Cash as a Strategic Asset

According to Thomas Schickler of JPMorgan Chase Treasury Services, cash, having reached unprecedented levels on the balance sheets of companies around the world and still growing, has been cast in a new ......

Once considered simply a consequence of business activities, cash has evolved into a strategic asset, valued as a hedge against market volatility and amassed to stay ..... in a world of business opportunities.

This ..... change in how cash assets are viewed and treated has implications for corporate treasurers, who are looking to minimise risks, optimise returns, get the most from their cash portfolios and make the most of their own valuable time.

The historical market perception was that holding cash would ..... shareholder value and, therefore, cash should be quickly deployed, but that's not necessarily the case, especially not today.

Today, companies are holding more cash than ever before, and this build-up of cash levels can be attributed to a number of factors, ranging from increased sensitivity to overcapacity following the ..... of the 'Internet bubble' to geopolitical instability.

Throughout the recent cycles in monetary policy and capital market conditions, companies have consistently expanded their cash holdings, but economic cycles alone do not explain the continuing cash build-up, which suggests a fundamental shift in how companies view cash: as an asset class in its own ......

Recent events in the global capital markets have led to a ..... reassessment of risk, and emphasised the importance of synchronising the credit and liquidity components embedded in investment alternatives with the needs and risk tolerance of the corporation.

Corporate treasurers are increasingly considering the trade-off between resources ..... and basis points gained, incorporating the cost of execution to determine total economic return.

To enhance the return on the overall cash portfolio, corporate treasurers see a greater need to break down the portfolio into different types of cash: ..... cash, the least predictable, to meet daily needs; reserve cash, providing a liquidity cushion; and strategic cash, the most predictable, for discretionary use.

Greater insight into the cash components provides true pricing power, while failure to create sufficient delineation among the components can significantly ..... total returns.