More corporate treasury teams are seeking to manage their short-term cash investments themselves rather than go through asset manager relationships. Treasurers want to be able to analyse and compare an array of MMFs and their different characteristics on their screens in one place and use simple tools to build customised portfolios. The want to buy and sell investments in real-time, sure in the knowledge they will be able to execute and trade securely in an environment that simplifies asset custody, monitoring and risk management.

So argues Fund Channel which has just rolled out a new product called Fund Channel Liquidity, a B2B fund distribution platform designed to help corporate treasurers manage their own short-term cash investments and prioritise consistent yield and high liquidity themselves rather than juggle different asset manager relationships.

The online platform has been launched under the umbrella of Amundi and Caceis’ well-established Fund Channel offering and allows European corporate treasurers to tap into a wide universe of MMFs. So far, the platform offers around 140 investable International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs) from 33 different asset managers, but that number will continue to grow going forward. The digital solution also comes with dedicated support teams to ensure smooth onboarding and day-to-day operations.

“We have seen a change in demand from corporate treasurers. Rather than manage their cash investments via asset managers, they want to go through platforms and marketplaces and do it themselves. This way they can access a wide range of funds in real-time and tap into a new simplicity around execution and reporting,” says Guillaume Lesage, Chief Operating Officer at Amundi Group who has been encouraged by the platform’s recent endorsement by the French Treasurers’ Association scooping ‘Placement Place de Marché – Lauréat 2025’ at the AFTE.

“We have seen a huge interest. We are targeting a €50bn market share in volume because we believe our solution answers the needs of treasurers,” he says.

A step towards open solutions

Lesage believes the platform marks another step towards open solutions. Corporate treasurers – and the wider investment community – increasingly seek a choice of funds and don’t want to be attached to just a few asset management relationships, he says. “Market places allow this.”

Moreover, he also believes demand for the platform has been piqued by European corporate treasurers seeking a solution away from the dominance of US asset managers in the current geopolitical environment. “I see corporate treasurers increasingly looking for options coming out of Europe,” he says.

He also believes the platform taps into a growing demand from treasurers for technology. In this case, the platform allows treasurers to manage risk in their portfolios, make simulations and measure the ESG impact of a particular fund as well as explain profitability and performance issues to top management.

“Treasury is probably one of the most expert and technical professions that exist,” he concludes. “Our view is that treasurers are excellent at managing treasury and especially managing risk and liquidity, but they have always been challenged by digitisation and our platform offers a solution.”