Money Fund Yields

The money fund industry witnessed one of its biggest challenges ever last September when the Reserve Fund dropped their net asset value below $1 after absorbing losses on securities issued by Lehman Brothers. Heavy redemptions and worries about other high-profile funds brought money funds to the front pages of newspapers for perhaps the first time [...]

Fed Chairman Bernanke on Money Market Mutual Funds

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed the mutual fund money market industry in comments made before Congress on November 18, 2008. The huge amount of money withdrawn out of money funds since September has been an ongoing aggravation in the credit crisis. Bernanke and the Fed have already addressed investor fears regarding money funds with [...]

Money Fund Guaranty Program Announced

One of the major developments last week was the initiative announced by the Treasury Department in which the Treasury Department will temporarily back up money market mutual funds with a new federal guarantee program. The program applies to funds in money markets before September 19, 2008. The press release from the Treasury Department summarizes the [...]

Major Money Fund Drops NAV Below $1

The devastating week for financial companies continued today after Primary Reserve Primary Fund became the first money-market fund in 14 years to drop their net asset value below $1 after writing off $700 million of debt issued by bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and experiencing large withdrawals. Primary Reserve Fund is actually the oldest money [...]

Rates on Money Market Funds, US Treasuries, Bank Money Market Accounts, and Bank CDs

US Treasuries, money funds, and bank deposit accounts posted their lowest rates in years earlier in 2008 after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates aggressively. Of the three types of cash investments only money funds have not seen an increase in rates in the last month as the market has factored inflation expectations and the [...]

Best Bank Money Market Rates vs Money Fund Yields

A quick look at the top yielding bank money market account rates in comparision to some of the money fund yields offered by the nation’s largest mutual fund companies indicates that bank money market account yields are siginificantly higher. Bank money market accounts and mutual fund company money markets (money funds) both offer accountholders the [...]

Money Market Mutual Fund Safety from AARP, Vanguard, Fidelity, and TIAA-CREF

Wells Fargo & Company announced that it has taken a $39 million loss on Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs) which were used in the portfolios of a number of their money funds. The $39 million is not devastating to company who holds over $106 billion in money market mutual funds, but is another example of money [...]

Buying a Money Market Fund

The financial headlines have been full of stories about the trouble experienced by a number of money funds. Large companies like Bank of America Corp. and Legg Mason Inc. among others have been forced to infuse their money market funds with money to cover for losses and prevent having to “break the buck” and allow [...]

Money Fund Yields Holding Up

Money Fund Yields
Yields on major money funds have held up despite the recent credit market crisis. This is a good sign for investors in the top money funds as it indicates a resilience of those funds to volatility in the short-term securities they hold in their portfolio. The national average is below 5.00% on money [...]

AARP’s Money Market Fund

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is in the money management business with a mutual fund division called AARP Funds. AARP Funds has a mutual fund money market called the AARP Money Market Fund with one of the highest yields in the country

AARP Money Market Fund Details

5.14% 7-day yield

5.27% 7-day effective yield

$100 minimum investment

One [...]

Stock Market Returns, Bond Market Returns, and Brokerage Fund Money Funds

Another tough week for the stock market and further indications that the housing/mortgages crisis may get worse before it gets better. A jittery stock market has given up a lot of the gains from 2007 and year-to-date returns now stand at:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 5.77%NASDAQ: 3.97%S&P 500 Index: 1.04%Russell 2000 Index: -4.09%
Bond prices have benefited [...]