSION DRAWS MIXED RESPONSE IN EUROPE 3/7/2013 |
| From Rated Money Fund Report™: The prospect of regulatory changes being imposed on European money-market funds was the subject of a recent Fitch Ratings survey of European corporate treasurers. Conducted in association with Treasury Management International, it found that “treasurers do not appear to hold strong views with regard to constant net-asset-value compared with variable net-asset-value funds, since they recognize their respective merits and flaws.” more |
| SUPPORT SHOWN FOR TREASURY FRNs, INDEX CHOICE AT ISSUE 2/21/2013 |
| Excerpted from Money Fund Report®: The U.S. Department of the Treasury is proceeding with plans to launch a floating-rate note auction program, possibly as soon as the November refunding, pending development of auction regulations and modification of its computer systems. more |
| ESRB MMF RECOMMENDATIONS ADDRESS “SYSTEMIC RISK” 2/19/2013 |
| From Offshore Money Fund Report™: Any notion that money-market funds are not part of the shadow-banking system was put aside in a slate of recommendations to the European Commission published by the European Systemic Risk Board that called for a “mandatory move to variable net-asset-value” and the use of “fair valuation,” while restricting the use of amortised-cost-accounting to a limited number of predefined circumstances. more |
| FSOC COMMENT LETTERS CHALLENGE NEED FOR STRUCTURAL MMF REFORMS 2/15/2013 |
| When it responded quickly to an appeal by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro last August to drive the process of reforming money-market funds, the Financial Stability Oversight Council was roundly criticized by the fund industry for intruding on the SEC’s authority as the funds’ prime regulator. more |
| iMoneyNet SALUTES TOP MANAGERS OF NON-U.S. FUNDS 1/31/2013 |
| iMoneyNet congratulates the portfolio managers of the U.S. Dollar, Euro and Sterling Offshore money-market portfolios that had the highest gross returns for 2012 and that report to Offshore Money Fund Report™. Our 2012 Top Manager Awards are based on one-year gross total returns for the calendar year. more |
| EUROPEAN CORPORATE TREASURERS SHOW LITTLE INTEREST IN FNAV-MMFs 1/29/2013 |
| From Offshore Money Fund Report™: A conversion from constant net-asset-value money funds to a variable net-asset-value money-fund structure in Europe “would generate a negative reaction among investors.” That was the finding of a Treasury Strategies 24 Jan. survey. more |
| U.S MMF INVESTMENTS: FRENCH, CANADIAN, JAPANESE ISSUERS POST BIGGEST JUMPS 1/28/2013 |
| Excerpted from Money Fund Report®: Full-year portfolio holdings data for 2012 analyzed by iMoneyNet revealed that fund managers of U.S. prime money-market funds increased exposures to securities backed by French institutions the most on a percentage basis and reduced holdings of securities issued by institutions based in the United Kingdom the most among countries holding at least $5 billion of U.S. prime-fund investments during the 12 months ended on Dec. 31. more |
| iMoneyNet NAMES TOP U.S FUND MANAGERS FOR 2012 1/21/2013 |
| iMoneyNet congratulates the portfolio managers of the Government, Prime, and Tax-Free and Municipal money-market portfolios that report to Money Fund Report® for attaining the highest 2012 gross returns. Our 2012 Top Manager Awards are based on gross total return of Master-Class funds in the 2012 calendar year. more |
| ANNOUNCING THE 2012 MONEY FUND REPORT AWARD WINNERS 1/15/2013 |
| iMoneyNet’s Money Fund Report® Awards recognize the money funds that reported the highest net one-year returns for 2012 in six categories: Government Institutional, Prime Institutional, National Tax-Free Institutional, Government Retail, Prime Retail, and National Tax-Free Retail. Performance is based on each fund’s 2012 net total return. To qualify for these awards, a fund must meet two criteria: it must have month-end assets of at least $100 million as of December 2012 and it must be open to all investors who are able to meet the investment minimum. more |
