1 min readUncertainty is the watchword for institutional cash investors in 2017. Market volatility, fiscal disputes, rising interest rates, geopolitical conflict, headline risk, and last year’s disruptive money market fund reforms have all been amplified by the torrent of tweets from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The result is a perfect storm of uncertainty prompting cash managers to rethink…
4 min readAbstract Recent events serve as a prelude to what is to come from the new administration. Active cash portfolio management with a separate account solution helps manage policy uncertainty, market volatility, headline and geopolitical risk. Fiscal and monetary policies, international relations and political conflicts may bring more uncertainty in 2017 than in other recent years….
4 min readRemember the debt ceiling fights of 2011 and 2013? They may be in the back of many investors’ minds now, but will likely be front and center again leading up to March 15, when the suspension of the federal government debt ceiling expires. Any institutional cash investor who lived through those earlier Congressional standoffs knows…
1 min readFew years in recent memory rivaled the events of 2016. The Brexit vote and Trump’s win confounded pundits and prognosticators. Multiple terror attacks and a migrant crisis roiled a fractured European Union, and the United States was rocked by ongoing racial tensions and acts of home-grown terrorism. But, in spite of these tumultuous events, we…
4 min readAbstract We select Trumponomics, the debt ceiling rollercoaster and geopolitics as three main themes to watch in 2017. Federal stimulus may in fact be underwhelming and a stronger dollar and trade wars may further erode the effect of increased government spending. The immense size of government money market funds ($2.2 trillion) may present challenges throughout…
1 min readOn November 8th, many corporate cash managers plotting their 2017 investment strategies confidently anticipated a “more-of-the-same” Hillary Clinton administration. But instead, they woke up on November 9th wondering where in the world President-elect Donald J. Trump might lead the economy. Will a “Good Trump” succeed in delivering consistent economic performance? Will he (more or less)…
2 min readAbstract Policy, geopolitical, and idiosyncratic risks are real under the new administration. It is too soon to tell if the next four years will be friendly to cash investors. The economic drag from trade barriers and immigration control may offset some benefits from a federal stimulus and a pro-business Republican agenda. A potentially bifurcated outcome…
4 min readOur panel session at this year’s AFP Conference on “Managing Liquidity in a Post-Reform World” came at an opportune time—just after new SEC regulations on institutional prime money market funds went into affect that have already started to dramatically transform the cash management landscape. So it was no surprise when much of the formal discussion…
1 min readAbstract Important regulatory changes to institutional prime money market funds are forcing institutional cash managers to look elsewhere. While ultra-short bond funds hold promises, they exhibit many of the same drawbacks of commingled vehicles. A well-researched and well-structured separately managed account may overcome these drawbacks while delivering comparable or better benefits. Commingled vehicles and separate…
2 min readMany institutional cash investors found themselves on the sidelines on October 14, when prime money market funds finally instituted SEC-mandated floating net asset values, optional redemption fees and possible liquidity gates. Confronted with an entirely new risk/reward equation, many investors are investigating the alternatives, either considering making their own direct investments or exploring working with…