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Why do bankers use M instead of K? TheStory Behind the MM Convention

mm finance meaning

If this happens, regulators may jump in and force the fund’s liquidation. Modigliani and Miller wrote their original article to negate the idea that capital structure affects a firm’s value. However, by denoting which aspects of capital structure do not affect value, the theorem showed the opposite, a reverse theorem. The reverse M&M theorem argues that capital structure can affect a company’s value by increasing or decreasing corporate information, transaction costs, taxes, and regulations. It’s what determines the number of employees you can hire, and dictates your annual budget.

Tax-Exempt Money Fund

mm finance meaning

Very large deposits of eurodollars are held in banks in the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. Fund shareholders can typically withdraw their money at any time, but they may have a limit on the number of times they can withdraw within a certain period. Modigliani and Miller were professors at the Graduate School of Industrial Administration at Carnegie Mellon University. HBS Online’s CORe and CLIMB programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly, but all ask for some personal background information. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

mm finance meaning

Why Is It Called the Money Market?

By employing “MM,” companies can present their financial data in a universally understood format, minimizing the risk of misinterpretation. This is particularly important in cross-border transactions and investments, where accurate mm finance meaning financial information is crucial for decision-making. The use of “MM” to denote millions in financial contexts has a rich history that intertwines with the evolution of accounting and financial reporting practices.

Mixing use of K for thousands and MM for millions

  • However, if it persists, the condition may trigger a moment when the investment income of the money market fund fails to exceed its operating expenses or investment losses.
  • Stating at the top of the report that “all figures are in millions of dollars” should take care of it.
  • This is particularly important in cross-border transactions and investments, where accurate financial information is crucial for decision-making.
  • For investors, they offer a diversified, professionally managed portfolio with high daily liquidity.

What matters is that readers look at the figures and understand the amounts. Most money market accounts are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 per institution, just like bank deposits. There’s virtually no chance you’ll lose your money by owning a CD or T-bill because money market instruments are very low risk. Most certificates of deposit (CDs) aren’t strictly money market funds because they’re sold with terms of up to 10 years.

  • Harvard Business School Online’s Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.
  • It also allows easy calculations and tracking of the net gains the fund generates.
  • Used extensively in foreign trade, a banker’s acceptance is like a post-dated check.
  • While you can make MM stand for millions of anything, it’s important that the reader knows whether you’re talking about dollars, euros, units shipped, etc.
  • It differs from the standard „k” and „M” abbreviations used in the metric system and most other sectors.
  • Commercial paper is a popular borrowing mechanism in the wholesale market because the interest rates are higher than for bank time deposits or Treasury bills.

While obscure outside banking circles, MM enjoys near universal usage within finance and accounting as the standard abbreviation for „millions”. This convention originated from Roman numeral accounting traditions and became engrained centuries ago. As a data analyst who works closely with the finance industry, I‘ve always been fascinated by the ubiquitous use of „MM” as an abbreviation for millions among banking and accounting professionals.

Retail and U.S. government money market funds were allowed to maintain the stable $1 per share policy. The regulations also provided non-government money market fund boards with new tools to address runs. Moreover, the use of “MM” aligns with the principles of transparency and comparability advocated by international accounting standards.

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This period saw the rise of double-entry bookkeeping, a system that revolutionized accounting by providing a clear and systematic method for recording financial transactions. The use of “MM” fit seamlessly into this new framework, offering a concise way to represent substantial amounts without cluttering financial records. These changes required prime institutional money market funds to float their NAV and no longer maintain a stable price.

Streamlining Financial Documents

mm finance meaning

The goal of abbreviating large numerical values is to create financial statements that appear to be more simple and concise. This allows for the interpretation of financial statements to become more accessible. It originates from the Roman numeral, M, for thousand, and MM is used to indicate one thousand thousands, which makes a million. It is commonly used in financial documents, or when discussing budgets, earnings, or other financial data. It would be bad form to mix K and MM because they are two different systems of notation.

Usage of MM in Financial Statements

mm finance meaning

The least ambiguous approach is to simply write them out in words, such as “$ thousands.” This is Corporate Finance Institute’s recommended method, to avoid any potential confusion. “M” is derived from the Roman numeral for 1,000, and it is often used to denote thousands. This usage is prevalent in various industries and contexts, particularly in the United States, where it simplifies the representation of large numbers without overwhelming the reader with zeros. To summarize, our modern numerical system is the same as the Hindu-Arabic numerical system. However, our abbreviations are a concoction of multiple cultural legacies ranging from Rome, Greece, India, China, and Arabia. These examples underscore the need for abbreviations like MM to avoid ambiguity with large figures.

One of the primary reasons for the popularity of money market funds is their maintenance of the $1 NAV. This requirement forces the fund managers to make regular payments to investors, providing a regular flow of income for them. It also allows easy calculations and tracking of the net gains the fund generates. Returns from these instruments are dependent on the applicable market interest rates, and therefore, the overall returns from the money market funds are also dependent on interest rates. If a financial statement has a lot of large figures, the accountant may simply dispense with abbreviations. Stating at the top of the report that “all figures are in millions of dollars” should take care of it.

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