Publications

Erik Stafford joined the faculty at HBS in July 1999, where he has taught finance in the required and elective curricula of the MBA Program and in the CFA Investment Management Workshop.

Erik's research efforts focus on investment management, capital... View Details

Keywords: financial services

June 2017
Article

Does Aggregated Returns Disclosure Increase Portfolio Risk Taking?

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

Many experiments have found that participants take more investment risk if they see returns less frequently, see portfolio-level returns (rather than each individual asset’s returns), or see long-horizon (rather than one-year) historical return distributions. In... View Details

Keywords: Information; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return

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December 2010 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Silver Lake

By: David J. Collis and Elizabeth A. Kind

Dave Roux, co-founder and chairman of Silver Lake, a private equity (PE) firm specializing in technology investments, was meeting with the firm's investment committee via video conference to discuss options for Silver Lake's future growth. While the private equity... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Private Equity; Expansion; Global Range; Financial Services Industry

August 2006
Article

Predicting Returns with Managerial Decision Variables: Is There a Small-Sample Bias?

By: Malcolm Baker, Ryan Taliaferro and Jeffrey Wurgler

Many studies find that aggregate managerial decision variables, such as aggregate equity issuance, predict stock or bond market returns. Recent research argues that these findings may be driven by an aggregate time-series version of Schultz's (2003, Journal of Finance... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Fairness; Managerial Roles; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Equity; Bonds; Financial Markets; Investment; Capital Markets; Borrowing and Debt; Investment Return

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February 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Frank Baker: Siris Capital Group and Titan Systems

By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Collins

Private equity firm, Siris Capital Group, must decide if they should raise their offer to take Titan Telecom private by acquiring its publicly traded stock. Siris’ decision to pay a premium for Titan must be made in the context of their unique (and somewhat complex)... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Leveraged Buyouts; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Mobile Technology; Financial Services Industry; Communications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

November 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

State of South Carolina, The

By: Randolph B. Cohen

This case presents the managerial dilemma faced by the treasurer of South Carolina in 1998. Until last year, the South Carolina state pension fund (with over $17 billion in assets) was barred by the state constitution from investing in equities. After the constitution... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Capital Markets; Investment Return; Public Administration Industry; South Carolina

June 2001
Case

ESL Golf (A)

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Christopher R Gordon

Todd Peterson and his colleagues have spent five weeks analyzing CMP Capital Partners' potential leveraged buyout of ESL Golf. They are about to present their analysis and bid proposal to the investment committee, consisting of all CMP partners, which must approve any... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Private Equity; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Valuation

16 Mar 2021
Blog Post

2+2 Where Are They Now Spotlight: Smitha Das (MBA 2018)

investment fund focused on unlocking pathways to economic mobility for low-income, underserved students. I also co-lead our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative. What projects/roles/opportunities did... View Details

September 1995 (Revised May 1998)
Case

RogersCasey Alternative Investments: Innovative Response to the Distribution Challenge

By: Josh Lerner

RogersCasey Alternative Investments faces the challenge of managing distributions of stock by the private equity investors in which their clients have invested. These distributed shares appear to behave in complex ways, apparently at odds with market efficiency. A... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Stocks; Financial Strategy; Investment; Innovation Strategy; Management; Distribution; Performance; Behavior

January 1999 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Infox System GmbH

Apax, a private equity firm, has an opportunity to invest in a travel-related print-materials distribution business in Germany. Infox is typical of many buyout opportunities. One of the founders seeks to exit the business, and recently hired managers will have to... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Germany

May 1981 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Congoleum Corp.

Describes the development and terms of the largest leveraged buyout up to the date of the case. The main problem is to value the positions of the various participants: lenders, equity holders, investment bankers, and management. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Leveraged Buyouts

14 Nov 2012
News

Can Huge CEO Golden Parachutes Hurt You?

Career Coach

Lauren Weston

Lauren enjoys helping students navigate career paths in investment banking, venture capital/growth equity, and impact investing. In the six years prior to HBS, she worked in a number of roles across capital markets, View Details

January 2008
Background Note

Valuing Risky Debt

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

This lesson develops the classical structural approach to pricing and hedging credit risk: Merton's (1974) contingent claims model of debt and equity claims. This model is used to make investment and risk management decisions in an over-the-counter (OTC) market for... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Investment; Price; Risk Management; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

October 2007
Case

Blue River Capital

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Tarun Khanna and Richard Bullock

Examines the strategy and experience of Indian private equity firm Blue River Capital. Blue River was established in 2005 to invest primarily in middle market, particularly family-run, businesses in India. Blue River caters to this niche as an active investor,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; India

October 2020
Case

TowerBrook: ESG in Action (A)

By: Victoria Ivashina, Brian Trelstad and Meaghan Conway

This case is the first of a two-part series that follows Ramez Sousou and his team at TowerBrook Capital Partners as they face a challenging investment decision in February of 2013. Since its founding, TowerBrook has prided itself on its purpose-driven investing... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Finance; Private Equity; Corporate Governance; Value Creation; Investment; Decision Making

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Compilation

Firm Strategy Vignettes

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

These three vignettes present various issues around the strategy and management of a private equity firm. In one, a senior partner must decide how to manage an over-extended colleague and how to reduce the risk of the firm's portfolio; in the second, a limited partner... View Details

Keywords: Outcome or Result; Business Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Partners and Partnerships