Does Money Make the World Go Around?

Many of us are familiar with the song that begins, “Money makes the world go round.” As a card-carrying CFA charterholder and a recovering numbers cruncher, I will warrant that is how all too many measure the cycles of an individual’s, a business’s, or a nation’s rise and fall through periods of net accumulations and net spending. However — and this is strange for a numbers addict to say — I believe it is an incomplete and in many ways a faulty measure, particularly when considering investments.

Money=Currency

Money is an instrument of exchange used in buying and selling. In the modern world, money is expressed in terms of different currencies that can be transmitted physically over a sales counter or electronically through a banking system. As these exchanges are most often impersonal and rapid, we use numerical shorthand to represent the terms of exchange.

Money Buys Goods, Services, and the Time Of Others + What?

When we make purchases of physical goods, most of us think in terms of the item; for example, an auto or laptop. We do not consciously think of the hours and talents that went into producing it. We are somewhat more conscious of the hours and the credentialed talents when we purchase services from doctors, lawyers, accountants, and perhaps paid speakers. We need to include into that list paid workers such as plumbers, electricians, and landscapers. One can easily put an immediate numerical value on a number of goods and services, particularly if there are competitors. However, most of what we buy today is not just for immediate consumption. Thus, there is an implied belief that the buyer is purchasing the goodwill of the vendor, but not in an accounting sense. The value of this goodwill is not just after warranties but entails the quality and quantity of thinking and effort that can make us better users of our purchases. The advertising industry has taught us that various purchases have an emotional benefit; they make us feel good about ourselves, for example. This combination of goodwill purchased and the benefit of feeling better are difficult to measure and can, in the long run, be more important to us than initial price paid. I would suggest that these considerations make the valuation of cash more difficult than a bookkeeping exercise.

Cash/Currency In Your Investment Portfolio

I have just completed several days of visiting portfolio managers of different funds in accounts that we manage for both institutional and wealthy individual investors. In some respects, the most revealing parts of these discussions were about the smallest part of their portfolios: the cash on their balance sheets. The different comments are as follows:

• “Cash is a residual after I make all the investments that should be made.”
• “Cash is awaiting a few more investments that are out of price range or are not fully identified or more analytical work is needed.”
• “Cash is a flow-management device.”
• “Foreign cash is a hedge against home currency.”
• “Cash is awaiting a planned sizable redemption.”
• “Substantial cash holdings allow for riskier other holdings.”

I am sure as I talk with other portfolio managers I will learn of additional points of view.

How Do I Use Cash?

As indicated in earlier posts, I view my portfolio construction skills as more of an artist or an architect than a mechanical contractor. Carrying the analogy further, I hope to be building estates, academic facilities, research labs, performance venues, and medical facilities, among other worthwhile projects. As each account is managed to meet different needs, my use of cash is far from uniform. The rhythm and timing of the account as well as the feelings about money are taken into consideration.

I use cash in a similar fashion to those listed above. Additionally, in risk-adverse smaller balanced accounts I have used Treasury money market funds to avoid any principal loss. Currently, I am reducing this element in favor of ultra-short-term government funds and some short-term TIPS. My general attitude is that my clients should take their risk in the large equity portions of their portfolios, not in fixed income.

If Cash Is Trash as Bulls Believe, Try ETFs

If I am a portfolio construction artist, the ultimate mechanically constructed investment product is the exchange-traded fund (ETF). One of the many reasons I believe actively managed portfolios should be compared only with other actively managed portfolios doing the same thing is evident in the discussion above; that is, active managers have varying amounts of cash in their portfolios. ETFs are designed to replicate the performance of a fixed list of securities. The list does not include any cash. Thus in a rising market all of the securities within an ETF portfolio could be rising in price. In an actively managed portfolio only the actively traded securities have the opportunity to rise (and fall); the cash is only a very small amount of income. Thus there is a tactical advantage in favor of ETFs. My clients believe that well-chosen selected investments will produce better strategic results.

What Does Your Use of Cash Say About You?

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All posts are the opinion of the author. As such, they should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute or the author’s employer.