Corporate Treasury Management
Corporate treasury management has historically been a fragmented landscape of similar-looking investment options. It can seem like fund managers offer comparable underlying securities and structures, competing primarily on marginal basis point differences and brand recognition rather than meaningful innovation. The result: a confusing array of treasury money market funds that appear nearly identical on the surface but can contain critical differences in their fine print.
Unfortunately for corporate treasurers and CFOs, all of that complexity can make selecting the right treasury money market fund harder than it needs to be. At the end of the day, treasury professionals want to know that their corporate cash is preserved, accessible, and generating strong returns within regulatory constraints. With thoughtful treasury money market fund selection criteria, finance teams can balance safety, liquidity, and yield optimization.
Strong treasury money market funds are distinguished by characteristics that can go far beyond basic yield comparisons. Well-managed treasury funds feature specific attributes that matter for institutional cash management.
What can distinguish a higher-quality treasury money market fund?
Unlike competing funds that focus solely on yield chasing, well-rounded treasury money market funds typically prioritize value based on total cost of ownership and operational efficiency. While the industry average expense ratio for money market funds is 0.24%, many providers maintain expense ratios significantly below this benchmark — demonstrating how cost-conscious funds can deliver substantial expense savings.
Historically strong treasury funds typically offer competitive yields while maintaining lower expense ratios, with some funds recently charging as little as 0.07% while delivering over 4% seven-day SEC yields. Treasury management systems and efficient fund selection can deliver increased efficiency and cost savings by automating manual treasury tasks and optimizing payment structures to reduce transaction fees and banking costs. Corporate treasurers could benefit from these well-rounded approaches through reduced operational overhead, streamlined cash management processes, and improved yield capture when compared to more traditional cash management methods.
Sources:
- Vanguard. “Money market funds for short-term investing goals.” https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/money-markets
- U.S. News. “7 Best Money Market Funds to Buy for 2025.” https://money.usnews.com/investing/articles/best-money-market-funds-to-buy
- Nomentia. “What is Treasury Management? Everything there is to know.” https://www.nomentia.com/blog/treasury-management
- Diversified treasury portfolio construction with strategic maturity laddering across T-Bills, T-Notes, and Treasury repurchase agreements
- Institutional-grade liquidity management with same-day settlement capabilities and flexible minimum investment thresholds
- Transparent fee structures with expense ratios below 0.15%
- https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/money-markets
- https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/education/expense-ratio
- https://www.ici.org/news-release/24-news-expense-ratio-decline
- https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/money-markets
- Established track record during market stress with stable NAV maintenance and continued access during volatility periods
- Regulatory compliance with strong SEC Rule 2a-7 adherence and proactive risk management protocols
The key is identifying funds that help reduce the traditional trade-offs between safety, accessibility, and returns through portfolio construction and operational excellence.
Disclosures
This content is provided for general informational purposes only and is not investment advice. It is not provided by Arc Advisory LLC, and does not constitute a recommendation regarding any investment product or strategy.
