Difference between 1-month and 3-month SOFR, and the relationship between them

I want to better understand the difference between the 1-month and 3-month SOFR rate, and when to use each for cash flow discounting.

For example - I have a 5 year project, and someone has decided to use the 3-month SOFR rate. My question is why? What does this assume about the movement of cash flows?

Furthermore, I would like to know if there's a mathematical relationship between the two (1-month vs 3-month).

Some Googling led to the following definition

Three-Month Term SOFR means the rate for Term SOFR for a tenor of three months that is published by the Term SOFR Administrator at the Reference Time for any interest period, as determined by the Calculation Agent after giving effect to the Three-Month Term SOFR Conventions.

Does this definition provide any leads? Can I define the 3-month SOFR as F(t,T) to be the forward rate of the 3-month SOFR at some forward time t?, and T=3 is fixed?

Are the forward curves then shown in the columns below?

image-20230126074244-1

Thank you very much

1 Comments
 

Sed reiciendis necessitatibus laudantium aut quis quo. Eos maxime officiis neque et expedita et.

Vitae consectetur iste exercitationem eligendi in molestias optio. Quidem illum velit et fugit minus.

Non quo placeat aut saepe voluptate animi qui eligendi. Consequatur atque dolorem assumenda tenetur.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”