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March 23, 2017 at 11:38 AM
When the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a new rule for money market funds in the summer of 2014, then-Chair Mary Jo White said the reform would “reduce the risk of runs in money market funds and provide important new tools that will help further protect investors and the financial system.”
And that is exactly what the new rule has accomplished so far, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
(Related: As SEC’s Money Market Rules Begin, Advisors Warned of Complexities)
Under the new rule, prime institutional money market funds, which invest in short-term corporate debt, and institutional municipal money market funds can no longer maintain a constant $1 per share price. They must let the share price fluctuate to reflect the market price of their underlying holdings.
Prime and retail municipal money market funds for retail investors can try to maintain a stable $1 net asset value but have the option of imposing fees or restrictions on redemptions during times of crisis.
And government money market funds, defined as investing a minimal 99.5% of assets in government securities, collateralized repurchase agreements or cash, can continue to maintain a stable $1 a share price.
As a result of the new rule, prime and municipal money market funds lost $1.12 trillion in assets and government money market funds gained $1.032 between January and November 2016. By November, government market money funds had captured just over 76% of the market, almost double the 40.5% share they held in January 2016.
