Publications

12 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

‘Let the Buyer Beware’ Doesn’t Protect Investors

that the Chinese wall was no protection at all for the independence of the analysts. Trying to sell IPOs, analysts gave glowing recommendations to firms which collapsed within months. Trying to support the stocks of firms previously sold... View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

July 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Fidelity Investments' Charitable Gift Fund (A)

By: Robert C. Pozen

Deborah Pege, an attorney at Fidelity Investments, needs to decide whether Fidelity should attempt to patent business processes involved with its new charitable gift fund. The case explores the conditions that must be satisfied in order to receive a patent and raises... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Patents; Business Processes; Value

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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

Article

An Evaluation of Money Market Fund Reform Proposals

By: Samuel G. Hanson, David S. Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam

U.S. money market mutual funds (MMFs) are an important source of dollar funding for global financial institutions, particularly those headquartered outside the U.S. MMFs proved to be a source of considerable instability during the financial crisis of 2007–2009,... View Details

Keywords: Balance and Stability; Globalized Markets and Industries; Banks and Banking

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Read Now

U.S. money market mutual funds (MMFs) are an important source of dollar funding for global financial institutions, particularly those headquartered outside the U.S. MMFs proved to be a source of considerable instability during the financial crisis of 2007–2009,... View Details

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

December 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) in 2009

By: Luis M. Viceira and Brendon Christopher Parry

In late June 2009, management at The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) was considering expanding the footprint of the TIFF Diversified Fund (TDF), the first truly comprehensive endowment management vehicle offered under the TIFF banner. The recent large capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Risk Management; Product Marketing; Financial Services Industry; United States

22 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Online Banks Fill Funding Needs for Small Business

funding for small businesses. The outstanding portfolio balance of online lenders has grown about 175 percent a year, compared to a decline of about 3 percent in the traditional banking sector. However, it still only represents less than... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking; Financial Services

20 Jul 2017
News

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

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

26 Sep 2018
News

Funding the Earth’s Natural Infrastructure

personal effort has been to seek out innovation in the environmental finance arena. Too often, if you want to conserve any type of land, you have to have substantial funding to accomplish protected status... View Details

Keywords: April White

26 Jun 2020
Blog Post

(PPE)ople First: Bringing Critical Personal Protective Equipment to Boston Hospitals

for personal protective equipment (“PPE”) in the US, Sophie began exploring ways to bring these supplies to Boston. Jeff, spotting an opportunity to create a scaled initiative, jumped in and together the two of them began ordering bulk... View Details

03 Sep 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How the US Government Is Innovating in Its Efforts to Fund Semiconductor Manufacturing

Keywords: Re: Mitchell B. Weiss; Semiconductor; Public Administration

06 Sep 2005
Research & Ideas

The Best Place for Retirement Funds

or an equity mutual fund that holds low-dividend stocks and passes through little in the way of realized capital gains. A high-tax asset might be a standard corporate bond, since the interest payments on a bond held in a taxable account... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

16 Apr 2020
News

Obama small-business chief says Democrats should act now on loan funds

14 Aug 2017
News

U.S. Cities Increasingly Focused on Resilience, but Funding Challenges Persist

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

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