Jittery Money-Market Investors Await Treasury Guarantee Details

Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Murali Iyer and his wife haven't slept much since Sept. 17. That's when they got a call from TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. that made them worry about their life savings.

Iyer, who thought his $400,000 at the brokerage was in a government-insured bank account, learned that it was really in the Reserve Primary Fund, the money-market mutual fund that on Sept. 16 became the first since 1994 to fall below $1-per-share to 97 cents.

The Hawthorne, California, resident found out yesterday he's luckier than most -- TD Ameritrade said it would spend up to $50 million to offset losses for its customers who have money in the Reserve Primary Fund. Other investors still don't know the fate of their savings.

``I'm not feeling any better,'' Iyer said. ``I'm extremely worried. I'm not sleeping. My wife isn't sleeping. We haven't slept in almost nine nights now.''

The U.S. Treasury Department's effort to back up money- market investors announced Sept. 19 seems to be working in stopping withdrawals from the $3.35 trillion industry. Assets have grown by about $23 billion through Sept. 24.