Publications

01 Oct 2010
News

'Delay and pray' won't work for commercial real estate

Victoria Ivashina

Victoria Ivashina is the Lovett-Learned Professor of Finance and Head of the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School. She also serves as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Policy... View Details

Keywords: banking; federal government; financial services; investment banking industry; private equity (LBO funds); private equity (other)

06 Nov 2019
Op-Ed

Torched Planet: The Business Case to Reinvent Almost Everything

The world is. on. fire. The Earth is burning. We only have a little time to arrest climate change, and if we fail to do so the consequences will be both dire and irreversible. We have the technology and the resources to fix things, if we want to. We even have a... View Details

Keywords: by Rebecca Henderson; Energy

August 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Discerene Group: Long-Term Public-Markets Investing

By: Luis M. Viceira and Brent Schwarz

This case discusses active investing based on fundamental valuations and price distortions created by market events, and whether contractual terms between investment managers and their investors can help align incentives between long-term investors and active managers.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Valuation; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry; Connecticut

June 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Cirque du Soleil -- The High-Wire Act of Building Sustainable Partnerships

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Maxime Aucoin

The case describes the history and business model of Cirque du Soleil (CdS). The case allows for a rich discussion and analysis of Cirque du Soleil's business model with an emphasis on how it interacts with that of MGM Mirage. Le Cirque and MGM's business models... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Investment; Profit; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Partners and Partnerships; Trust; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

December 2008 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Paul Capital Partners: Secondary Limited Partnership Investing

By: David S. Scharfstein

This case examines the proposed purchase by Paul Capital Partners of a limited partnership (LP) interest in a private equity fund. Paul Capital has a fund dedicated to buying these "secondary" LP interests. The case is intended as a vehicle for discussing the secondary... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Investment; Private Equity; Valuation; Partners and Partnerships; Interests; Markets; Debates; Financial Services Industry

October 2012
Case

Brazil 2003: Inflation Targeting and Debt Dynamics (Abridged)

By: Laura Alfaro and Rafael Di Tella

In October 2002, Brazilians elected a left-wing president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, for the first time in that country's history. As markets faltered in response, Lula sought to reaffirm his commitment to fiscal discipline, a floating exchange rate, and inflation... View Details

Keywords: Brazil; Inflation; Emerging Markets; Inflation and Deflation; Brazil

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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20 Dec 2013
News

Learning a lesson from venture capital

08 May 2023
Research & Ideas

How Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Crushed Crowdfunding for Minority Entrepreneurs

but that gap triples during periods of high public anxiety over immigration in the United States. “When there is the greatest anxiety, we see this funding shortfall.” Banks have historically rejected loan applications from Black, Asian,... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

June 2014
Case

The Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation

By: Brian Hall, Aaron Chadbourne, Vibha Kagzi and Caren Kelleher

This case is about the response of the US government to the excessive compensation of executives following the market collapse of 2008. In particular, the case focuses on the special committee that was formed to oversee and regulate any financial companies that had... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; United States

26 Sep 2013
News

A blockbuster tale

April 1993 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal

By: Robert J. Dolan

The business products division has developed a business proposal asking for $50 million to fund the creation of a new telephone system for the small business market. The company's last entry into this marketplace lost $70 million. The new product would face 100... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Communication Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Investment; Product Development; Telecommunications Industry; Canada

Find at Harvard

March 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Primetime Partners: Investing in Healthspan, Wealthspan, and Workspan

By: Rembrand Koning, Nicole Tempest Keller and Susan Wilner Golden

In the fall of 2024, Abby Miller Levy (HBS ’01), co-founder and managing partner of Primetime Partners, was preparing to raise a second fund. Founded in 2020 with veteran investor Alan Patricof, Primetime was a horizontal fund focused on early-stage companies serving... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Age; Social Issues; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 1969 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Industrial Products, Inc.

By: Joseph L. Bower and John W. Rosenblum

Involves the decision of whether to construct a new plant in another part of the country for a line of fire protection equipment. Capital funds set aside for the construction are blocked by Fireguard's continued record of substantial operating losses and divisional... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Capital; Construction; Financing and Loans; Expansion; Business Earnings; Markets; Product; Manufacturing Industry

Find at Harvard

14 Feb 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Does It Pay to Be a Whistleblower?

Keywords: Re: Jonas Heese; Banking

2023
Working Paper

Flow-Driven ESG Returns

By: Philippe van der Beck

I show that the recent returns to ESG investing are strongly driven by price impact from flows towards ESG funds. Using data on institutional trades, I estimate the market’s ability to accommodate the demand of ESG funds, which is given by the elasticity of... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Markets; Investment Return