Media – Blog

With sweeping changes coming to short term cash markets, along with a likely Fed policy shift, now is the time for a bottom-up reevaluation of cash investment strategies. Regulatory changes are altering the risk-reward relationship of the most staid solutions in cash markets, as old products are reinvented and new
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As we transition into a new year, I reflect on 2014 as a year of steady but slow economic progress. Continued improvements in the labor markets moved the U.S. closer to the self-sustaining economy the Fed is targeting. Quantitative easing ended quietly while the U.S. equity markets continued their march
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The SEC’s announcement last week that institutional prime money market funds will soon incorporate floating NAVs, along with potential fees and gates on liquidity during times of stress, ends nearly five years of discordant regulatory deliberations. During that time, Capital Advisors Group has been active in the assessment of money
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Abstract The Johnson-Crapo bill represents another concrete step towards the resolution of the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and one that will further reduce the supply of government agency debt. This presents a serious challenge to the management of cash portfolios due to the core holdings status of
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Subtle language changes to the Fed’s official statement and comments from Janet Yellen’s first press conference as Chair shifted the anticipated timing of a Fed funds rate hike to the first half of 2015. The dot chart that maps FOMC members’ interest rate predictions showed that the majority expect the
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Abstract Separate accounts may offer greater return and reduced credit risk compared to prime money market funds. By examining current and future liquidity needs and the potential for significant deviations from cash flow projections, corporate treasurers may construct portfolios with direct investments in high-quality credits that satisfy current, future and
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Abstract 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 also may be an important tool to reduce enterprise level counterparty risk. A portfolio of securities not correlated with the firm’s largest
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Abstract We elaborate on three key challenges for corporate cash investors in 2014: the emergence of new financial regulations, anticipation of a steeper yield curve, and proliferation of innovative products. As a number of financial regulations reach the stage of implementation, short-duration investors will start to feel the impact of
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Summary Opinion Institutional Shareholder Perspective: We commend the Commission for tackling the tremendous task of analyzing mountains of data before putting forth the reform alternatives for public comment. We seek to weigh in on the subject from the perspective of an institutional asset manager. Penny Rounding for Shareholder Activities: We
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Abstract We do not foresee a meaningful rise in short-term interest rates even as the Fed may begin tapering bond purchases. The fed funds rate, the key factor affecting short-term rates, likely will not start to rise prior to mid-2015. Investors should continue to look for opportunities further up the
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