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Sturm und Drang in money market funds: When money market funds cease to be narrow

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  • Jank, Stephan
  • Wedow, Michael

Abstract

This paper investigates the returns and flows of German money market funds before and during the financial crisis of 2007/2008. The main finding of this paper is that, in liquid times, some money market funds (MMF) enhanced their returns by investing in riskier assets. By doing so they outperformed other MMFs, as long as liquidity in the market was high. Investing in riskier money market products, however, widens the typically narrow structure of MMFs and makes them vulnerable to withdrawals. When market liquidity declined during the subprime crisis, illiquid MMFs experienced withdrawals, while funds with safer and liquid portfolios functioned as a safe haven. As German MMFs calculate the value of their shares based on fluctuating net asset value, the findings inform the current debate on regulating MMFs.

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  • Jank, Stephan & Wedow, Michael, 2015. "Sturm und Drang in money market funds: When money market funds cease to be narrow," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 59-70.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finsta:v:16:y:2015:i:c:p:59-70
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfs.2014.12.002
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    Cited by:

    1. Timmermann, Allan & Wermers, Russ, 2014. "Runs on Money Market Funds," CEPR Discussion Papers 9906, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Kim, Hugh Hoikwang, 2020. "Information spillover of bailouts," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    3. Mark Egan & Ali Hortaçsu & Gregor Matvos, 2017. "Deposit Competition and Financial Fragility: Evidence from the US Banking Sector," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(1), pages 169-216, January.
    4. Thomas Johann & Stefan Scharnowski & Erik Theissen & Christian Westheide & Lukas Zimmermann, 2019. "Liquidity in the German Stock Market," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 71(4), pages 443-473, October.
    5. Lawrence Schmidt & Allan Timmermann & Russ Wermers, 2016. "Runs on Money Market Mutual Funds," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(9), pages 2625-2657, September.
    6. Capotă, Laura-Dona & Grill, Michael & Molestina Vivar, Luis & Schmitz, Niklas & Weistroffer, Christian, 2022. "Is the EU money market fund regulation fit for purpose? Lessons from the COVID-19 turmoil," Working Paper Series 2737, European Central Bank.
    7. Witmer, Jonathan, 2016. "Does the buck stop here? A comparison of withdrawals from money market mutual funds with floating and constant share prices," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 126-142.
    8. Fecht, Falko & Wedow, Michael, 2014. "The dark and the bright side of liquidity risks: Evidence from open-end real estate funds in Germany," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 376-399.
    9. Jank, Stephan, 2012. "Mutual fund flows, expected returns, and the real economy," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 3060-3070.
    10. Bua, Giovanna & Dunne, Peter G. & Sorbo, Jacopo, 2019. "Money Market Funds and Unconventional Monetary Policy," Research Technical Papers 7/RT/19, Central Bank of Ireland.
    11. Patrick E. McCabe, 2010. "The cross section of money market fund risks and financial crises," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2010-51, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    12. Bengtsson, Elias, 2013. "Shadow banking and financial stability: European money market funds in the global financial crisis," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 579-594.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Money market funds; Liquidity crisis; Redemptions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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