Publications

2020
Working Paper

How Do Private Equity Fees Vary Across Public Pensions?

By: Juliane Begenau and Emil Siriwardane

We study how investment fees vary within private-capital funds. Net-of-fee return clustering suggests that most funds have two tiers of fees, and we decompose differences across tiers into both management and performance-based fees. Managers of venture capital funds... View Details

Keywords: Pension Funds; Fee Dispersion; Search And Negotiation Frictions; Private Equity; Investment Funds

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November 2011
Teaching Note

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (TN)

By: Josh Lerner, Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Keywords: Retirement; Investment Funds; Canada

April 2024
Article

Fee Variation in Private Equity

By: Juliane Begenau and Emil N. Siriwardane

We study how investment fees vary within private-capital funds. Net-of-fee return clustering suggests that most funds have two tiers of fees, and we decompose differences across tiers into both management and performance-based fees. Managers of venture capital funds... View Details

Keywords: Pension Funds; Fee Dispersion; Search And Negotiation Frictions; Private Equity; Investment Funds

10 Jan 2005
What Do You Think?

Public Pension Reform: Does Mexico Have the Answer?

opinion is that the Administration should be candid and recognize that social security is a TAX used to fund a basic retirement benefit—the pension equivalent of food stamps. Higher income retirees should... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services

Web

Named Fellowship Funds - Alumni

Giving Named Fellowship Funds Giving Named Fellowship Funds Making HBS Accessible Over the years, HBS alumni, friends of the School, and organizations have established more than 750 View Details

June 2013 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Blackstone Alternative Asset Management

By: Robin Greenwood, Luis M. Viceira and Jared Dourdeville

This case explores reasons for Blackstone Alternative Asset Management's (BAAM's) growth from 2007-2013, a time when the overall fund of hedge funds industry contracted substantially. Additionally, the case analyzes evolving business models and value propositions... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Fund Of Hedge Funds; Hedge Fund Industry Growth; Fund Of Hedge Funds Industry Growth; Evolving Business Models; Value Propositions In The Fund Of Hege Funds Industry; Business Model; Investment Funds; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United States

August 2017 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Altoona State Investment Board & Bain Capital Fund XI

By: Josh Lerner and Ted Berk

Considers the decision faced by state pension fund manager Rod Calhoun as he decides whether to invest $200 million in Bain Capital's eleventh global buyout fund: Bain Capital Fund XI. For the fund, Bain was offering its limited partners a choice among three different... View Details

Keywords: Equity Method; Leveraged Buyout; Management Buyout; Capital; Design; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Leveraged Buyouts; Management; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Banking Industry; Massachusetts

June 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

The Vanguard Group, Inc. in 2006 and Target Retirement Funds

By: Luis M. Viceira

The Vanguard Group is one of the largest asset managers in the U.S., with over $1 trillion in assets, ninety percent of which are mutual fund assets, and more than 12,000 employees at year-end 2006. Vanguard has built a strong reputation as the manager of reference for... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Investment Funds; Personal Finance; Brands and Branding; Retirement; Trust; Financial Services Industry; United States

June 2022
Case

PFA Pensions: The Climate Plus Product

By: Daniel Green, Victoria Ivashina and Alys Ferragamo

The case explores whether alternative investments play a unique role in achieving low carbon dioxide emissions at the portfolio level. This case is set in April of 2020 and follows Kasper Ahrndt Lorenzen, Chief Investment Officer, and Peter Tind Larsen, Head of... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Carbon Footprint; Alternative Assets; Alternative Investment Vehicles; Pension Fund Investing; Private Equity; Renewable Energy; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Denmark

20 Jul 2017
News

The Looming Threat That Could Decimate Wall Street's Fund Managers

Web

Career Support & Exploration Funds - MBA

Financial Aid MBAid: Career Support & Exploration Funds Tuition Assistance Summer Fellowships Career Support & Exploration Funds Fast Facts MBAid Stories Consumer Information RISE Career Fellowship Attending... View Details

01 Jun 2015
News

Research Brief: If State Pensions Clean Up Their Books, Who Pays?

When the financial crisis hit in 2008, it became apparent that many states had played fast and loose with their pension funding. Some states slashed benefits, others contemplated bankruptcy. You might think state governments, burned badly... View Details

Keywords: Erin Peterson

06 Sep 2005
Research & Ideas

The Best Place for Retirement Funds

particularly for investors with large tax-deferred savings vehicles, the asset location decision has a relatively large impact on retirement wealth. With some allowance for institutional differences between defined benefit pension plans... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

04 Dec 2019
News

Skydeck Live: The Case for Funding Female Founders

and series B financing? Dodi: Definitely. The bulk of venture capital comes from institutions, whether they be pension funds or endowments. But their ticket, their minimum investment size is typically $10... View Details

01 Oct 2002
News

Dean Clark on Leadership, Educational Priorities, and Funding the Future

internationally but from nonprofits and the public sector, as well as applicants with less work experience. Does that present new challenges for financial aid? We need to guarantee that we always can bring the very best students to the... View Details

August 2014
Article

What Makes Annuitization More Appealing?

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

We conduct and analyze two large surveys of hypothetical annuitization choices. We find that allowing individuals to annuitize a fraction of their wealth increases annuitization relative to a situation where annuitization is an "all or nothing" decision. Very few... View Details

Keywords: Annuity; Pension; Retirement Income; Framing; Annuities; Retirement

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October 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Engine No.1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil

By: Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi and T. Robert Zochowski

ExxonMobil, the world's fifth largest source of carbon emissions, remained committed to aggressively expanding its oil & gas business despite global warming. During the COVID pandemic this strategy resulted in massive losses as the price and demand for oil declined. ... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Global Warming; Impact Investment Funds; Hedge Fund Activism; Leadership Development; Business Model; Renewable Energy; Resource Allocation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards

15 Feb 2017
Op-Ed

What Africa Can Teach the United States About Funding Infrastructure Projects

States, where the ability to fund infrastructure is less obvious than it may seem at first glance. The infrastructure paradox There is plenty of capital in the global financial system: upward of US $20 trillion invested in fixed income... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Construction

October 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Acme Investment Trust: January 2001

By: Josh Lerner

The managers of a large corporate pension fund must decide whether to invest in a private equity fund that is offering a guaranteed rate of return of 20% on part of its portfolio. The background behind and implications of the guarantee are explored. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Private Equity; Motivation and Incentives; Asset Management; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Financial Services Industry