In a recent ION Influencers Fireside Chat, TreasurySpring CEO Kevin Cook unpacked a critical but often overlooked aspect of modern finance: how institutional treasury solutions directly fuel the value creation process.

For private equity funds, venture capital firms, and large corporations, the conversation revealed that idle cash isn’t just a missed opportunity—it’s a significant operational risk and a drag on returns. Here are the key topics and insights from their discussion.

1. The Evolution of Treasury Management: From Post-Crisis Advisory to FinTech

Cook traced TreasurySpring’s origins back to the 2008 financial crisis, where he and his co-founders cut their teeth at a hedge fund with a front-row seat to the Lehman Brothers collapse. This experience shaped their mission: to build robust operational “pipes” for cash investment. They realized that accessing best-in-class, risk-adjusted cash investments was nearly impossible for most institutions without significant infrastructure. TreasurySpring was founded in 2016 as a London-based FinTech to democratize this access for firms of all sizes and geographies.

2. The Macro Shift: Why Cash is Now a Strategic Asset

The discussion highlighted a major paradigm shift driven by two key events:

• Rising Interest Rates: In the era of near-zero rates, returns on cash were negligible. Today, every idle dollar, euro, or pound represents a concrete “value loss.” Firms are now scrutinizing cash across their entire structure—management companies, fund vehicles, and capital call processes—to ensure it’s working efficiently.

• The 2023 Banking Crisis (SVB & First Republic): This was a “wake-up call” that shattered the myth of invincible banks. Cook emphasized that with “hundreds of billions of dollars” in the private equity industry exposed to the banking sector, mitigating counterparty credit risk is no longer optional—it’s a core fiduciary duty.

3. Value Creation: From Buzzword to Operational Mandate

The chat confirmed that operational value creation is a dominant trend, especially as easy financial engineering returns have waned. Cook pointed to massive engagement on LinkedIn around this topic as evidence that LPs and GPs are intensely focused on it. The smartest firms are now applying the same operational efficiency rigor they preach to their portfolio companies onto their own internal processes.

4. The Great Divide: Treasury Challenges for Large vs. Small Funds

• Large Funds: Face immense complexity from multi-jurisdictional, multi-entity structures that grew faster than their ops could handle. Solving these problems is a heavier lift but offers enormous rewards due to the scale of assets involved.

• Smaller Funds: Have less acute but still meaningful problems. The “reward for effort” is high, as implementing the right technology can lead to significant improvements relatively quickly.

5. The Future of Fund Structures & Technology

• The Rise of Evergreen Funds: Cook identified these semi-liquid structures, designed to tap into the private wealth channel, as a game-changer. They require holding much larger cash balances for longer periods, creating a entirely new and complex treasury management challenge compared to traditional drawdown funds.

• AI and Ecosystem Integration: The future lies in seamless connectivity. Cook predicts widespread adoption of treasury management systems that integrate via API with specialized platforms (like TreasurySpring for investments). While AI’s role is still emerging, he forecasts it will drive “wildly more efficient” operational processes within 3-5 years.

• The Evolving “Back Office”: In a telling insight, Cook noted that the line between “glamorous” front-office dealmakers and “mundane” back-office operators is blurring. Firms are realizing that superior operational execution is a powerful, hard-to-replicate differentiator.

Key timestamps:

00:06 Introduction to the Fireside Chat
01:09 Experiencing the Financial Crisis
01:59 Challenges in Cash Management for Institutions
02:44 Identifying Key Personas in the Hedge Fund Community
03:28 Differences in Focus Among Financial Roles
04:34 Evolution of Technology in Private Equity
05:39 Adapting to Market Changes Post-Crisis
06:41 Impact of Rising Interest Rates on Cash Management
07:38 Banking Sector Crisis and Its Implications
08:54 Value Creation: A Key Focus for Investors
09:57 Industry Interest in Operational Improvements
12:42 Client Insights and Industry Trends
13:29 Cautious Optimism for the Future
14:11 Creativity in Fund Structures
16:38 Future Trends in Treasury Management Technology
18:23 Challenges of Manager Consolidation
19:11 Navigating Partnerships in a Complex Ecosystem
20:49 Future Client Needs and Industry Evolution
22:05 The Role of Technology and AI in Operations
23:33 Enhancing Client Experience Through Seamless Integration
24:38 The Evolving Dynamics Between Investment and Operational Teams
26:31 Conclusion and Key Takeaways