Money-market funds surge to new marks

The money-market mutual funds keep breaking their own records. In the most recent week recorded by the Investment Company Institute, assets of the money funds jumped $3 billion, reaching a record $81.7 billion.

Since the first of the year, the 98 money funds have added nearly $7 billion in assets, said the institute, the trade group for the mutual funds.

A major reason for the flow of money into the funds, observers say, is the temporary yield advantage they have over rates offered by the money markets. While six-month savings certificates were paying 14.478 percent last week, the ave rage seven-day yield for the money funds was 17.28 percent.