Cash InvestmentsNeuGroup News
October 31, 2023

BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink Addresses Cash Investment Summit

A big thank you to BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink for addressing our Corporate Cash Investment Summit that BlackRock hosted on October 11th and 12th. “It was my privilege to chat with Larry again in front of NeuGroup members.” – Joseph Neu, NeuGroup Founder and CEO Just back from Asia and amid new geopolitical storms, members appreciated Larry taking the time to address them with so much going on. As much as the insights he shared, Larry made a personal connection with a group of cash investment…
Cash InvestmentsNeuGroup News
May 6, 2023

Cash Investment Members Gather in Oakland, California! 

A big thank you to DWS Group for the partnership and to Michael Nourafshan (Block) for hosting our two day Cash Investment Meeting last week in Oakland, California!  Kicked off by Laker legend Robert Horry, members heard from 7-time NBA Champion on balancing work/life, leadership from both Horry’s own story and from the great he played with.  Other session highlights included: Robert Chen from Applied Materials who shared on portfolio construction in the changing interest rate landscape. Thank you to Jeff Morton from DWS for the many strategies…
Cash InvestmentsTechnology
January 12, 2023

Python Paves the Way for Improved Investment Performance

A NeuGroup member shares his company’s success using data analytics and automation to optimize portfolio returns. Data analytics and automation are increasingly popular tools for corporates looking to optimize the management of their investment portfolios. At a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Cash Investment 1, sponsored by Lord Abbett, two members from a Silicon Valley technology company presented on how they led a four-month project leveraging Python to pull critical data into an Excel spreadsheet on a daily basis to monitor…
Capital MarketsInvestment Management
December 8, 2022

Cash Investment Managers Watch and Wait for the Fog to Clear

Many NeuGroup members are shortening duration and some are avoiding maturities beyond six months. “This is the most uncertain time I’ve ever seen,” said a representative of Allspring Global Investments at the fall meeting of NeuGroup for Cash Investment 2, aptly capturing the sentiment of many members. Uncertainty and a sense that interest rates will keep rising despite fears of recession are among the reasons many of them are keeping average portfolio duration short amid the extreme inversion of the yield curve.…
Capital MarketsInvestment Management
November 17, 2022

Kicking the Tires: Investing Cash in Working Capital Finance

Supply chain finance offers attractive yields uncorrelated to other assets, but non-IG funds present an obstacle. The search for attractive yields uncorrelated with—and more resilient than—other fixed-income investments led the investment arm of a large, privately-held multinational corporation to a fund that invests globally across trade receivable, payable and inventory finance assets. Representatives from Koch Investments Group and Pemberton Asset Management, a specialist alternative credit manager, discussed the benefits of the working capital finance asset class at a recent NeuGroup session…
BankingInvestment Management
October 13, 2022

Insist and You May Receive: Higher Rates on Bank Deposits

A low overnight deposit rate prompted one company’s treasury to push back and ask for a higher rate. The bank doubled it. Corporates that want to keep some cash in bank deposits as the Fed hikes interest rates but don’t like the rates they’re being offered should consider an inspirational example described by one assistant treasurer who said her treasury team told some of its banks, in essence, “Your rates aren’t good enough.” The AT discussed the approach during a…
Treasury Management
June 30, 2022

The Great Reconsideration: Improving Culture To Improve Retention

While the flexibility provided by remote work is an important factor, the organization’s culture can be the biggest draw. The pandemic triggered a significant shift in employees’ expectations, making finding and retaining talent a top priority for finance executives. Higher employee turnover rates are prompting companies to kick-start new efforts to craft corporate cultures that make people feel welcome and ensure they stay on long-term. It’s not easy. “The labor market is still a challenge, and recruitment is a challenge,” one treasurer…
Capital MarketsInvestment Management
June 16, 2022

Go Short: The Case for Short Duration Credit

One portfolio manager’s investment in ultra-short securities helps shed light on an underrated way to pick up yield. Investment managers prospecting for opportunities to pick up yield as rates rise may find gold in the hills of short duration credit. At a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Cash Investment sponsored by investment management company Lord Abbett, the portfolio manager of a private university with a large endowment shared how he capitalized on rising yields for short-term investments by working with Lord Abbett at the…
Capital AllocationCash & Working Capital
May 12, 2022

A Treasury Mind Shift: Focusing On Operational Cash

Many treasuries have grown complacent about cash levels, but concerns about a recession are triggering a renewed focus on optimizing the management of working capital.The debate about whether the US economy is headed into a recession because of higher interest rates and the Fed reducing its balance sheet is heating up. While some economists are bullish, many corporate treasuries are not: In a poll last week, 71% of members of NeuGroup for Global Cash and Banking said a recession is…
Capital MarketsCash InvestmentsCompliance
December 8, 2021

Pain You Can Manage and Pain You Can’t: Separately Managed Accounts

SMAs mean accepting KYC and legal dept. pain, but clear communication can save plenty of heartache with managers. Members joined forces for a panel discussion on the pain points associated with setting up, maintaining and reporting for separately managed accounts (SMAs) at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Cash Investment. Not surprisingly, the most painful parts are the know-your-customer (KYC) obligations and the legal agreement tug-of-war needed for account setup. The encouraging, somewhat unexpected takeaway: Effective communication and a strong relationship…