Publications

David Scharfstein is the Edmund Cogswell Converse Professor of Finance and Banking at Harvard Business School. Scharfstein has published on a broad range of topics in finance, including corporate investment and financing behavior, risk management, financial... View Details

Keywords: banking

June 2018
Case

Burton Sensors, Inc.

By: William E. Fruhan and Wei Wang

Burton Sensors presents a realistic situation where a small, rapidly growing, and profitable temperature sensor original equipment manufacturer (OEM) reaches its debt capacity and seeks equity financing to sustain high growth. The president of the company must decide... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Acquisition; Investment; Financial Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions

Research Summary

Working on third edition of textbook on the fund industry

The book explains how mutual funds and other collective investment vehicles are organized, how they manage your money, and how they are marketed to investors. It also addresses the internationalization of funds in terms of global investing and global... View Details

20 Jul 2017
News

The Looming Threat That Could Decimate Wall Street's Fund Managers

September 2005 (Revised May 2007)
Case

OuterLink Corporation (A)

By: Josh Lerner and Brenda Chia

Zero Stage Capital is addressing a troubled investment in OuterLink Corp., which has a capital deficit of $30 million and was written off by all but one of its investors as a victim of the technology bubble. The venture organization must decide whether to shutter the... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Decisions; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Price Bubble; Investment; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

June 2014
Case

Going Social: Durex in China

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and Aaron Smith

When Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a leading consumer goods company, first entered China, it encountered significant challenges. RB's strategy relied on selling high margin products supported by cost-effective advertising and distribution, but the highly competitive Chinese... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Multinational Firms and Management; Internet and the Web; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; China

2015
Working Paper

The Impact of Funds: An Evaluation of CDC 2004-12

By: Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon, Steve Dew and Dong Ik Lee

CDC was founded in 1948 as part of the U.K. government's efforts to develop the economic resources of Britain's remaining colonies. Since then, CDC has pursued a series of strategies to "do good without losing money," as its original mission was phrased. Its approach... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Great Britain

Read Now

August 2022
Supplement

NOW PT (B): Should We Invest?

By: George A. Riedel, Amy Klopfenstein and Mel Martin

This (B) case examines the results of the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team’s diligence on Neurologic Optimal Wellness Physical Therapy (NOW PT). After examining Springfield’s demographics, anticipated PT demand, local competition, and NOW PT’s financial... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Buildings and Facilities; Health Industry; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America; United States; Massachusetts

May 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Ticonderoga: Inverse Floating Rate Bond

Presents a simple interest hedging exercise. A hedge fund is considering an investment in a structured fixed--income product: an inverse floating-rate bond, or inverse floater, designed by a U.S. investment bank. The hedge fund's normal policy is to hedge interest rate... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Bonds; Investment Funds; Interest Rates

February 2011 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Gemini Investors

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Gemini Investors was a private equity firm focused on small and lower middle market businesses. Gemini's target investment size was between $4 million and $6 million and a typical portfolio company had revenue of between $8 million and $30 million. In early 2015,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Investment Funds; Markets; Size; Financial Services Industry; United States

February 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Corporate Venture Capital at Eli Lilly

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Ron Laufer and David Lane

Reviews the role of corporate venture capital and its history at Eli Lilly. Also presents a challenging venture investment opportunity. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Pharmaceutical Industry

February 1986
Supplement

Kedaung Industrial Ltd., Video

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Presents an interview with the Indonesian partner of Corning Glass Works' investment in Indonesia. The first part of the interview sets out the original decisions made by the partners. It serves to introduce the partners to the class and to help them decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Decisions; Investment; Consumer Products Industry; Indonesia

Find at Harvard

February 1992 (Revised February 1996)
Case

Jupiter Management Co.

The manager of a small company growth fund considers relative merits of investing in a company's convertible debt versus its common. View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Investment Portfolio

Vikram Gandhi, a former Wall Street investment banker who now teaches a course at Harvard Business School that focuses on return, risk and impact investing, also sees investment opportunities for DAFs that go well beyond the usual ESG funds. View Details

March 2016 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Michael Milken: The Junk Bond King

By: Tom Nicholas and Matthew G. Preble

Michael Milken, an investment banker who dominated the junk bond market in the 1980s, was sentenced to jail in 1990 after pleading guilty to a number of securities and tax-related felonies. In the preceding decade, Milken had helped usher in a new wave of leveraged buy... View Details

Keywords: Junk Bonds; High-yield Bonds; Financial Innovation; Shareholder Value; Bonds; Capital; Capital Structure; Cost of Capital; Crime and Corruption; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Finance; Investment Banking; Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Ownership; Private Equity; Restructuring; United States

2014
Working Paper

Adding Value Through Venture Capital in Latin America and the Caribbean

By: Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon, James Tighe and Susana Garcia-Robles

Venture capital (VC) investment has long been recognized as an engine for economic growth and development. Unlike bank loans, where the entrepreneur receives money and is left alone as long as the payments arrive on the pre-arranged schedule, venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Value; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Latin America; West Indies

Read Now

25 Sep 2023
Blog Post

HBS Latino Student Association Spotlight: Ana Barrera (MBA 2024)

difference in the world, Harvard provides the platform to develop the critical skills and connections to challenge the status quo. For me, that means championing investment in the educational and financial empowerment of underserved... View Details

December 20, 2007
Article

Profit And Poverty: Why It Matters

By: Michael Chu

Commentary on investing in microfinance View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Profit; Poverty; Financial Services Industry