A sharp rise in interest rates has cranked up mortgage payments for consumers and escalated borrowing costs for companies around the world over the past 19 months. But it has also lifted the available yields on money market funds to their highest level in years — prompting investors to pour a record $1tn into the asset class since January. The cascade this year, concentrated mainly in the US, has come in stages.
It has also fuelled debate over the risk of a small leak from money market funds turning into a torrent. The outflows in October stemmed primarily from institutional investors, Antoniewicz notes. One likely reason for the withdrawals, she suggests, was that extended payments for US corporate taxes came due in mid-October. Many organisations use money market funds as a place to park their operating cash.