The new regulations imposed on money market funds lastfall triggered a huge migration of assets out of institutional prime funds.And three months after the changes took effect, institutionalinvestors still seem to be wary of heading back into primefunds.

More than $1 trillion in assets exited institutional prime fundsafter the Securities and Exchange Commission said in 2014 that asof mid-October 2016, the funds had to float their net asset value (NAV) and establish redemption fees and gates. By the start of November,just $122.1 billion remained in institutional prime funds, downfrom $779.2 billion at the start of 2016, according to statisticsfrom the Investment Company Institute. With the exception of abrief move higher around year-end, the total assets ininstitutional prime funds haven't increased much; last week's ICIdata showed $129.6 billion in prime funds as of Jan. 11.

Most of the money that left prime funds headed into governmentfunds, which are not required to float their NAVs or impose feesand gates. Institutional government funds, which held $868.6billion in assets at the start of 2016, ended the year with $1.616trillion.