Publications

Educators

January 2008
Background Note

Equity Options

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

The goal of this simulation is to understand the reliance of option values on volatility. When an investor trades an option, they are essentially trading volatility. Therefore, much of the focus in this lesson is on forecasting volatility. Students are able to use two... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Forecasting and Prediction; Stock Options; Investment Return; Price; Market Transactions; Mathematical Methods; Value

Educators

December 2008
Article

Style Investing and Institutional Investors

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Melvyn Teo

This paper explores institutional investors' trades in stocks grouped by style and the relationship of these trades with equity market returns. It aggregates transactions drawn from a large universe of approximately $6 trillion of institutional funds. To analyze style... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Behavioral Finance; Stocks; Investment Return; Market Transactions; Performance Expectations; Personal Characteristics; Financial Services Industry

June 2005
Article

Currency Returns, Intrinsic Value, and Institutional Investor Flows

By: K. A. Froot and T. Ramadorai

Keywords: Currencies; Exchange Rates; Purchasing Power Parity; Real Exchange Rate; Forecasting and Prediction; Behavioral Finance; Investment Return; Market Transactions; Performance Expectations; Personal Characteristics; Asset Pricing; Financial Services Industry

September 2004
Article

Decomposing the Persistence of International Equity Flows

By: Kenneth A. Froot and J. Tjornhom Donohue

Keywords: Asset Pricing; Equity Investment; Forecasting and Prediction; Behavioral Finance; Stocks; Investment Return; Market Transactions; Performance Expectations; Personal Characteristics; Financial Services Industry

July – August 2011
Article

What Factors Drive Analyst Forecasts?

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul Healy, Nitin Nohria and George Serafeim

A firm's competitive environment, its strategic choices, and its internal capabilities are considered important determinants of its future performance. Yet there is little evidence on whether analysts' forecasts of firm performance actually reflect any of these factors... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Forecasting and Prediction; Industry Growth; Judgments; Performance; Valuation; Price; Quality; Innovation and Invention; Organizational Culture; Competency and Skills; Surveys

25 Jul 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: July 25, 2017

cast may deviate dramatically from pure QV predictions because of the complex and refined nature of equilibrium play. Most plausibly, voting behavior and outcomes would be determined predominately by social and psychological forces, would... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

19 Jul 2016
First Look

July 19, 2016

might be appropriate to redesign (“refactor”) a system, to reduce what has been called “architectural debt.” Unfortunately, we lack robust data by which to evaluate the relationship between architectural design choices and system maintenance costs, and hence to View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 5

between the firm and an outside investor. A common assumption in the signaling game literature is that beliefs among the participants in the game are refined using the Intuitive Criterion refinement. Our experimental results provide evidence that the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 May 2010
First Look

First Look: May 4

organs faces widespread disapproval. We survey a representative sample of Americans to assess disapproval for several forms of kidney markets and to understand why individuals disapprove by identifying factors that predict disapproval,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Immigrant Workers Cluster in Particular Industries

economists predict the effects of changes in immigration of specific ethnic groups. “This notion that if you opened up the immigration spigot then entrepreneurship would happen everywhere is probably not true,” he says. “But if you were... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Transportation; Beauty & Cosmetics; Retail

10 Nov 2015
First Look

November 10, 2015

valuation estimates to examine whether analysts reliably assess the risk surrounding a firm's fundamental value. We find that the spread in analysts' state-side contingent valuations captures the riskiness of operations and predicts the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Racist Umpires and Monetary Ministers

otherwise." In the cases of umpires and ministers, Parsons's work falls under the broader category of incentive research. "They are about what causes people to behave in predictable ways, and how that changes over time," he... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports; Information; Publishing

24 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 24, 2009

financial resources increase the benefits of partner-specific experience. Finally, we predict that the value of partner-specific experience will increase under high levels of firm-specific uncertainty. We test these hypotheses with... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November – December 2011
Article

Most Likely to Succeed: Leadership in the Industry

By: Robert C. Pozen and Theresa Hamacher

What is the critical factor for success in the U.S. mutual fund industry? Is it top-ranked investment performance, innovative products, or pervasive distribution? In our view, it is none of these factors, despite their obvious importance. Instead, the best predictors... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Success; Investment Funds; Rank and Position; Performance; Investment; Innovation and Invention; Product; Distribution; Forecasting and Prediction; Asset Management; Governance Controls; United States

January 2011 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Matrix Capital Management (A)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Asset Management; Cash Flow; Stock Shares; Financial Markets; Investment Funds; Measurement and Metrics; Mathematical Methods; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

Educators

February 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

ClubTools, Inc.

By: Paul W. Marshall and Kristin Perry

Discusses the development of an Internet start-up by a recent HBS graduate. Details the company's business plan, incubation, technology development, marketing strategy, and search for funding. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Plan; Cash Flow; Marketing Strategy; Financing and Loans; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Forecasting and Prediction