Investment consulting for treasury and finance departments

At a glance

  • Consulting services for finance and treasury departments regarding all financial/economic issues (e.g. treasury management, developing the investment strategy, determining investment regulations and guidelines, implementing and monitoring investments)
  • Financial risk management regarding interest and currency risks, contract risks, liquidity risks, and market risks
  • Consulting services regarding specific issues such as hedging strategy, derivatives, etc.

Consulting services for finance and treasury departments

Nowadays, the area of activity of modern treasury departments comprises various tasks such as cash management, liquidity management, debtor management and asset and pension management. The primary aim of treasury management is to optimize the investments and the liquidity as well as the management of interest and currency risks or risks related to the commodity market. In this context, numerous financial problems arise. For different reasons, many companies have financial assets that need to be professionally invested.

Amongst other issues, we assist companies in the following:

  • Determining the risk profile as a function of the investment horizon, future liabilities, earnings volatility and other influencing factors
  • Determining the risk/return-optimized capital structure (asset liability management) and defining an investment strategy
  • Advice on the optimal currency hedging strategy and risk management instruments
  • Compliance with the key principles of corporate governance (investment regulations)
  • Determining investment guidelines for internal and external asset managers
  • Selecting the best and most cost-effective instruments for implementing the investment strategy / cost comparison asset managers
  • Investment controlling and monitoring investments regarding risk and return
  • Second opinions (e.g. independent evaluation of internally achieved investment results)

Contact

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Dr. Hansruedi Scherer
Partner
Contact

Reichlin_Andreas_klein.jpg

Dr. Andreas Reichlin
Partner
Contact


Publications

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UBS Takeover of Credit Suisse

UBS Takeover of Credit Suisse

On the evening of 19 March 2023, UBS announced its intention to fully acquire Credit Suisse in close coordination with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Swiss Confederation. According to the SNB's press release, the transaction is necessary to secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy. In our presentation, we summarise the most important facts about the takeover as well as possible implications for investors.

PPCmetrics Asset Manager Review 2019/2020 CHF Edition - English Version

PPCmetrics Asset Manager Review 2019/2020 CHF Edition - English Version

Challenges and important aspects of illiquid investments. In the last three years, more than 3’000 investment managers participated in the PPCmetrics market screens. This Asset Manager Review contains information on asset managers for unlisted real estate USA, Swiss Equities Small and Mid Caps, Fund of Hedge Funds and Senior Secured Loans.

Illiquid Investments: Challenges ahead

Illiquid Investments: Challenges ahead

Illiquid investments should appeal to pension funds because of their long-term benefits, but are opportunities equal?

Is faith in past winners justified?

Is faith in past winners justified?

Rankings of top performers are publicly available for retail funds. However, databases for institutional mandates (segregated accounts and institutional funds) are still incomplete and rare. For our historical simulation of picking past winners we use a set of track records that were submitted by asset managers as part of public and non-public mandate tenders for institutional clients in Europe.

Asset Liability Management Today – Is it Still Fit for Purpose?

Asset Liability Management Today – Is it Still ‘Fit for Purpose’?

The target of asset liability management is to align the assets to the liabilities, i.e. managing risks due to mismatches between the assets and liabilities.

Challenges Pension Funds Face due to Low Interest Rates

Challenges Pension Funds Face due to Low Interest Rates

Risk-averse asset-only investors should go for short duration as risk return is distributed highly asymmetrically.

Asset Manager Selection based on historical performance - English Version

Asset Manager Selection based on historical performance - English Version

Historical performance is a frequently used criterion to select asset managers. Our empirical analysis, however, shows that after hiring an asset manager with such an outstanding performance, the asset manager performs significantly worse in the period after the selection. In some cases, the selected managers even performed significantly worse than a control sample.

Asset Manager Selection under Public Procurement Legislation

Asset Manager Selection under Public Procurement Legislation

"Why has the selection process and transparency become more important in the search of asset managers? What is different in a public procurement process under EU Regulation than in a ´normal´ selection process? How to deal with a very high number of candidates? Our experiences with public tenders in the last 5 years"