Credit & Risk

Grow or Die?

Grow or Die?

3 min readConfession: This eye-catching title is not our invention. It is borrowed from a panel discussion on money market fund distribution strategies held at the Crane Data Money Fund Symposium in Providence, RI in late August. We, however, think it brings out a salient point – growth for growth’s sake can be a recipe for disaster….

Wringing the Risks Out of Money Funds

Wringing the Risks Out of Money Funds

2 min readOn June 24, 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the long-anticipated proposed amendments to the 2a-7 rule that regulates money market mutual funds. The proposed changes were prompted by the extraordinary events in the money fund industry that took place after the Reserve Primary Fund’s net asset value (NAV) dropped below a constant…

Structural Overhaul or Just a Makeover for Money Funds?

1 min readIt likely goes without saying that here at Capital Advisors Group we have been keeping a very close watch over the controversy that is heating up over the regulatory structure of money market funds. With the Obama Administration now stepping in to exercise its power to question and potentially modify SEC suggested changes to money…

How Will Changes to the Money Fund Industry Affect You?

1 min readIn our view, one of the most effective government programs enacted during the credit crisis, and likely the one that impacted Treasurers’ cash management strategies the most, was the temporary government guarantee program for money market funds. This one-year program, which is set to expire on September 18th of this year, has helped in large…

Buyer Beware: Four Tips on Navigating the Government’s Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF)

Buyer Beware: Four Tips on Navigating the Government’s Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF)

2 min readExecutive Summary Tip No. 1: In a market that lacks liquidity, CPFF means liquidity. Tip No. 2: When a firm can no longer access CPFF, liquidity may deteriorate rather rapidly. Tip No. 3: Despite the appearance to the contrary, not all CPFF-eligible issuers are the same. Tip No. 4: CPFF eligibility and credit ratings are…

A Review of the Commercial Paper Funding Facility

2 min readAs many recipients of our monthly newsletter are aware, Capital Advisors Group serves a wide range of clients, from private to public companies with small to large cash balances and institutions of all stages in between. Before you read further I’d like to stress that, given the current state of the credit markets, we’re stressing…

The Big Guns Come Out

2 min readOver the course of the past year there have been a slew of government programs developed to prop up the credit markets and spur economic growth. The programs have had various impacts, from stabilizing money market fund flows, to providing liquidity support for certain asset classes and direct credit support for certain targeted credits. Still,…

Tips For The Cautious Cash Investor

Tips For The Cautious Cash Investor

2 min readExecutive Summary As risk averse cash investors slowly move away from an aggressively conservative strategy, we take a look at two developing trends that investors may be considering and some potential pitfalls. Emerging Trends: Bank Deposit Accounts Prime Money Market Funds We think that the credit market has probably exited the free-fall phase and has…