Across the board, treasury respondents plan to “Hold more cash in 2025 compared to prior years, and there was broad consensus in diversifying this cash across money market funds (MMFs) and other liquid investment products. In total, 82% of respondents plan to maintain or increase cash balances during 2025, which represents an 8% increase from the prior year. In addition, 91% plan to maintain or increase their level of MMF investments”, stated the recent report 2025 ICD Client Survey: Treasury & Finance Insights.

ICD, treasury’s trusted provider of investment technology and the corporate client channel of Tradeweb, has, since 2018, surveyed hundreds of treasury and finance executives worldwide to gain deeper insights into their liquidity and investment strategies, priorities, and perspectives.

The 2025 ICD Client Survey reveals emerging trends in cash management and investment planning, underscoring treasury professionals’ focus on navigating market fluctuations and improving operational efficiency.

Here are the key findings:

Treasury’s investment plans (Americas): Most US companies committing to investments in US government and treasury MMFs

In 2025, US treasury respondents are showing an increasing trend toward diversifying their organization’s liquid investment holdings.

“In the U.S., 9 out of every 10 respondents will invest in government / treasury money market funds during 2025. In total, there were seven categories of products – including T-Bills, Bank Deposits, and various MMF options – where more than 1/3rd of respondents plan to invest this year”, according to the 2025 ICD Client Survey.

Source: 2025 ICD Client Survey: Treasury & Finance Insights

Moreover, the ICD Client Survey also indicates that there are nearly 12 investment categories where over 10% of respondents, who are not yet invested, plan to allocate funds by year-end. Short Duration Bond Funds, Commercial Paper, and Time Deposits are among the top categories experiencing significant investment interest.

Despite the growing interest in diversification, some investment options still garner little attention. For instance, fewer than 5% of treasury groups plan to invest in cryptocurrencies or digital assets, despite their visibility in mainstream media. Likewise, US firms are showing limited interest in European Commercial Paper (ECP) and government bills/bonds from regions like the EU, UK, and APAC, with only 10% or less intending to invest in these products in 2025.

Treasury’s investment plans (international): The majority of investment allocation is in offshore prime MMFs

The ICD Client Survey observes that “Internationally, the dominance of MMF products is less pronounced, but still significant. In total, offshore prime MMFs comprised the largest share of use at 60%, followed closely by Time Deposits at 56%.”

Source: 2025 ICD Client Survey: Treasury & Finance Insights

Interestingly, investment products that saw limited uptake—like Short Duration Bond Funds, ESG products, Repos, and EU government bills—are now gaining popularity among treasury practitioners for 2025. While US products don’t have strong traction overseas, US Government MMFs and Prime MMFs continue to generate interest. Similarly, engagement with US Treasury Bills and Commercial Paper is growing. In contrast, adoption of cryptocurrencies, and Federally Insured Brokered CDs remains low on the international front.

Treasury’s plans for TMS investments and perspectives on AI deployment

Around one-third (29%) of corporate treasuries are currently engaged in a treasury technology project, with an additional 13% planning to launch one in 2025. The remaining 58% reported no current or upcoming technology initiatives.

Of the planned treasury technology projects, about 18% aim to implement a new treasury management system (TMS) or replace an existing one in 2025.

Regarding AI deployment in liquidity management, “Nearly two-thirds of treasury respondents (63%) highlighted financial reporting and cash forecasting as the most high-impact areas of focus. Data aggregation workflows followed closely at 58%”, as per the ICD Client Survey.

Fraud detection (38%) and compliance monitoring (30%) are also key areas where AI is used in the liquidity management process, with investment optimization (14%) emerging as an area with significant upside potential.

Conclusion

Investment decisions made by treasury professionals have a lasting impact on shaping business value. To support this critical responsibility, ICD has aided treasuries overcoming investment challenges through solutions that effectively manage liquidity, safeguard capital, diversify investments, and achieve competitive returns. By offering visibility and control over investments, treasurers can better understand the broader financial landscape and make proactive data-driven decisions.

In this context, downloading the 2025 ICD Client Survey: Treasury & Finance Insights report will help you gain valuable insights into corporate treasuries’ plans for liquidity and investment management in 2025.