Publications

February 2006
Case

Adams Capital Management: Fund IV

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

The partners of Adams Capital Management must decide whether to start their fourth fund in early 2006 or to hold off until they have realized more exits from the earlier funds and have proved the viability of a recent change in strategy. View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Business Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Services Industry

November 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

JANA Partners: Impact through Activism?

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Caitlin Reimers Brumme

Jana Partners, a well-known “activist” hedge fund has announced the launch of a new fund Jana Impact. The basic premise is that the fund will be able to generate superior returns by using Jana’s activist approach with companies that are underperforming on ESG metrics.... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Hedge Funds; ETF; Activist Investing; Activism; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Asset Management

September 2013
Case

Homestrings, Inc.: Diaspora-Based Financing and the Crowd Funding of Development

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Homestrings is an online investment platform for overseas diasporas to link financially with their home countries. The founder believes crowd-funding can become a pillar for development, but U.S. regulatory hurdles and resources constraints are substantial. The company... View Details

Keywords: Diasporas; Investments; Regulations; Africa; Crowd-funding; Development Finance; Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Services Industry; Africa; United States

June 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Exchange-Traded Funds at Vanguard (A)

By: Robert C. Pozen and Steven Vickers

Vanguard Group management, led by CEO John Brennan, was considering whether to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in early 2000. ETFs, first created in the early 1990s, combined aspects of traditional mutual funds and closed-end funds. The US ETF industry had reached... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Market Entry and Exit; Network Effects; Profit; Business and Shareholder Relations; Product Launch; Asset Management; Distribution Channels; Ownership; Financial Services Industry; United States

April 2011 (Revised May 2011)
Supplement

AQR's Momentum Funds (B)

By: Daniel Baird Bergstresser, Lauren H. Cohen, Randolph B. Cohen and Christopher J. Malloy

This is a (B) case for AQR's Momentum Funds. It follows the first year of performance of the funds after launching, and gives students a critical inflection point for analyzing the nascent stages of a new product launch and the potential path dependence of the product... View Details

Keywords: Change; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment Funds; Product Launch; Product; Performance; Perspective; Strategy

20 Aug 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Hedge Fund Investor Activism and Takeovers

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood & Michael Schor; Banking

30 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

COVID Not Slowing VC Investment

expect their investments to outperform major equity indexes going forward, and they’re continuing to fund new endeavors. “It’s sort of the opposite of doom and gloom,” Gompers says. “We were surprised by how... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services; Banking

Fast Answer

Exchange traded funds

Where can I find information on exchange traded funds or ETFs? News and Journals ABI/ProQuest or Business Source Complete To find academic and news articles comparing exchange traded funds to index mutual... View Details

15 Apr 2022
News

Funding His Purpose

investments to both nonprofit and for-profit social impact companies. It also offers philanthropic fund management, and it partnered with a for-profit consulting firm that focuses on responsible View Details

October 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Wilderness Safaris: Impact Investing and Ecotourism Conservation in Africa

By: James E. Austin, Megan Epler Wood and Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard

In 2018 the majority ownership of publicly owned Wilderness Safaris, the leading high-end ecotourism company in Africa with safari operations in eight countries, was acquired by The Rise Fund, one of the world’s largest private social impact investing funds, and by FS... View Details

22 Feb 2017
News

Funding Solar’s Future

Photos courtesy Double Time Capital Photos courtesy Double Time Capital A recent Fortune article profiles Double Time Capital, an investment firm focused on utility-scale solar farms in North Carolina founded by Rye Barcott (MBA 2009) and... View Details

Keywords: Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

October 2000
Case

New Schools Venture Fund

By: Jeffrey L. Bradach and Nicole Tempest

A new approach to philanthropy, led by venture capitalists and the "new wealth" has emerged in the last two years. They are applying the same accountability criteria from results as they would with their investment portfolio. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

May 2002
Case

Venture Capital Fund Restructuring Vignettes (Abridged)

By: Paul A. Gompers

This case examines the changes in fund structures proposed by four venture capital firms in 2002: Accel Partners, Battery Ventures, Charles River Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The venture capital market has experienced a major downturn, and these... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Restructuring; Financial Crisis; Motivation and Incentives; Business and Shareholder Relations; Investment Funds; Financial Services Industry

September 2006 (Revised April 2008)
Case

The Howland Long-Term Opportunity Fund

By: Andre F. Perold and David S. Scharfstein

Melissa Howland, founder of an investment firm, must choose between two competing investments, which differ in size, maturity, and rate of return. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Instruments; Investment Return; Investment Funds; Value