If you were wondering — and I know you were — money market fund assets scaled a new peak early this month.

At this point, remarking on record MMF AUM feels a bit like commenting on every new high for US equities, which is to say it feels a bit superfluous. “What else is new?” Or, more aptly, “What is else is news?”

And yet, the latest haul for US money funds was indeed remarkable. $51.23 billion worth of remarkable, to be exact. That’s how much flowed in during the holiday-shortened week to July 2, according to ICI.

Both institutional and retail government funds saw chunky inflows ($31.12 billion and $13.34 billion, respectively) and retail prime products chipped in nearly $5 billion.

The net inflow counted as third-largest of 2024, and took total AUM to $6.154 trillion, a new high.

The figure below’s familiar: It’s just the cumulative inflow since the beginning of 2023.

US MMF AUM has grown by an astounding $1.42 trillion in 18 months, and by more than a quarter trillion so far in 2024.

Suffice to say the momentum generated by the March 2023 regional banking crisis is still going. The only meaningful outflows occurred around a delayed tax day in October and this year’s tax season.

On the eve of the pandemic, MMF AUM stood at $3.6 trillion. So, total money fund assets are on their way to doubling since February of 2020.

It’s likely that inflows will continue largely unabated until there’s some sign that the Fed’s prepared to cut rates appreciably. Institutional funds will also get a fillip from rule changes that take effect this year.

Eventually, some of this money will find its way off the proverbial sidelines, potentially becoming a source of funds for a stock rally or bond-buying, but it feels like we’re a ways off from that.

As a quick aside in response to a reader inquiry, RRP balances were back down to $390 billion as of July 5 after spiking to the highest since January late last month. Remember: RRP usage will generally jump at quarter-end, and so will funding rates.