i

Important security note: Warning of attempted fraud in the name of DWS

We have detected that fraudulent individuals are misusing the "DWS" trademark and the names of DWS employees on the internet and social media. These fraudsters are operating fake websites, Facebook pages, and WhatsApp groups. Please be aware that DWS does not have any Facebook Ambassador profiles or WhatsApp chats. If you receive any unexpected calls, messages, or emails claiming to be from DWS, exercise caution and do not make any payments or disclose personal information. We encourage you to report any suspicious activity to info@dws.com, including any relevant documents and the original fraudulent email. Additionally, if you believe you have been a victim of fraud, please notify your local authorities and take steps to protect yourself.

What now for record U.S. money market funds?

Chart of the week
Central banks
Americas
Europe
Fixed Income
Alternatives

11/29/2024

Even after the Fed's first rate cut, the momentum of cash inflows remains high  

Picture showing fedreal reserve bank

Holdings of U.S. money market funds have grown strongly over the past two years, breaking record after record.[1] The question has been whether rate cuts by the would bring their rise to a halt. Not so far. Since the Fed’s first interest rate cut in September, the amount invested in these funds has risen by a further $40 billion to $6.65 trillion.[2] Depending on the source, some reports even put the figure above $7 trillion.[3] Although there was a slight setback last week according to the data provider ICI,[4] we do not believe there is any reason to expect any major change and a wave of withdrawals from money market funds in the near future. Investors still seem to be comfortable with these short-term investments, especially as the Fed has recently scaled back expectations of rate cuts this year and next.

In our CIO Special[5] from May 21,2024, we had already suggested that rapid outflows were unlikely. However, we have to admit that we did not anticipate the further rise in inflows that we have seen recently. Since Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election at the beginning of November, the question marks surrounding U.S. political developments and market reactions have not diminished. As a result, we do not expect any major changes to the status quo for U.S. money market funds in the short term. The conclusions of our Special therefore remain valid. In our view, U.S. money market funds remain an attractive haven for investors in times of nervous markets.

U.S. money market funds (still) defy the Fed's first rate cuts

 

Chart

Line chart with 2 lines.
U.S. dollar trillion 
The chart has 1 X axis displaying

. Data ranges from 2021-01-06 00:00:00 to 2024-11-20 00:00:00.
The chart has 2 Y axes displaying values, and values.
%
End of interactive chart.

*upper bound

Sources: Bloomberg Finance L.P., DWS Investment GmbH as of 11/26/24