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09 Aug 2018
News

Two Million Fake Accounts: Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

says, “because they want to ensure they have the financial resources to take care of people properly.” 4. Apologize—and mean it Poorly run layoff programs can be tremendously damaging to a company’s reputation. If current and downsized... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Financial Services; Financial Services; Financial Services; Financial Services

22 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

How to Make AI 'Forget' All the Private Data It Shouldn't Have

of a recent election. Or perhaps the training data contains copyrighted data that we might not have permission to use, creating litigation risk for companies that train on that data. Just last week the New York Times sued OpenAI for... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

February 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Case

CLSA: Integrating ESG in Stock Valuation

By: Shirley Lu, Aaron Yoon and Billy Chan

In 2023, a senior financial analyst at the Hong Kong-based stock brokerage firm CLSA was surprised to see that, based on his calculations, the financial impact from climate risks on a major Indian cement manufacturing company’s projected earnings could be massive.... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Analysis; Stocks; Valuation; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Services Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Hong Kong; China; India; Asia

June 2021
Case

Modern Endowment Management: Paula Volent and the Bowdoin Endowment

By: Luis M. Viceira, Emily R. McComb and Dean Xu

This case examines modern endowment investment management through the lens of a leadership transition between Chief Investment Officers (CIOs). In March 2021, Paula Volent is about to step down as the CIO of the endowment of Bowdoin College after twenty-one years, and... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Investment Banking; Growth Management; Investment Return; Capital Markets; Interest Rates; Competition; Cost Management; Risk Management; Financial Liquidity; Performance Evaluation

June 18, 2019
Article

Research: Investors Reward Companies That Talk Up Their Digital Initiatives

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Wilbur Chen

A study of how companies disclose their digital initiatives on earnings calls and written communications finds that more firms are using these technologies, that financial markets reward companies that disclose such initiatives, but that financial performance... View Details

Keywords: Digital Technologies; Disclosure; Investment; Performance Improvement

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August 2012 (Revised September 2012)
Case

JP Morgan Chase & the CIO Losses

By: Clayton Rose

On July 13, 2012, JP Morgan Chase & Co. announced a larger than expected loss for the quarter, $4.4 billion, from positions held in the Chief Investment Office (CIO), raising the total losses to $5.9 billion. Since the substantial risks in the CIO had first been... View Details

Keywords: Banking; Governance; Finance; Risk Management; Corporate Governance; Business Earnings; Accounting; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

Our recent work investigates dealers' trading behavior and pricing strategy in the corporate bond market to shed new light on the role of the network of existing relationships among dealers in shaping the transmission of risk and influencing market liquidity. We show... View Details

2014
Working Paper

Private Equity's Diversification Illusion: Economic Comovement and Fair Value Reporting

By: Kyle Travis Welch

This study examines how accounting has informed private equity diversification claims and demand for private equity investments. Despite research showing private equity lacks portfolio diversification benefits, those marketing private equity assets continue to... View Details

SSRN

January 2008
Article

Do Well by Doing Good? Don't Count on It

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Hillary Anger Elfenbein and James P. Walsh

Research over 35 years shows only a weak link between socially responsible corporate behavior and good financial performance. However, there's no evidence of risk in doing good, only in being exposed for misdeeds. View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Profit; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Effectiveness; Behavior

Find at Harvard

In 2006 the risk management chiefs of two British financial institutions (we'll call them Saxon Bank and Anglo Bank) were in similar situations. Each reported directly to the CEO and had, in theory, the same influence in their organizations. But by 2011 Saxon’s risk... View Details

August 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Background Note

Note on Duration and Convexity

This case explores two measures of price sensitivity: duration and convexity. These measures are normally used to gauge how sensitive a bond's price is to a change in interest-rate levels. However, as concepts, both duration and convexity have wider application:... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Price; Financial Instruments

March 2005
Case

Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia

In 2003, a Namibian entrepreneur was deciding how to finance and manage the risks of an ecotourism, nature reserve, venture project. Explores the challenges facing an entrepreneur operating in an emerging market with imperfect local financial and legal institutions. View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship

10 Dec 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Vulnerable Banks

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood, Augustin Landier & David Thesmar; Financial Services; Financial Services

Forthcoming
Article

Who Values Democracy?

By: Max Miller

This paper examines the conventional view that redistribution is central to the democratization process using data from stock markets. Consistent with this view, democratizations have a large, negative impact on asset valuations driven by a rise in redistribution risk.... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; Financial Markets; Valuation