Investors have growingly shifted their money to short-term financial instruments, such as money market funds, in 2015 as interest rates have hit rock bottom, data showed Tuesday.
  

Money market funds are short-term debt securities, such as Treasury bills and commercial papers. They are widely considered as safe as bank deposits yet provides a higher return.
  

The net asset value of MMFs came to 38.23 trillion won ($33.1 billion) as of Thursday, surging 46.4 percent from the end of last year, according to market researcher FnGuide. The amount is also the highest since the 121.3 trillion won in May 2009. 
  

Market watchers say investors preferred the short-term financial vehicle to bank deposits after the Bank of Korea lowered the key interest rate twice, once in February and again in June, to a record low of 1.5 percent to shore up the sagging economy.
  

The yield rate of MMFs stood at 0.99 percent this year, while its one-year return rate was 2.03 percent, above the average rate of fixed deposits that's below 2 percent, the researcher said.  (Yonhap)