Publications

01 Jun 2016
News

Fellowships Have Impact

fellowships discuss the impact of that support as they strive to make a difference in the world. (8 min. video) Investing in Fellowships Gifts in any amount to the HBS Fund for Leadership and Innovation help... View Details

June 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Background Note

Politics Comes to ESG Investing

By: Shawn Cole and Jonah Zahnd

While the past decade has seen a dramatic increase in the incorporation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards into investor practices, this momentum has shifted recently in the United States, as some politicians argued that ESG investing practices... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; United States

21 Sep 2017
Cold Call Podcast

State Street’s SHE: Investing in Women Leaders

Keywords: Re: Vikram Gandhi; Financial Services

21 Jul 2020
News

Risk, Reward, and Impact

November 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Background Note

When Investing and Social Objectives Meet

By: Gregory S. Miller, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Introduces students to a group of investors and stakeholders who evaluate firms at least partially on factors other than eventual investment payoff. Focuses on investors who evaluate and attempt to impact firms' ethical, corporate governance, or other "societal"... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Investment; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations

Keywords: Harvard; alumni; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments

TeachingInterests

Investing: Risk, Return and Impact (MBA)

By: Shawn A. Cole

This is an investing/finance course, designed to build on skills introduced in the RC finance course, but with an emphasis on how and whether investors should incorporate what have traditionally been considered “non-financial” criteria in their decisions: for... View Details

08 Dec 2015
News

Harvard’s Alumni Impact

October 1999
Case

CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (B): 1992-1997

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Raynor

From 1992 to 1997, CIBC CEO Al Flood and head of investment banking John Hunkin integrate the struggling investment bank, Wood Gundy, with CIBC's corporate bank. The impact and interaction of organization design, compensation schemes, and communication initiatives are... View Details

Keywords: Investment Banking; Banks and Banking; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Design; Business Plan; Communication; Banking Industry

September 2011
Case

AXA Private Equity: The Diana Investment

By: Michael J. Roberts and William A. Sahlman

The case focuses on an investment made by AXA Private Equity, a French manufacturer of food ingredients. The investment is made at the height of the financial markets, and financed with significant debt. Soon thereafter, the financial crisis impacted the company's... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Ethics; Investment; Financial Crisis

March 2019 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Accion's Fintech Strategy

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael Chu and Tricia Gregg

Accion, an NGO, had been a pioneer in microfinance since its entry into that sector in the early 1970s. Its investments in Banco Compartamos paid off, when the microfinance bank went IPO in 2007, leaving an influx of $138 million for Accion. Under a new CEO, Michael... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Impact Investing; Financial Inclusion; Technological Innovation; Strategy; Strategic Planning; Performance Effectiveness; Non-Governmental Organizations; Microfinance; Financial Institutions; Business Growth and Maturation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Industry Growth

03 Oct 2019
News

At Harvard B-School, lessons for impact investors

22 Sep 2017
News

State Street’s SHE: Investing in Women Leaders

September 2014 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Fresno's Social Impact Bond for Asthma

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In 2014, Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) were quickly gaining popularity as an investment vehicle which joined together private investors and nonprofits to tackle social issues. Although numerous SIB projects and proposals had cropped up across the U.S. following the launch... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Health Care; Marketing; Bonds; Financing; Asthma; Air Pollution; Air Quality; Chronic Disease; Public Health; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Finance; Health Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 2025 (Revised March 2025)
Case

WallStreetBets: Democratizing Retail Investing

By: Joseph Pacelli and Alexis Lefort

In summer 2024, Jaime Rogozinski anticipated the launch of a day-trading eSports event, a vision he had nurtured for years. Rogozinski, the founder of the influential subreddit WallStreetBets (WSB), created the forum in 2012 as a space for retail traders to explore... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Emerging Markets; Market Participation; Financial Services Industry; United States

November 2021
Article

Venture Capitalists and COVID-19

By: Paul A. Gompers, Will Gornall, Steven N. Kaplan and Ilya A. Strebulaev

We survey over 1,000 institutional and corporate venture capitalists (VCs) at more than 900 different firms to learn how their decisions and investments have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We compare their survey answers to those provided by a large sample of... View Details

Keywords: Investment Decisions; COVID-19 Pandemic; Impact; Health Pandemics; Venture Capital; Investment; Decision Making; Surveys

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Managing International Trade and Investment

By: Debora L. Spar

Introduced by Debora Spar in 1995, Managing International Trade and Investment is an elective course that prepares students to deal with the distinct set of management challenges that face cross-border businesses. Building on experience that suggests that what works... View Details

05 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

How Anchor Investors Help Impact Funds Succeed

so-called impact funds, or funds that hope to create positive social or environmental impact. In Anchors Aweigh: Analysis of Anchor Limited Partner Investors in Impact View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

01 Aug 2019
News

Investing for Good

Tracy P. Palandjian (MBA 1997) is CEO and cofounder of Social Finance, a nonprofit dedicated to mobilizing capital to drive social progress, and a 2019 recipient of the HBS Alumni Achievement Award. In this video, she talks about the organizations mission and the... View Details

Keywords: Finance

February 2021
Case

Measuring Impact at JUST Capital

By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Ethan Rouen

JUST Capital is a nonprofit organization that seeks to make public companies more "just" by measuring and ranking their overall impact on society, based on the priorities most important to the average American. This case examines JUST's strategy for influencing... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Ethics; Measurement and Metrics; Performance Evaluation; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact