How Advisors Are Cashing In On Cash

Charles Paikert

12 September 2023

Thanks to rising interest rates, cash is no longer an afterthought for financial advisors.

“No one was talking about cash a year ago; now clients are talking about it all the time,” said Michael Durso, chief executive officer at has also recommended investing directly in short-term Treasuries for cash positions in cases where it makes sense on an after-tax basis, said David Baker, senior director of investment strategy.

But Laird Norton has been careful to “keep that guidance restricted to strategic cash positions versus altering our core fixed income,” Baker explained.

“Bonds are arguably our most effective portfolio diversifier,” Baker said. “An inverted yield curve historically is a recessionary indicator and what has happened throughout history is that those shorter maturity cash exposures end up underperforming over the next couple of quarters or years as those relationships normalize with short-term rates typically coming down as the economy deteriorates.”

And what happens to those trendy cash accounts when rates do come down?

“People still want to keep a significant amount of their money in cash,” Lane said. “The average investor isn’t going to put all their money in the market. We see this as a very steady business.”