13 min readAbstract Many liquidity investors came to know commercial paper (CP) through holdings in prime money market funds (MMFs). We notice higher interest in direct CP investing since the 2016 MMF reform. This paper provides an overview of the market over the last decade and evaluates financial vs. non-financial, U.S. vs. foreign, and Tier 1 vs….
11 min readAbstract Experience has taught us that counterparties can fail with little warning. Counterparty risk management has become more challenging in recent decades due to concentrated exposures, complex financial instruments and evolving bank credit. Corporate and treasury organizations should manage this risk proactively, have an integrated risk policy across business lines, diversify risk by setting exposure…
4 min readAbstract For institutional cash investors unsure of separately managed accounts in a rising interest rate environment, our scenario analysis suggests that a laddered portfolio of agency and corporate securities with a modest WAM could outperform the government money market fund proxy with negligible unrealized loss concerns. Both agency and corporate portfolios with maximum maturities of…
4 min readAbstract Jerome Powell is the new Chair of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) following Janet Yellen’s retirement from the Fed. In the near-term, Powell is likely to continue on the projected path of gradual interest rate hikes while also focusing on transparency and deregulation. However, as his background is not in economics, he will…
1 min readBanks have traditionally been a little slow to follow interest rate hikes by the Fed with comparable rate increases on their own deposit accounts. But this time around they seem to be moving more slowly than ever. Our August research report―Higher Deposit Rates-Where Art Thou?―looks back at the past two Fed tightening cycles and compares…
3 min readAbstract The return of yield opportunities presents institutional cash investors with fresh challenges. Higher rates have driven up the cost of staying with ultra conservative instruments. Money market fund reforms have left corporate cash managers with few clear choices to add yield. And historically popular cash vehicles that have undergone significant changes demand a fresh…
2 min readAbstract The return of yield opportunities presents institutional cash investors with fresh challenges. Higher rates have driven up the cost of staying with ultra conservative instruments. Money market fund reforms have left corporate cash managers with few clear choices to add yield. And historically popular cash vehicles that have undergone significant changes demand a fresh…
3 min readAbstract Counterparty risk management should have an integrated framework. While utilizing a separately managed account may help reduce a corporation’s concentration risk in a money market fund, it may also be an important tool to reduce enterprise level counterparty risk. A portfolio of securities not correlated with the firm’s largest credit exposures may help to…
5 min readPotential sweeping changes in fiscal and monetary policies, a new order in international relations, and ongoing political conflicts are creating heightened uncertainty for institutional cash investors in 2017. The eventful first weeks of the Trump administration saw a rapid succession of executive orders impacting healthcare, trade, hiring, energy, education, border security, national defense, and numerous…
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….