By Pushpendra Mehta, Executive Writer, CTMfile – April 23, 2024
Tory Hazard is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Institutional Cash Distributors (ICD) since 2017. Previously he held President, COO, CFO and Head of Sales roles at the company. Tory was responsible for building ICD’s in-house technology team, was co-inventor of ICD’s patented, award-winning exposure analytics application, Transparency Plus® and was instrumental in the development of the company’s AI-driven cloud solution, ICD Portfolio Analytics
Pushpendra Mehta, Executive Writer, CTMfile.com, interviewed Tory Hazard, CEO of ICD.
The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Tradeweb has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase ICD, an institutional investment technology provider for corporate treasury organizations trading short-term investments, for US $785 million, subject to customary adjustments. This interview delves into the reasons behind the acquisition, the expected benefits for ICD clients, the cross-selling opportunities, and more.
Mr. Hazard, the acquisition of ICD by Tradeweb appears to be a strategic move. Could you elaborate on why ICD is considered a strategic and cultural fit for Tradeweb?
ICD and Tradeweb are a great fit. Both companies were founded on the idea of making trading better, with product and tools clients want, all in one place. As independent technology providers, we offer our clients direct, unbiased access to the market, without the pressure that comes with trading through relationship banks. Our cultural values also align perfectly, with razor-sharp focus on delivering extraordinary service and innovative technology for our clients.
Tradeweb has traditionally focused on institutional, wholesale, and retail clients. With the acquisition of ICD and its proprietary technology, Tradeweb reckons that it will add the fourth client channel serving corporate treasury professionals. Please shed light on how this new and fast-growing corporate treasury client channel aligns with Tradeweb’s existing business strategy, and what potential growth opportunities it introduces?
The corporate channel represents a very large and underserved opportunity within fixed income markets. Large corporates now hold record high-cash balances on par with mid-sized asset managers. They are also already buyers of Tradeweb products, which makes this channel a strong fit for cross-selling opportunities across Tradeweb and ICD businesses.
With the acquisition, ICD clients will gain integrated access to Tradeweb’s fixed income marketplace while continuing to trade through ICD’s existing technology. How do you anticipate this combined offering benefiting ICD’s corporate treasury clients in terms of access, efficiency, and overall user experience?
Tradeweb itself has been a client of ICD’s and has experienced first-hand the efficiencies in our technology, the co-innovation with clients that makes our technology award-winning in the treasury industry, and the high-touch service we offer our clients. Currently we provide more than 500 short-term investment products and have integrated with most of the providers in treasury’s ecosystem – including treasury management systems, ERPs, banks and data providers. We will continue to integrate cash and investment workflows for clients to make research, trading, analysis and reporting seamless.
Tradeweb’s announcement to acquire ICD provides additional cross-selling opportunities between Tradeweb’s existing suite of products and ICD’s offerings. Please elaborate on the cross-selling opportunities that will enhance value for both sets of clients.
As part of Tradeweb, ICD has a unique opportunity to understand the cash management and investment reporting challenges of adjacent channel markets, promoting further adoption and innovation of our technology. For example, asset managers, private equity and hedge fund clients can benefit from ICD Portal and from ICD Portfolio Analytics for the analysis and reporting of exposures across their entire investment portfolio.
As a part of Tradeweb, ICD is presented with an opportunity to drive the adoption of electronic trading for corporate treasurers. What are the key benefits of such electronic trading that will accrue to ICD’s corporate clients?
We will expand access to the short-term market to include securities our corporate clients want. In our 2024 client survey, portal clients indicated strong interest in trading U.S. Treasuries, U.S. Agencies, Repos, CDs, Time Deposits, and Commercial Paper.
These products are currently available through Tradeweb’s global electronic trading marketplace. ICD Portal clients will have integrated access to Tradeweb’s fixed income market for their short-term liquidity needs, and we will be able to serve more organizations globally, leveraging Tradeweb’s international presence in 70 countries. As markets globally expect changes in interest rates, clients will have access to even more investment products to optimize yield and duration.
Is there any other aspect of the acquisition that you would like to highlight?
We are very excited that this acquisition will enable us to accelerate our geographical growth by adding ICD products to Tradeweb’s regulated entities across their many jurisdictions. This will enable us to better serve our multinational corporations who have needs outside of the United States and Europe.
Tory Hazard, thank you for sharing your time and perspectives with us.
