Q&A with Jay Stillman
Chief Marketing Officer of CDC Deposits
Principal Series:
Family Office Insights sits down with Jay Stillman of CDC Deposits to discuss the market opportunity for his firm as well as why social aspect of what CDC does can be a very attractive opportunity for family offices worldwide.
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What is the market opportunity for CDC Deposits Corp.?
The actual market opportunity is limitless. We can help any investor that wants their funds insured (up to $25 million), receive a competitive interest rate and be liquid all in one transaction. A growing opportunity for us is the social benefit we provide to local non-profits in the communities of our banks. CDC provides the only socially responsible investment in cash.
What does MMAX (Money Market Account Xtra) aim to do?
The MMAX program is strategically positioned to help investors, banks and non-profits. The program was changed in 2009 to provide a social benefit that would help all involved. Investors can always look around for better interest rates so we decided to make our rates as competitive as possible, but add a layer of social support by having accounts we open benefit local non-profits. This allows banks to become more involved in their communities and provide CDC with another reason to be partnered with the bank. CDC is providing the donation from their earnings which allows the investor to still get a good rate.
How can MMAX offer a higher level of FDIC Insurance coverage, in comparison to deposits in single bank institutions?
CDC has partnered with hundreds of banks around the country. This enables us to aggregate a single transaction within our network of banks so that a single investor can have their funds insured. We are able to use the pass-thru FDIC insurance rules along with our propriety system to make sure all funds are insured. CDC never touches any of the funds, as they all go through our custodian. There are check and balances so the funds are tracked at each bank. All of our programs are supported by a legal opinion directly from the FDIC representing that our structure provides the safety of FDIC insurance since there is “pass through” directly to all investors when they use Charity Deposit Corp. Network®.
You have a social bent to what you do. What are some of the social implications?
CSC makes donations and provides other support services to a number of charitable organizations that help meet the needs of underserved portions of communities in which we place investor deposits with local community banks.
For example, the CSC activity includes:
• Support for over 350 different non-profit organizations in 11 states, linked to local deposits that generate quarterly donations to the designated non-profits located in the community that is served by the bank that receives our deposits.
• Founding of the Community Building Institute in Miami, Florida which provides co-working space for non-profits that is organized as a means of encouraging collaboration and serving as a “social laboratory” for improving community building in general.
• Support for developers of an innovative online platform that helps to organize and qualify CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) activities with community banks throughout the US – see www.findCRA.com.
CSC is supporting Educate Tomorrow, an organization that supports foster youth in their educational pursuits, to offer their programs in new regions.
What’s next for you and for CDC Deposits Corp.?
The family office network is becoming a great opportunity to help wealth advisors with their cash positions and provide social benefits. I have been attending more programs to meet wealth advisors in identifying cash opportunities. Many wealthy families do not pay attention to their cash and the interest they are foregoing because they lack investments that are secure and liquid.
The opportunities to help these investors continues to grow as more banks are looking to add to their balance sheets and also better serve their communities. We continue to support more banks in our network and also look to identify additional services to make investors transactions seamless. CDC’s growth is only limited by the number of people we reach. Our network is growing consistently based on the simple premise we support cash which is required in everyone’s portfolio.
Jay Stillman
Jay Stillman has over 25 years of experience in developing financial service company’s sales, product development, and marketing efforts. He has worked with various types of banks, investment companies, and third party vendors on investment products. Recently he has been helping banks grow their community based relationships to solidify their core business model. This includes working with non-profits and investors to grow new and existing accounts. Jay graduated from Pace University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management. For more information, please visit www.cdcdeposits.com or email Jay at Jay.Stillman@cdcdeposits.com.