MULTI-FIRM ASSET MANAGEMENT: A PORTFOLIO APPROACH TO CASH MANAGEMENT

The subject of inter-firm asset management has not been explicitly addressed in the literature to date. The existence of potential net benefits accruing from the inter-firm management of various categories of assets presents an intriguing area of investigation and analysis. In order to restrict the scope of the project, only cash and near-cash, liquid assets, will be explicitly dealt with in a multi-firm framework. There are several logical and persuasive reasons that this limitation has been imposed. Cash and near-cash are indigenous to all firms and are therefore most easily combined and managed collectively. The very similar nature of these two asset categories adds to the practicality of managing them across firms.;The investigation of the subject leads this researcher to several conclusions. Portfolio theory can provide positive net benefits to cash managers. These benefits do not supplant the usefulness of single-firm cash management techniques, but serve to enhance them. Extensions of this multi-firm asset management concept may yield additional net benefits in other areas of corporate asset/liability management.;The existing literature in the field of cash management has been examined to provide a background for the multi-firm discussion which follows. Portfolio theory, as it is relevant to the subject, is summarized and the advantages it holds for the management of liquid assets are presented. The theoretical net benefits of the model are discussed and sample data for twenty firms are analyzed and portfolio simulations are developed. Finally, other potential applications of the multi-firm management of assets are examined.