Expenses on the Reserve Primary Fund reached $16.6M

The Reserve Primary Fund, which had $4.5 million in assets as of June 10, had total expenses of $16.6 million from Sept. 15 through June 10, which included $15 million in management fees, according to a statement issued by The Reserve Management Co. Inc. last week. The fund is in the process of being liquidated because it fell below a $1 net asset value and “broke the buck” in September due to debt holdings in the Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. of New York, which later sought bankruptcy protection. The event set off a run on money market mutual funds last fall. The Reserve of New York has been in the process of liquidating its series of money market mutual funds since the fourth quarter. The Reserve Primary Fund has had four partial distributions since Oct. 30. In addition, the firm’s board of trustees has set aside $3.5 billion in a special reserve fund to cover anticipated costs and expenses of the fund, including legal and accounting fees, pending or threatened claims against the fund, its officers and trustees, according to the statement. The firm also released a report on its Reserve Yield Plus Fund, which had $144 million in assets as of June 10 and had incurred $1.5 million in expenses since Sept. 15, including $1.39 million in management fees. In the statements, the firm noted that it would post updates of the funds’ assets and expenses every two weeks on its website. A spokesman for The Reserve wasn’t immediately available for comment.