Near-Zero Interest Rates Have Some Treasury Teams Investing in Alternative Short-Term Instruments, Says ICD
Published: January 04, 2021
San Francisco – With the Federal Reserve expecting to keep its benchmark short-term interest rate near zero through at least 2023, some treasury investment managers are looking at higher-yielding short-term investments options in the money markets, says ICD, an independent portal provider of money market funds and other short-term investments.
In a recent ICD webinar, Short Term Investment Options in a Low-Rate Environment, 71% of treasury professionals polled said they are planning on investing in or are currently investing in new money market instruments. Forty-six percent said liquidity remained their top priority.
“In the current environment, it’s not surprising that liquidity remains a top priority for treasury organisations. However, we are finding that – especially for non-operating cash – investors are still looking to pick up some yield with alternative investment options that go out a little farther on the curve, particularly where there is still some inherent liquidity in the product,” says Sebastian Ramos, EVP of Global Trading and Products at ICD.
Meeting the demand for alternative investments, ICD has worked with its fund partners to add new products to its ICD Portal, a one-to-many model for treasury organisations to independently research, trade, analyse and report on money market funds and short-term instruments, all in one place.
During the webinar, Ramos provided an overview of the investment options available on ICD Portal, including:
- Money Market Funds
- Short Duration Bond Funds
- ESG & Socially Responsible Funds
- FICA
- Demand Deposits
- Time Deposits
- Separately Managed Accounts
Article Last Updated: January 13, 2021