Money market phenomena (TT May03 iv)

MONEY market funds (MMFs) are a relatively new phenomenon in Europe. The funds were developed in the US at the start of the 1970s and first regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US in 1983. However, they didn't make an appearance in Europe until the mid-1980s, when they first appeared in offshore European centres such as Dublin, Luxembourg and the Channel Islands. Since then, however, growth has been stellar. Funds under management within Europe grew from less than 130bn at the end of 2002, according to trade body The Institutional Money Market Funds Association (IMMFA), and that growth shows no sign of slowing.