Publications

2005
Working Paper

Nominal versus Indexed Debt: A Quantitative Horse Race

By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

The main arguments in favor of and against nominal and indexed debt are the incentive to default through inflation versus hedging against unforeseen shocks. We model and calibrate these arguments to assess their quantitative importance. We use a dynamic equilibrium... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Taxation; Risk and Uncertainty; Inflation and Deflation; System Shocks; Developing Countries and Economies; Mathematical Methods

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12 Feb 2018
News

More and More CEOs Are Taking Their Social Responsibility Seriously

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

September 2024
Case

Google Quantum AI

By: David B. Yoffie, Michael A. Cusumano and Matt Higgins

Quantum computing may be the most important nascent computing technology of the 21st century. It has the potential to impact industries ranging from drug discovery to cybersecurity. Google's Quantum AI is one of the leaders in quantum research. This case explores the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Price; Technological Innovation; Resource Allocation; Business Strategy; Information Technology Industry

January 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Restructuring at Delphi Corporation (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

Delphi Corporation, operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has filed a plan of reorganization with the court, under which a consortium of hedge funds led by Appaloosa Management will invest up to $2.6 billion in new equity. Also participating in the plan is... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment Funds; Labor and Management Relations; Auto Industry; Service Industry

22 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 22, 2007

Working PapersGlobal Currency Hedging Authors:John Y. Campbell, Karine Serfaty-de Medeiros, and Luis M. Viceira Abstract This paper considers the risk management problem of an investor who holds a diversified portfolio of global... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Research Summary

Nominal versus Indexed Debt: A Quantitative Horse Race (joint with Fabio Kanczuk)

By: Laura Alfaro

There are different arguments in favor and against nominal and indexed debt which broadly include the incentive to default through inflation versus hedging against unforeseen shocks. We model these arguments and calibrate the model to assess the quantitative importance... View Details

2008
Book

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

By: Niall Ferguson

Niall Ferguson traces the historical evolution of the financial system, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls "Planet Finance." In doing so, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history, from the... View Details

Keywords: Financial History; Money; Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Investment; Globalization

July 2010 (Revised March 2016)
Case

MacroMarkets LLC

By: Robin Greenwood and Luis M. Viceira

MacroMarkets co-founder and CEO Samuel Masucci III is meeting with a strategic partner for his firm. Co-founded with Yale University Professor Robert Shiller, MacroMarkets' main innovation is the "MacroShare," which allows investors to take long or short, levered or... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Financial Instruments; Financial Markets; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Innovation and Invention; Risk Management; Product Positioning; Demand and Consumers; Financial Services Industry

15 May 2009
News

Diminished Returns

2024
Working Paper

Fire Sales of Safe Assets

By: Gabor Pinter, Emil Siriwardane and Danny Walker

We use trade-level data to study price pressure effects in the UK gilt market from September to October 2022. During this period, forced sales by liability-driven investment funds (LDIs) led to price discounts on the order of 10%, accounting for roughly half the total... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Capital Markets; United Kingdom

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03 Oct 2016
News

Clayton Christensen On What He Got Wrong About Disruptive Innovation

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

knowledge management into the future of Danone. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=608067 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Harvard Business School Case 208-019 In an activist role, the View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2015
Article

What Are We Meeting For? The Consequences of Private Meetings with Investors

By: David H. Solomon and Eugene F. Soltes

Regulation Fair Disclosure was passed in 2000 in response to the concern that certain investors were gaining selective access to privileged firm information. In spite of the passage of this regulation, some investors continue to meet privately with executives. Using a... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Decision Making; Investment

Find at Harvard

26 Jun 2014
News

Investors Always Come Back … Even to Argentina

19 Jun 2019
News

Faculty Books in Brief: Summer 2019

Connect, Then Lead (by Amy Cuddy, John Neffinger, & Matt Kohut)

Is it better to be loved or feared?

Niccolò Machiavelli pondered that timeless conundrum 500 years ago and hedged his bets. “It may be answered that one should wish to be both,” he acknowledged, “but because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it... View Details

March 1986 (Revised December 1986)
Case

British Telecommunications, PLC

Presents a description of international equity markets, including comparisons of the U.S., Japanese, and British markets and recent trends toward deregulation of these markets. The decision focus of the case is on the initial public offerings of British... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Initial Public Offering; Capital Markets; Canada; London; Tokyo

January 2018
Case

Blue Harbour's Activism at Babcock & Wilcox

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

The case describes Blue Harbour Group's investment in Babcock & Wilcox and its transformation into BWX Technologies. In 2004, activist hedge fund Blue Harbour Group invested in Babcock & Wilcox, an energy and construction company. Blue Harbour developed an investment... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Investment Activism; Leading Change; Energy Industry; Construction Industry; United States