Assets Decrease $6.61 Billion in Final Week of 2007

Municipal money market funds ended 2007 on a bad note as they reported outflows of $6.613 billion for the week ending Dec. 31. The decrease in assets puts the total in tax-free money market funds at $469.72 billion, according to the Money Fund Report. This is down from the record of assets under management that was reached last week. The report monitors 549 funds. Average seven-day yields over the same period were 2.88%, up 18 basis points from the week that ended Dec. 24, but still down 21 basis points from the week that ended Dec. 17. The average maturity is 30 days, down two days from the week before.This week’s data marks a reversal of fund flows, as the previous week saw an inflow of almost $2 billion. Before that, tax-free money funds had an outflow of just over $250 million. Prior to these ups and downs, the funds saw 10 consecutive weeks of inflows, with each week setting a new record for assets. The report attributes the recent volatility in the short-term market to end-of-year accounting by many institutions. Taxable funds had outflows of $10.52 billion, putting total net assets at $2.613 trillion. The combined total is $3.088 trillion of assets under management.