BlackRock Supports New SEC Rules for Money-Market Mutual Funds

(Bloomberg) -- BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager, said it backed the new rules for money-market mutual funds adopted today by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“In light of these changes, we believe that money-market funds will continue to prove a valuable cash investment strategy,” Tara McDonnell, a spokeswoman for the New York-based firm said today in an e-mailed statement.

BlackRock’s support stands in contrast to the views of some peers including Federated Investors Inc. and business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who have claimed that the new rules will destroy the utility of certain funds.

The SEC today ended a four year struggle over how to make money funds safer. A run at one fund during the 2008 credit crisis brought the $2.6 trillion industry to near-collapse, halted only by a federal backstop.

The changes, to be put into effect in two years, will force funds that cater to institutional investors and buy corporate debt to abandon their traditional $1 share price. They will also give fund boards the ability to impose redemption restrictions and fees during times of crisis.

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