All needed their funds to be as liquid as cash, the complaint says, and all found out just how unliquid their funds were after they tried to sell the auction rate securities they had been told were as good as cash and couldn't.
Some corporations have cash on hand (see " Cash-Rich Companies"), some funds are just waiting for the right buying opportunities (see " Cash-Rich Mutual Funds") and many households are very liquid (see " Household Cash" table).