We are often asked how we manage our corporate treasury at Spiko. The answer is simple: almost all of it (99%) is allocated to our own products - specifically, our € and $ money market funds.
Why?
The opportunity cost of not (or poorly) allocating your treasury
First, because leaving money in a non-interest-bearing checking account—or even in an account with an interest rate lower than the risk-free rate—creates a significant opportunity cost today.
Think about it: every euro sitting in your checking account (or in an account earning less than 3.6% net of fees) is working for your bank, which earns the risk-free rate through its account at the central bank. If you're interested in learning more about this topic, we invite you to read our article Who Controls the Risk-Free Rate?
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For example, we compared the service fees we paid to our bank with the interest we lost by keeping our treasury in a checking account, rather than allocating it to our products before they were available.
Let’s just say the results weren’t exactly a laughing matter 🙃: a 100x difference between a few hundred euros in fees and tens of thousands of euros in lost interest on our cash.
Here’s a figure to keep in mind: a treasury in euros, placed at the risk-free rate today, earns 0.01% per day (or 1 basis point, for the finance-savvy). For a €2 million treasury, that’s €200 a day. In other words, that’s the money you're handing over to your bank if you don’t allocate it properly.
The need for an ultra-flexible cash management solution
But to achieve this, finding the right products is no easy feat.
So, what do we need?
- First, a risk-free solution, or at least one that’s as safe—if not safer—than a bank alternative, because speculating with treasury funds is not an option.
- Second, a product with minimal margins, allowing us to capture almost the entire risk-free rate.
- Third, a truly flexible solution that generates daily interest and lets us access our funds quickly—ideally the same day, or at most the next day—if needed.
The Spiko Money Market Funds
We designed our products with these three key criteria in mind:
- First, they are 90% backed by very short-term debt issued by the most stable governments, with the remaining 10% held in bank deposits through a Crédit Agricole subsidiary specializing in asset custody.
- Second, there are no entry, exit, or custody fees; all costs are fully transparent, and the rates displayed on the app are always net of fees.
- Third, they offer total flexibility, with daily withdrawals available, no advance notice required, and no withdrawal fees.
99% of our treasury is earning yield
Thanks to the Spiko funds, almost all of our treasury is consistently earning returns.
We keep only a small amount—around 1% of our treasury—in our checking account to cover monthly expenses as they arise.
However, like many businesses with significant recurring expenses, such as salaries, our cash outflows are highly concentrated at the end of the month. This means we only need to withdraw once a month, just before payroll, to cover the salaries. If the withdrawal request is made before 10:30 AM CET, the funds are in our checking account by the evening.
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