Publications

01 Mar 2016
News

the findings of the inaugural Harvard Impact Study, the University’s first effort to quantify the economic and social contributions of its alumni. HBS professor Josh Lerner led the study, which was based on a survey sent to almost 245,000... View Details

Keywords: April White

01 Sep 2008
News

WSA Launches Scholarship Fund

The HBS Women’s Student Association (WSA) has announced plans to establish a new scholarship fund and has revived its popular first-year exam review sessions, an idea first suggested by the newly formed Alumnae Advisory Board. The WSA... View Details

Keywords: Educational Support Services; Educational Services

April 2009
Case

Brummer and the bracNet Investment

By: Alnoor Ebrahim, Michael Pirson and Patricia Mangas

bracNet, a for-profit/nonprofit partnership, aims to establish Internet connectivity throughout Bangladesh. Venture capitalist Patrik Brummer invested in a first round of funding to connect major cities. Should he invest again, this time in a rural roll-out, which may... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Venture Capital; Investment; Investment Return; Rural Scope; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Internet; Telecommunications Industry; Bangladesh

March 2021
Case

Yale Investments Office: November 2020

By: Josh Lerner, Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

David Swensen and the Investments Office staff must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments—hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, natural resources—given the impact of the COVID-19... View Details

Keywords: University Endowment; Asset Allocation; Real Estate; Equities; Fixed Income; COVID-19; Asset Management; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Natural Resources; Resource Allocation; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Health Pandemics; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Energy Industry; Connecticut

07 Feb 2019
HBS Seminar

Davide Malacrino, International Monetary Fund

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

November 1995 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Acme Investment Trust

By: Josh Lerner

Acme Investment Trust is considering investing in a private equity partnership that is seeking only 15% of the profits, instead of the standard 20%. The management fee requested, however, is higher than in its earlier fund. The pension managers must consider the... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Private Equity; Organizations; Investment Funds; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry

01 Sep 2010
News

Finnegan Heads HBS Fund

Finnegan Paul Finnegan (MBA ’82) recently assumed the role of HBS Fund Chair, the School’s chief fundraising volunteer. “When you look at the major problems society faces — financial reform, global health, education in-equity, the... View Details

June 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Herman B. Leonard and Melissa Tritter

Dana Hall is a private all-girls school in New England facing a crisis in its mission. As social norms shift away from single-sex education, the school's enrollment is falling and deficits are becoming the norm. At the same time, the modern vision for girls' education... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Financing and Loans; Nonprofit Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Education Industry; England

Web

Donor-Advised Fund - Alumni

income and principal. You can add to your donor-advised fund at any time. Expert Financial Management Harvard Management Company (HMC) manages the investment of Harvard donor-advised funds. HMC has... View Details

August 1993 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Dimensional Fund Advisors: 1993

By: Jay O. Light

A small California-based money manager is now offering specialty products for institutional investors based upon recent financial research findings. View Details

Keywords: Financial Instruments; Investment; Financial Services Industry; California

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Kmart and ESL Investments (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott

A major bankrupt retailer is poised to emerge from Chapter 11. Two activist hedge funds ("vulture investors") will own over 50% of reorganized Kmart's common stock, based on prior investments in Kmart's debt claims, and an infusion of new equity financing. The Chapter... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Investment Activism; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; Retail Industry; United States

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

2004
Working Paper

Judging Fund Managers by the Company They Keep

By: Randolph Cohen, Joshua Coval and Luboš Pástor

We develop a performance evaluation approach in which a fund manager's skill is judged by the extent to which his investment decisions resemble the decisions of managers with distinguished performance records. The proposed performance measures are estimated more... View Details

Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Performance Evaluation; Investment Funds; Investment

Read Now

July 2011 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Nashton Partners and Its Search Fund Process

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Nashton Partners was a search fund founded by two HBS MBA's that raised $500,000 to finance a search for a company that they could purchase and then run for the next five to ten years. The case examines the search fund structure, the two-year search, and two potential... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Capital Structure; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Partners and Partnerships

01 Sep 2024
News

Far-Reaching Impact

Above: Teachers in India's daycare system draw on Rocket Learning's digital platform to enhance learning. Photo courtesy Rocket Learning When the news reached Namya Mahajan (MBA 2022) as her HBS graduation was approaching that she would receive financial assistance to... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

February 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Smith Breeden Associates: The Equity Plus Fund (A)

By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel

In early 1997, Smith Breeden Associates, a money management and consulting firm, was pondering the future of the Equity Plus Fund. The Equity Plus Fund was an S&P enhanced-index fund that tried to outperform the S&P Index by replicating the index using low-cost... View Details

Keywords: Assets; Cash; Financial Markets; Financial Strategy; Mortgages; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Marketing; Performance; Consulting Industry

March 2016 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Tableau

By: Boris Vallee

Matrix Capital Management, a long-short equity hedge fund based in Waltham, Massachusetts, is assessing its investment in Tableau, a data visualization company. Tableau, which conducted an IPO a few years ago, has been experiencing substantial growth as it aims at... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Long-short Equity; Growth Investing; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment; Valuation; Technology; Technology Industry; Waltham