SB, I think there is some risk in generic money markets. If you have folks who know what they are doing, ala Benham, Vanguard, etc., the risk is almost non-existent. But when you play these guys who rely on nothing but the ratings agencies, I think they are a disaster waiting to happen. In fact, it already happened. If you remember, Alliance lost a bunch of money on Mexican paper in their money market funds a few years back. But they had a sugar daddy with deep pockets who made the fund whole. And, a couple of years before that, Alliance had a problem with short term derivatives in their money market funds. Do you see a pattern here? <G>
I wouldn't rely on the mgt. co. to always have the will or the ability to make the shareholder's whole. So, if I had a crappy mgr. in my brokerage account, I would use the govt. fund. And, even then, you have to make sure they take delivery on overnight repos.
MB |
