Most Money Market Funds Still Foregoing Fees

A majority of money market mutual funds waived all or a portion of shareholder fees during the last three months of 1994.

That finding comes from a study of 1,057 money funds by IBC/Donoghue, a fund tracking firm in Ashland, Mass.

The report showed a slight decrease in the percentage of money funds waiving fees, from 58.1% in the third quarter of 1994 to 57.6% by yearend.

The numbers are still down from the beginning of 1994, when some 60% of money funds waived management fees.

Many funds are absorbing shareholder fees or waiving expenses in an effort to attract investors, said Walter Frank, chief economist for IBC/Donoghue.

Fund companies will apparently continue to shoulder the costs for a while. Fund managers "are not rushing to reinstate their management fees," Mr. Frank said.

But, Mr. Frank added, fees may start swinging upward as yields continue to rise above 6%. Money market funds are most vulnerable to fee reinstatement as investors choose them as safe harbors from volatile stock and bond funds, he said.

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