Advisories

On Wednesday, January 27, 2010, after careful deliberation and review of approximately 120 comment letters (including SVB Asset Management's), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new regulatory requirements for money market mutual funds. Once final, this new set of rules would govern the ability to offer a steady $1.00 Net Asset Value (NAV) and would include a variety of new requirements designed to strengthen the stability of money funds in times of crisis.2010

 The aim of cash management is to make use of idle funds by choosing the appropriate investments and providing adequate liquidity, while generating income and producing higher yields. These goals align exactly with the advantages of an active portfolio strategy in today’s environment.

The U.S. municipal bond market has been impacted by the volatility of tight credit conditions, federal regulation and stimulus as much as, if not more than, other sectors. What makes state and muni markets unique is how much remains unknown relative to corporate markets about their ability to recover

Given the relative newness of these securities, we are not convinced that a real secondary market for the debt exists. A strong supply and demand in the secondary market is necessary to create the kind of liquidity we want to see for investments in our client portfolios. Currently, we don’t see either. If an investor in an extendible security wants immediate liquidity, we see a real potential for principal loss.

In the wake of the harsh spotlight thrown on structured finance’s role in the 2007-2009 financial crisis, much of the securitization landscape has been altered. While many structured investments fell out of favor, particularly private label mortgage-backed securities and collateral debt obligations, credit card-backed securities avoided most of the severe credit and ratings downgrades.