Money Markets' Assets Bursting; Will Cash Pile Shift Into Stocks?; $2.2 Tril Money Wall.(A)

Byline: JONAH KERI

A massive storehouse of $2.2 trillion in money market fund assets has triggered speculation of a wall of cash waiting to be funneled into the stock market.

When stocks topped in 2000 and started one of the nastiest bear markets in history, investors fled for cover. Money market fund assets spiked to a record high of $2.27 trillion in January 2002 from $1.66 trillion at the market's March 2000 peak, a 37% jump.

With the Nasdaq, Dow and S&P 500 rallying sharply from the market's March 2003 follow-through, the Street now wonders: Will that money flow back into the market?

Absolutely, says Sherry Cooper, chief economist for Toronto-based BMO Nesbitt Burns. Cooper uses the outstanding balances in retail money market funds as a percentage of stocks as a guide.

That figure peaked at 18.8% in February, and still stands at a lofty 15.7%. By comparison, that number hovered around 9% in 1999.

"It's good news that so much money is on the sidelines," Cooper said. "It tells you that there's tremendous potential to move into equities."