Publications

30 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 30

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-004.pdf Investment Taxation and Portfolio Performance Authors:Daniel Bergstresser and Jeffrey Pontiff Abstract Taxes have a first-order impact on View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2008 (Revised April 2010)
Background Note

The Hedge Fund Industry

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

This note describes the hedge fund industry as of the end of the year 2007. View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Financial Services Industry

June 2006
Case

Vignette: Bombay Tyre Manufacturing Ltd.

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Presents a U.S.-based investor who had taken a minority position in a publicly owned manufacturer in India. The company's controller is not performing and the stock price is suffering because of delayed and disappointing results. Removing the controller, however, is... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Equity; Foreign Direct Investment; Financial Management; Investment Activism; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy

29 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

'Green Bonds' May Be Our Best Bet for Environmental Damage Control

environment by accessing finance at better terms. “The whole idea of ESG investing is predicated on the notion that by tilting their portfolios towards securities that have better ESG properties, investors... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy; Utilities; Construction; Green Technology; Public Administration

December 1994
Case

Being There: Sony Corporation and Columbia Pictures

By: Debora L. Spar

In September 1989, Sony Corp. of Japan bid $3.4 billion for Columbia Pictures. It was the highest bid ever by a Japanese company for any U.S. property. The case examines the validity of Sony's objectives in making this purchase, and also the political uproar that the... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; United States

June 1984 (Revised June 1987)
Case

Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Inc.

By: Andre F. Perold

Keywords: Financial Management; Investment Portfolio; Management; Financial Services Industry

17 Nov 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

How Activist Investors Became Respectable

online well before any regulatory filing disclosed his holdings in the company. These tactics may have been designed for drama, but the investment strategy and its scale are nothing unusual today. Activist shareholders and the hedge funds... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Fuller; Financial Services; Banking

February 1998 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Burma Pipeline, The

By: Debora L. Spar and Lane LaMure

In 1996, Unocal Corp. joined forces with the French Total company to construct an ambitious natural gas pipeline from the Andaman Sea across the southern tip of Burma and into Thailand. At an estimated cost of $1.2 billion, the pipeline was designed to bring sorely... View Details

Keywords: Political Risk; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Foreign Direct Investment; Energy Industry; Asia

21 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

Faculty Research Looks to Latin America

particular social welfare decisions. Current research: "Is Brazil on the Path of Sustainable Growth and Development?" Laura Alfaro Alfaro: "I want to look at competition for foreign direct View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

2011
Working Paper

When Smaller Menus Are Better: Variability in Menu-Setting Ability

Are large menus better than small menus? Recent literature argues that individuals' apparent preference for smaller menus can be explained by choosers' behavioral biases or informational limitations. These explanations imply that absent behavioral or informational... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Size; Quality

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Forthcoming
Article

Political Polarization and Finance

By: Elisabeth Kempf and Margarita Tsoutsoura

We review an empirical literature that studies how political polarization affects financial decisions. We first discuss the degree of partisan segregation in finance and corporate America, the mechanisms through which partisanship may influence financial decisions, and... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Investment Portfolio; Decisions; Governance

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May 2022
Case

What's Next

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Is there a typical long-term career path for people who become entrepreneurs through acquisition? What choices do searchers and investors make subsequent to their first search? The former searchers profiled here identified five common longer-term career paths and... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Entrepreneurship; Investment Portfolio; Decision Making; Financial Services Industry

November 2007
Background Note

Bayesian Estimation & Black-Litterman

By: Joshua D. Coval and Erik Stafford

Describes a practical method for asset allocation that is more robust to estimation errors than the traditional implementation of mean-variance optimization with sample means and covariances. The Bayesian inspired Black-Litterman model is described after introducing... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Investment Portfolio; Mathematical Methods

18 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

Identify Emerging Market Opportunities

be able to raise money locally sooner rather than later. Openness. CEOs often talk about the need for economies to be open because they believe it's best to enter countries that welcome direct investment by multinational... View Details

Keywords: by Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu & Jayant Sinha

February 1990 (Revised November 1992)
Case

Ashamu Holdings Ltd. (B) (Abridged)

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Business and Government Relations; Nigeria

February 2003 (Revised August 2005)
Case

UCB (A): Managing Information for Globalization and Innovation

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Brian DeLacey

This case presents a complex total MIS strategy case for a $3 billion European pharmaceutical/chemicals company based in Brussels. It covers corporate strategy alignment of IT portfolio, IT operations issues, and global coordination of IT. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Operations; System; Corporate Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Globalization; Pharmaceutical Industry; Information Technology Industry; Brussels

2022
Other Unpublished Work

Got 'Critical Minerals'? Hooray! But Be Careful

By: Louis T. Wells

When a country has “critical minerals,” certain issues require special attention in the country’s mining legislation or while negotiating contracts with potential mining investors. As well, to obtain maximum benefit the government should prepare for negotiations with... View Details

Keywords: Critical Minerals; Foreign Direct Investment; International Relations; Mining Industry