Publications

17 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Companies Detangle from Legacy Pensions

difficult question, How are we going to make good on those promises? Pensions are a costly legacy for many companies. Photo: iStockPhoto The question is particularly urgent now, says Viceira, who teaches in the area of investment management and capital markets. For... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Financial Services

April 2000 (Revised July 2000)
Case

Ameritrade Holding Corporation

By: Lisa K. Meulbroek

Some of the senior managers at Ameritrade, an Internet brokerage firm, are selling their holdings in the firm. Why are the managers selling, how will it affect shareholders, and what should the CEO do about it? The CEO is concerned that the market will interpret... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Internet and the Web; Stock Options; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry

03 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

The Competitive Advantage of Global Finance

Dow, General Motors, Nestlé, and Petrobras) and smaller entrepreneurial firms (such as the U.K.'s AIFS and China's BabyCare) undertake critical financing, investment, risk management, and incentive management issues to take full advantage... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

17 Apr 2017
HBS Case

This Turkish Debt Collector Is Customer-friendly

customer needs. “This company says, instead of being a debt collector, we are going to be a debt resolver.” “Instead of doing one three-minute call with each customer, they were doing 15 to 20 calls lasting 15 minutes each” Turkasset was formed in the wake of the View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

May 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Supplement

'GEnron'? Markopolos versus General Electric (B)

By: Jonas Heese and David Lane

Supplement to the (A) case that offers an assessment of the August 2019 Markopolos report on General Electric. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Communication; Energy; Financial Condition; Insurance; Performance; Planning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Value; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

01 Aug 2012
What Do You Think?

Should CEOs Worry About ‘Too Big to Succeed?’

have been preoccupied with the question of financial institutions becoming too big to fail. But recent data points have me asking whether the relevant question should be whether financial (and other... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services; Financial Services

October 1999
Case

CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (C): 1997-1999

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Raynor

By 1997 the turnaround of CIBC's troubled investment bank, Wood Gundy, and its integration with corporate banking activities was complete. Marketplace results were encouraging, but scuttled mergers and tumultuous succession issues made the future uncertain. View Details

Keywords: Integration; Investment Banking; Success; Risk and Uncertainty; Management Succession; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Services Industry

30 Jan 2018
Blog Post

HBS Global Opportunity Fellowship: Making a Difference in Africa

About the Global Opportunity Fellowship (GO:Africa) HBS offers a variety of career support and exploration programs for eligible students that provide financial assistance for those who choose careers in which starting salaries are lower... View Details

November 2005 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Motion Computing, Inc. -- 2004

By: William A. Sahlman and Caroline Perkins

Scott Eckert, the co-founder and CEO of Motion Computing, must decide whether to raise additional capital to support growth. Motion manufactures and distributes Tablet PCs. If the company opts to raise money, it must decide on the source and terms of the financing. View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Computer Industry; United States

29 Jun 2009
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Leading Change

retrenchment; think growth. Key concepts include: Companies that survive the financial crisis by identifying and exploiting innovation will serve as economic growth engines in the future—and will be the industry leaders of tomorrow. This... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

July 2010 (Revised March 2016)
Case

MacroMarkets LLC

By: Robin Greenwood and Luis M. Viceira

MacroMarkets co-founder and CEO Samuel Masucci III is meeting with a strategic partner for his firm. Co-founded with Yale University Professor Robert Shiller, MacroMarkets' main innovation is the "MacroShare," which allows investors to take long or short, levered or... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Financial Instruments; Financial Markets; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Innovation and Invention; Risk Management; Product Positioning; Demand and Consumers; Financial Services Industry

Career Coach

Ryan Kennedy

hone their career visions, craft their job searches, and take the next steps towards a meaningful career. Work Experience: Product Manager at LendingHome.com (mortgages), Risk & Operations Manager at Earnest.com (student loans),... View Details

June 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Investment Policy at the Hewlett Foundation (2005)

By: Luis M. Viceira

In early January 2005, Laurance Hoagland Jr., VP and CIO of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (HF), and his investment team met to finish their recommendations to the HF Investment Committee for a new asset allocation policy for the foundation's investment... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Risk and Uncertainty; Public Equity; Globalization; Investment; Property; Risk Management; Asset Management; Financial Services Industry

2018
Working Paper

Bank Risk-Taking and the Real Economy: Evidence from the Housing Boom and Its Aftermath

By: Antonio Falato, Giovanni Favara and David Scharfstein

The short-termism of lenders amplifies boom-bust credit cycles, leading in turn to real costs for the aggregate economy. During the U.S. housing credit boom, publicly-traded banks increased mortgage lending activity and relaxed standards much more than privately-held... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Markets; Investment; Corporate Finance; Banks and Banking