TMI/Calastone Global Liquidity Survey
U.K.-based Treasury Management International and Calastone published "Global Liquidity Barometer 2022," which surveys corporate treasurers on "Short-Term Investment Trends and Treasury Insights." The paper tells us, "The first half of 2022 has been far from plain sailing for CFOs and treasurers, not to mention their short-term investments. Corporate investors are grappling with everything from interest rate and inflationary pressures to the knock-on effect of the Ukraine crisis, regulatory reform, and growing ESG requirements. The significant impact of these rapidly evolving market dynamics is reflected clearly in this Global Liquidity Barometer. Providing a real-life lens on these challenges and opportunities, drawing on data collected from the treasury and wider finance community, this survey report offers a means to understand the present -- and glimpse the future -- of short-term investing." Among the key findings: "Fifty-four percent of respondents view interest rates as their number one concern relating to short-term investments.... Thirty-nine percent see inflation as the second most important issue. And 32% believe the Ukraine crisis to be the third most significant challenge.... There is a clear lack of user-friendly investment technology among respondents and 47% have no investment portal whatsoever. Meanwhile, over three-quarters (77%) of respondents would prefer to access and manage their MMF and other short-term investments via a TMS, reflecting the desire for a true 'one stop shop.'" TMI explains, "The survey results show that 37% plan to invest in green/sustainable deposits over the coming 12 months and 32% are looking to use ESG-compliant MMFs -- perhaps eschewing non-sustainable investments in order to favour these emerging instruments.... The survey results show that potential US regulatory changes to prime MMFs mean that 70% of respondents (59% 'maybe' and 11% 'yes') are questioning their use of this instrument.... In Europe the proposal to remove stable NAV for LVNAV MMFs is extremely concerning (5%) or very concerning (27%) for almost one-third of respondents <b:>~_. If MMFs become less popular, short-term bond funds or deposits may benefit." It adds, "[`A]ccess to real-time information on areas such as fund performance, composition, yield is considered a major challenge by 46% of those surveyed, followed by the combination of lack of fee transparency and fees charged at 32%, with the remaining manual processes at 22%.... Over three-quarters (77%) of respondents would prefer to access and manage their MMF and other short-term investments via a TMS.... Only 13% wish to use an investment portal -- and yet 53% are using one or more portals today."
