JPMorgan Money Market Funds Announce Intended Money Market Fund Designations In Response To SEC Reforms

NEW YORK, Feb. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- J.P. Morgan Asset Management today announced that the Board of Trustees of the JPMorgan Money Market Funds  approved  the firm's preliminary recommendation regarding the intended designation of its publicly offered money market funds as "Institutional," "Retail" or "Government,"  in accordance with the criteria established by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in July 2014. These determinations were reflected in a supplement to the money market funds' registration statements filed today.

In the supplement, the Board also stated that it has no current intention of instituting liquidity fees or gates on the money market funds ("MMFs") designated as Government MMFs.

John Donohue, Head of Global Liquidity for J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said: "The new rules include several significant structural changes. We are committed to providing shareholders with as much clarity and information as we can. We recognize that shareholders - retail intermediaries, in particular - need as much time as possible to adjust to these changes. As an industry leader, we look forward to continuing to meet investors' liquidity management needs in new and innovative ways.

"We also want to reiterate that our MMFs' board has no current intention of utilizing fees and gates in our Government MMFs. Additionally, investors should know that our board does not currently plan to institute a floating net asset value ("NAV") in our Prime MMF, and fees and gates in our non-Government MMFs any sooner than the second half of 2016."

Funds seeking Retail qualification:

JPMorgan Liquid Assets Money Market Fund
JPMorgan Tax Free Money Market Fund
JPMorgan California Money Market Fund
JPMorgan New York Municipal Money Market Fund
JPMorgan Municipal Money Market Fund

Funds seeking Government qualification:

JPMorgan 100% U.S. Treasury Securities Money Market Fund
JPMorgan Federal Money Market Fund
JPMorgan U.S. Government Money Market Fund
JPMorgan U.S. Treasury Plus Money Market Fund

Institutional Prime:

JPMorgan Prime Money Market Fund

Under the recent amendments to the SEC rules that govern the operation of registered MMFs, those that qualify as "Retail" or "Government" will be permitted to continue to utilize amortized cost to value their portfolio securities and to transact at their existing $1.00 share price, as currently permitted.

The JPMorgan Prime MMF, which will not qualify as "Retail" or "Government," will be required to price and transact in its shares at NAVs reflecting current market-based values of its portfolio securities (i.e., at a "floating NAV"). The floating NAV will need to be rounded to four decimal places for a MMF with a $1.00 NAV (e.g., $1.0000).

Additionally, each non-Government MMF must adopt policies and procedures to be able to impose liquidity fees on redemptions and/or redemption gates in the event that its weekly liquid assets were to fall below a designated threshold, subject to the actions of the MMF's board.

Though compliance with these amended rules is not required until October 2016, the JPMorgan MMFs are providing these preliminary plans early in response to investor demand and to help ease the transition to new rules by allowing investors to plan their future investments.

It is currently anticipated that the Board will consider both (i) the date of the transition of the JPMorgan Prime MMF to a floating NAV and (ii) the date after which the Board may consider the use of liquidity fees and gates for non-Government MMFs during the second half 2016 and that such changes will occur on, or prior to, October 14, 2016. Additionally, the retail MMFs and government MMFs will seek to meet the applicable new SEC requirements on, or prior to, October 14, 2016.

About J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Liquidity

J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Liquidity is the largest global provider of institutional money market funds and the largest global money market fund complex, with $461 billion in assets under management (as of December 31, 2014). 

J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with assets under management of $1.7 trillion (as of December 31, 2014), is a global leader in investment management. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's clients include institutions, retail investors and high-net worth individuals in every major market throughout the world.  J.P. Morgan Asset Management offers global investment management in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds, private equity and liquidity.  JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), the parent company of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is a leading global financial services firm with assets of approximately $2.6 trillion (as of December 31, 2014)

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is the marketing name for the asset management businesses of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Those businesses include, but are not limited to, JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., Security Capital Research & Management Incorporated and J.P. Morgan Alternative Asset Management, Inc.,

J.P. Morgan Money Market Funds are distributed by J.P. Morgan Distribution Services, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC

SOURCE J.P. Morgan Asset Management