Potential money market fund reforms could deter investors, triggering consolidation in the money market, and push others to alternative options, like short-duration bond exchange traded funds.

According to a Moody's Investors Service, we will likely witness a "reshaping of the industry," with providers forced to consolidate or exit the business, reports Joe Morris for Ignites.

"Any shift from the [constant net asset value] fund's ability to deliver its 'all-in-one' benefits will result in funds moving to a proliferation of products with differing risk characteristics to meet the multiple needs of the liquidity investor," the Moody's report said. "These products will include bank deposits, separately managed accounts, short-duration bond funds, cash-plus funds and cash exchange-traded funds."

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been working on a proposal to float the net asset value for institutional prime funds. Reform talks have gained momentum after SEC Chairman Mary Jo White

The Securities and Exchange Commission is "actively" working on balanced reforms to address risks in the $2.6 trillion money market fund industry, which could push investors to ultra-short-duration bond ETFs as a viable alternative.

"The staff and Commissioners are actively engaged in discussions designed to yield an appropriate and balanced proposal in the near future," SEC Chairman Mary Jo White said Friday.

However, White stopped short of fully detailing proposals on the table.

The regulatory body is considering a scaled-back approach after then-SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro's failed attempts to enact reforms last year, reports Andrew Ackerman for the Wall Street Journal.

Some are throwing around the idea of only requiring the riskiest funds to abandon their fixed $1 per share price and let values float like other mutual fund offerings.

The SEC staff argues that this would let investors know that money funds can fluctuate in value

Where are U.S. Treasury yields headed and how fast could they move?

In early February, the U.S. Treasury made a statement that has not received much attention, even though what it implies regarding their thoughts on the future demand for treasury securities (and hence yields) is very interesting. The announcement was mainly about the auction of $72 billion of coupon securities, but it also said that it plans to issue a final rule on floating-rate notes in the coming months, with the first FRN auction expected to occur within the next year. The statement probably did not get a lot of attention because the Treasury has spoken about the idea of floating-rate notes earlier too. However, it had never given a specific time frame in the past. This is significant, not just because it will be first new type of treasury security to be issued since 1997, when