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 Aug. 28) includes Holdings information from 55 money funds (down 12 from a week ago), or $3.725 trillion (down from $4.169 trillion) of the $8.364 trillion in total money fund assets (or 44.5%) 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 Aug. 12 News, "August Portfolio Holdings: Assets Flat; Treasuries Jump, Repo Plunges.")
Our latest Weekly MFPH Composition summary shows Government assets dominating the holdings list with Treasuries totaling $1.813 trillion (down from $1.925 trillion a week ago), or 48.7%; Repurchase Agreements (Repo) totaling $1.248 trillion (down from $1.446 trillion a week ago), or 33.5%, and Government Agency securities totaling $416.2 billion (down from $460.9 billion a week ago), or 11.2%. Commercial Paper (CP) totaled $114.7 billion (down from $149.3 billion a week ago), or 3.1%. Certificates of Deposit (CDs) totaled $49.2 billion (down from $69.8 billion a week ago), or 1.3%. The Other category accounted for $45.2 billion or 1.2%, while VRDNs accounted for $38.6 billion or 1.0%.
The Ten Largest Issuers in our Weekly Holdings product include: the US Treasury with $1.813 trillion, Fixed Income Clearing Corp with $357.1B, the Federal Home Loan Bank with $251.1B, JP Morgan with $125.5B, Citi with $101.9B, Federal Farm Credit Bank with $96.2B, BNP Paribas with $85.0B, RBC with $84.6B, Wells Fargo with $76.1B and Credit Agricole with $48.0B.
The Ten Largest Funds tracked in our latest Weekly include: JPMorgan 100% US Trs MM ($362.8B), JPMorgan US Govt MM ($346.5B), Fidelity Inv MM: Govt Port ($281.5B), Goldman Sachs FS Govt ($272.1B), State Street Inst US Govt ($210.4B), Morgan Stanley Inst Liq Govt ($208.0B), Fidelity Inv MM: MM Port ($162.7B), Dreyfus Govt Cash Mgmt ($158.7B), Fidelity Inv MM: Treas Only ($144.6B) and Invesco Govt & Agency ($126.5B). (Let us know if you'd like to see our latest domestic U.S. and/or "offshore" Weekly Portfolio Holdings collection and summary.)
In other news, a Commentary piece was posted on Reuters which asks, "What's really driving flows into the $13.5 trillion money market pool?" Written by Federated Hermes' Deborah Cunningham, it tells us, "Money market fund assets hit a record $13.5 trillion in the first quarter. [Crane Data Note: This is a global total and not just U.S. MMFs.] This upward trend began over four years ago, at a point in the rate cycle that historically heralded outflows from the asset class. So, what is driving these continued inflows and how does this shape how investors view this ever-growing pool of liquid capital?"
She explains, "MMFs that invest in short-term, high-quality debt -- like Treasury bills -- have enjoyed extraordinary growth since mid-2022. While estimates vary, U.S. MMF assets have surged approximately 58% to 65% since December 2022. Global holdings in this asset class have also now climbed to a whopping 15% of worldwide regulated open-end fund assets."
The piece continues, "From March 2022 to July 2023, MMFs were primarily riding the wave of the aggressive Federal Reserve rate-hiking cycle. The U.S. central bank sought to curb post-pandemic inflation by lifting the fed funds rate to its highest levels in decades, which made the short end of the yield curve particularly attractive. These inflows were largely driven by retail investors. Capital poured into MMFs from savers seeking yields above those offered by standard bank deposits."
It says, "Conventional wisdom based on the aftermath of the 2018 to 2019 hiking cycle -- when MMFs experienced significant withdrawals -- suggested those post-pandemic flows would reverse once central banks pivoted to cutting rates. However, that has not materialised. While the Fed has cut rates since 2024, industry-wide MMF assets have kept growing."
Cunningham writes, "This initially reflected the structure of these funds. Money market portfolios typically operate a 'laddered' strategy -- investing in securities of different maturities. This means yields on these portfolios typically decline more slowly than market rates. Over the past two years, however, the massive inflows have instead reflected a shift in both investment strategy and capital sources."
She adds, "From mid-2023 onward, flows were increasingly driven by institutions seeking a haven from potential volatility in equity markets and longer-term fixed income markets. During a period of heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty -- marked by trade wars and actual wars -- institutional investors were reminded of the enduring value of security, liquidity and operational certainty."
Finally, Cunningham says, "In short, yield is no longer the sole or even the primary rationale for holding cash in these vehicles. MMFs have instead become a strategic defensive sleeve within cash portfolios. Moreover, inflows now reflect a mix of retail and institutional cash, with a notable new contributor: corporate cash from the unprecedented cycle of AI-related capital raising."
