What is the safe investing service?
BrndTst's safe investing service is a fixed-fee project that gives your business a written, board-approved policy for surplus cash and a repeatable way to check firms before using them. It covers how much to keep liquid, which kinds of instrument are allowed, the limits on each and who signs off. We don't choose or buy investments.
What will your business receive?
At the end of a safe investing project you receive a board-ready investment policy, a cash-tier model linked to your forecast, a due-diligence checklist your team can reuse, and a written review of any specific firm or offer you asked us to check. Everything is yours to keep and update.
- An investment policy, drafted for board approval.
- A cash-tier spreadsheet showing how much to keep in each tier and why.
- A due-diligence checklist, with a record template for each firm checked.
- A written review of any firm, fund or offer in scope, with the evidence behind it.
- A walkthrough with whoever will run the policy day to day.
How long does a safe investing project take?
A safe investing project usually takes three to four weeks, including time for the board to read and question the draft policy. Checking a single firm or offer on its own is quicker: usually three to five working days once we have the documents. What sets the pace is how quickly your forecast and account details are ready.
We confirm the timetable in the written proposal, together with what we need from your team and when.
Why do businesses get investing company cash wrong?
Most mistakes come from treating company cash like spare money. Businesses lock up cash they'll need within months, put too much with one bank or fund, buy something nobody on the board can explain, or move quickly on an offer that arrived by phone or email. Each one is avoidable with written rules set in advance.
- Investing operating cash. Money needed for payroll, tax or suppliers in the next few months ends up somewhere it can't be reached quickly, or only at a loss.
- Chasing yield. A higher rate usually means more risk, less liquidity or both. If the extra risk isn't understood, it isn't a good trade.
- Concentration. With all the cash at one bank, in one fund or with one issuer, a single failure affects everything.
- Unchecked counterparties. Clone firms, unauthorised brokers and fake bond or pre-IPO offers target businesses because they hold larger sums.
- No written policy. When nobody has agreed the rules, each decision is made under pressure, one at a time.
How do we decide how much cash to keep and how much to invest?
We start from your cash flow forecast, not from the investments. Your cash is split into three tiers: operating cash for the next few months of outgoings, a reserve for shocks, and only then strategic money. Each tier gets its own rules on access, risk and limits, sized from your own numbers.
| Tier | What it's for | Typical rules |
|---|---|---|
| Operating cash | Payroll, suppliers, tax and debt payments in the coming months | Instant access; held only where it can be paid out the same or next working day |
| Reserve | Shocks: a lost customer, a late payment, an unexpected bill | Short notice periods; stability of capital first; spread across institutions |
| Strategic money | Cash not needed for a year or more, if any is left over | Only investments the board understands and has approved, within set limits |
The size of each tier comes from your own numbers. A business with steady monthly income needs a different buffer from one paid in a few large, irregular instalments. Our guide on how much cash a business should keep in reserve works through an example.
What goes into a company investment policy?
A company investment policy is a short document, usually a few pages, that the board approves and reviews each year. It says what the company's cash is for, how much stays liquid, which types of investment are allowed, the limits on each, who can make decisions and payments, and how everything is reported. We draft it with you.
- Objectives, in order: security first, then liquidity, then return.
- The size of each cash tier and how it's recalculated.
- Allowed and excluded types of instrument, in plain words.
- Limits per bank, fund, issuer and type of instrument.
- Who can propose, approve and carry out a decision, and the amounts that need board sign-off.
- The checks every new firm or counterparty must pass.
- What gets reported, how often and to whom.
How do we check firms and counterparties?
We check a firm the way a careful lender would. Is it authorised by the right regulator for the exact service it offers? Do its contact details match the register? Who actually holds the money? Are there warnings, complaints or court cases? Each check is written down so your board can see what was confirmed and how.
- Regulator's register: authorisation, permissions, status and any restrictions.
- Clone check: website, email domain and phone number compared with the register.
- Custody: which institution holds the assets, and in whose name.
- Company records: who owns and runs the firm, and whether it files accounts on time.
- Warning lists, public enforcement notices and court records.
- Fees, lock-up periods and exit terms, in writing, before any commitment.
The questions we ask, and the red flags that stop a payment, are in our guides on checking an investment firm and investment fraud red flags.
What won't we do?
We won't tell you which fund, bond or deposit to buy, place money for you, or accept anything from a firm we review. We aren't a regulated investment adviser. If your plans need personal investment advice or someone to manage the money, we'll say so and help you prepare to choose and brief an authorised firm.
Read our important information for more on what our work is and isn't.