19 min readIntroduction By Lance Pan, CFA 2024 was a remarkable year for financial markets in many respects. The estimated 2.7% growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) nearly doubled the Federal Reserve’s median projection of 1.4% a year earlier.[1] The S&P 500 stock index rose 23.3% on the heels of an equally impressive gain of 24.2%…
9 min readCash may be King, but it is also going virtual before our eyes. Digital cash used to be the domain of tech innovators and cryptocurrency enthusiasts. But if a pair of tokenized money market mutual funds (MMFs) is any indication, instantaneous movement of cash untethered to market hours may be close to reality. If today’s…
15 min readAbstract BBB-rated debt continues to offer new possibilities for cash investors. Although it involves taking on incremental credit risk, allowing purchase of these securities can help alleviate supply shortages while also offering additional return opportunities. Should investors look into adding BBB names to their portfolios, we recommend that they follow these principles. Guiding Principles: Introduction…
19 min readDOWNLOAD FULL REPORT Introduction By Lance Pan, CFA “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” As the new year approaches and I prepare this introduction to our annual market outlook on cash investments, I can’t think of a better way to describe the past year than this quote by Charles…
10 min readExecutive Summary Effective liquidity management, especially for large cash portfolios with a range of investments, can quickly turn into a larger and more complex task than initially expected. Some financial executives may not have a firm grasp of what liquidity means in a portfolio of individual cash assets. But adhering to some simple guidelines and…
15 min readOnce again, it’s time for CFOs and corporate cash investors to start focusing on another debt ceiling showdown in the United States Congress. On May 1st, 2023, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen updated Congressional leaders that the United States would not be able to pay all its bills by June 1st, 2023.1 Secretary Yellen had previously…
14 min readIntroduction With the 75-basis-point hike in the Fed funds rate on September 21st, Fed officials now peg their median forecast for the key policy rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range by the end of the year. The resulting rise in bond yields has been so breathtaking that the previous expectation that Fed funds would end the…
1 min readIn this webcast, Lance Pan defines ESG, discusses how to apply ESG to fixed income and cash investments, and outlines how you can select an ESG provider. Watch the webcast: Click the above webcast link for episode 3 of Credit Update. Hosted by Capital Advisors Group’s Director of Investment Research and Strategy, Lance Pan. Topics…
4 min readFixed income investors have been slower to adopt sustainable investing practices than their equity counterparts, as only in recent years has responsible fixed income investing become a hot topic. (Sustainable investing was one of our three themes to watch for in our article “2020 Vision – Watch the Fed, Repos and ESG Investing.”) Different timetables…
1 min readWatch the webcast: Click the above webcast link for episode 1 of Credit Update. Hosted by Capital Advisors Group’s Director of Investment Research and Strategy, Lance Pan. Topics covered: Recap of Recent Market Events How to Balance Credit Risk in a Portfolio During Times of Economic Volatility (e.g., COVID-19) Overview of Corporate Paper (CP) Bid-Ask…