TreasurySpring, a London-based financial technology, has launched new platform for Fixed-Term Funda (FTF), a new financial instrument built by TreasurySpring, to unlock the multi-trillion dollar wholesale money markets by providing new digital pipelines to connect cash-rich firms to institutional borrowers from the sovereign, bank and corporate sectors.
FTFs enable all holders of large cash balances, from corporates to charities, private funds to insurance companies, family offices to private banks and beyond, to reduce and diversify risk on those balances, whilst simultaneously increasing returns. For investment-grade firms seeking financing, TreasurySpring’s FTF platform provides flexible, low-cost access to a diverse universe of new short-term funding sources.
An FTF shares many of the characteristics of a term deposit, in that it is a term product that can be acquired without the need for any infrastructure. However, instead of providing exposure to unsecured bank risk, as with a deposit, an FTF can offer exposure to any short-dated, investment grade fixed-income obligation, such as a single government bill, a single secured bank loan or a single investment-grade corporate loan, for example.
The FTF platform can be accessed directly via TreasurySpring’s cloud-based web-portal and has been designed to integrate easily into other platforms via secure APIs, making it straightforward to interact with cash investors, issuers, portals and treasury management systems. Since issuing the world’s first FTF in June 2018 in Beta phase, clients from multiple sectors have purchased more than USD400 million of FTFs across a broad range of new products, with more than USD300 million of issuance in 2019 already.
Kevin Cook, co-founder and CEO, TreasurySpring, says: “The public launch of our online platform is the culmination of three years work to build the financial, operational and technological infrastructure necessary to deliver truly digital pipelines that connect cash rich investors to institutional borrowers. Through these pipelines, we are democratising access to the wholesale money markets, enabling every holder of large cash balances to invest them in the same way as the most sophisticated financial institutions. We designed our FTF platform in response to clear and repeated demand for cash investment alternatives -– alternatives that allow investors to risk less but earn more – and we are delighted to now be able to deliver simple standardised, regulated products to meet that demand.”
Tim Howell, former CEO of Euroclear and investor in TreasurySpring, adds: “I have known the TreasurySpring executive team for a number of years now and firmly believe that FTFs bring true innovation to our industry; indeed, I believe we are looking at the first material innovation in this space since the creation of money market funds in the 1970s.”
Justin Meadows, founder and former CEO of NEX Treasury and investor in TreasurySpring, says: “When Kevin and his partners first explained the concept behind Fixed-Term Funds to me back in 2016, I knew that they were onto something special. FTFs are a simple but powerful tool that can add value to treasury teams of all shapes and sizes; and with the ease of onboarding and execution through their new online portal, I expect to see the speed of adoption continue to grow rapidly over the coming months and years.”
