Publications

21 May 2018
Blog Post

Harnessing The Power of Collaboration to Create Opportunity in Chicago

Before and after attending HBS, I helped grow Working Assets (now Credo, founded by Laura Scher, MBA 1985) into a successful social enterprise that has generated more than $80 million for nonprofits. Whereas Working View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

Article

The Economics of Structured Finance

By: Joshua D. Coval, Jakub W. Jurek and Erik Stafford

This paper investigates the spectacular rise and fall of structured finance. The essence of structured finance activities is the pooling of economic assets like loans, bonds, and mortgages, and the subsequent issuance of a prioritized capital structure of claims, known... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Debt Securities; Investment; Risk Management; Behavior

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April 2023
Article

Are Intermediary Constraints Priced?

By: Wenxin Du, Benjamin Hebert and Amy Wang Huber

Violations of no-arbitrage conditions measure the shadow cost of intermediary constraints. Intermediary asset pricing and intertemporal hedging together imply that the risk of these constraints tightening is priced. We describe a “forward CIP trading strategy” that... View Details

Keywords: Asset Pricing; Investment Return; Risk and Uncertainty; International Finance

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January 2016
Case

Models of Endowment Management: King's College, Cambridge

By: David Chambers, Elroy Dimson, Luis M. Viceira and Elena Corsi

One of the University of Cambridge's Colleges evaluates different asset management options for their endowment fund. View Details

Keywords: Endowment Management; Financial Management; Management; United Kingdom

January 2002 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co., 2001

By: Joshua Musher and Andre F. Perold

Asset manager GMO underperforms the market during the 1996-2000 stock market bubble because of the focus on absolute risk. After suffering significant client withdrawals, performance again shines when the bubble collapses. Did they win the battle only to lose the war?... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Asset Management; Stocks; Investment; Price Bubble; Mathematical Methods; Risk and Uncertainty

March 2009 (Revised February 2011)
Background Note

Note: Fair Value Accounting for Investments in Debt Securities

By: William E. Fruhan

The note describes how fair value accounting applies to debt securities that are classified by financial institutions as (1) "trading" securities, (2) "available for sale" securities, or (3) "hold to maturity" securities. It explains the hierarchy for inputs used in... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; Assets; Debt Securities; Investment

September 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Case

J.P. Morgan Private Bank: Risk Management during the Financial Crisis 2008-2009

By: Anette Mikes, Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia

Mary Erdoes, the CEO of JP Morgan's asset management business, and three colleagues provide insights into risk management issues faced by the firm's private bank during the financial crisis in 2008–2009. The case provides perspective on the philosophy with which they... View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Financial Crisis; Globalized Firms and Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Risk Management; Mathematical Methods; Banking Industry; United States

22 Jan 2013
HBS Seminar

Robert Meyer, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania

27 Jan 2011
News

How to keep audit committees in the know

Working Paper Summaries

How do Private Equity Fees Vary Across Public Pensions?

Keywords: by Juliane Begenau and Emil Siriwardane; Financial Services

22 Apr 2020
Research Event

How Investors Are Sizing Up Climate Change’s Risks—and Opportunities

Until a few years ago, climate change’s potential impact seemed abstract for many investors. Now, as sea levels rise, hurricanes intensify, and droughts threaten food supplies, many investors are confronting its financial realities. But it’s not a simple calculation.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services

May 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Acquiring the First Thousand Customers

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Morgan Brown

By 2016, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were pervasive among the highest growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable... View Details

Keywords: Airbnb; Etsy; Uber; Growth Hacking; Two-sided Market; Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Transportation Industry; Accommodations Industry

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

New Challenges for Long-Term Investors

spending needs as well as economic factors such as rising interest rates that affect different assets in different ways. Viceira's research analyzes asset allocation strategies for personal and institutional... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

May 2009 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Depreciation at Delta Air Lines: The "Fresh Start"

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

In estimating depreciation for accounting purposes, Delta Air Lines has changed its assumptions about aircraft lifespan and residual values four times in the last thirty years or so. In the most recent changes, Delta adopted fair value accounting as part of its fresh... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Policies; Accounting Procedures; Depreciation; Bankruptcy; Cost Accounting; Financial Reporting; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Policy; Air Transportation Industry

25 Apr 2014
Video

Courtney Moyer - Making A Difference

April 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

BlackRock Solutions

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Scott Waggoner

The BlackRock Solutions case examines the different functions and economics of a global asset manager's value chain, with particular emphasis on the "money management" and the "investment systems platform" businesses. Students analyze why BlackRock decided to unbundle... View Details

Keywords: Investment Management; Strategic Vision; Organizational Behavior; Economies Of Scale And Scope; Unbundling Of Services; Strategic Planning; Risk Management; Financial Management; Asset Management; Competitive Advantage; Value; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Investment; Financial Strategy

September 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Windward Investment Management

By: Luis M. Viceira and Ricardo Alberto De Armas

Windward Investment Management has experienced rapid growth in assets under management in just ten years, from under $30 million at year-end 1999 to $3.6 billion in 2010. Windward is one of the leading firms in the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) industry that... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Valuation; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry