Publications

November 2010 (Revised August 2016)
Case

The Changing Face of Angel Investing

By: William A. Sahlman and Evan Richardson

Angel investors Ram Shriram, Mike Maples, Eric Paley, James Geshweiler, and Jim Southern discuss their investment philosophies and the changing landscape of angel investing. Questions include: • How has angel investing changed in the last few years? • How do you... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Venture Capital; Investment Funds

June 1990
Article

Herd Behavior and Investment

Keywords: Behavior; Investment

January 1995
Case

Keller Fund's Option Investment Strategies, The

By: W. Carl Kester

A closed-end mutual fund's decision to study option trading provides an opportunity to study the profit profile and pricing of multiple option investment strategies (e.g., buy a call, buy a put, write a call, buy stock-write call, etc.). This case is designed to... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Stock Options; Profit; Price; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

22 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

When Does Impact Investing Make the Biggest Impact?

The idea of supporting social change has propelled impact investing assets to more than $1 trillion. But what if those funds aren’t as impactful as investors expect? Recent Harvard Business School research indicates that while impact... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Research Summary

Managing International Trade and Investment

By: Debora L. Spar

Introduced by Debora Spar in 1995, Managing International Trade and Investment is an elective course that prepares students to deal with the distinct set of management challenges that face cross-border businesses. Building on experience that suggests that what works... View Details

January 2007 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Yale University Investments Office: August 2006

By: Josh Lerner

The Yale Investments Office must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments--hedge funds, private equity, real estate, and so forth. Considers the risks and benefits of a different asset allocation strategy.... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Asset Management; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Risk Management

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

Article

Waves in Ship Prices and Investment

By: Robin Greenwood and Samuel G. Hanson

We study the link between investment boom and bust cycles and returns on capital in the dry bulk shipping industry. We show that high current ship earnings are associated with high used ship prices and heightened industry investment in new ships, but forecast low... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Price; Investment; Shipping Industry

Read Now

February 1982 (Revised March 1984)
Case

Travelers Investment Management Co.

By: David E. Bell

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

1993
Chapter

Motivations for Foreign Investment

By: L. T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Motivation and Incentives

October 1995 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Apex Investment Partners (A): April 1995

By: Josh Lerner

The partners of Apex Investment Partners are seeking to provide financing for Accessine Technologies, a small firm specializing in providing "One Person, One Number" telecommunication services. The negotiation of the terms-and-conditions of the deal, as well as its... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Offer; Negotiation Participants; Problems and Challenges; Financing and Loans; Communication Technology; Financial Services Industry; Telecommunications Industry

July 1996 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Continuous Casting Investments at USX Corporation

By: Clayton Christensen

Focuses on the difficulty established companies face when confronted with disruptive technological innovations. The power that their prior asset investments, their cost structures, and their customers have in constraining their investment and innovation decisions are... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Assets; Cost; Investment; Technological Innovation; Problems and Challenges; Mining Industry; Real Estate Industry

19 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Unlocking Your Investment Capital

Many companies can double or even triple their capacity to invest in strategic assets and competencies by properly managing their "risk balance sheet," argues Harvard Business School professor Robert C. Merton. In a provocative... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

The Hard Numbers on Social Investments

In what is believed to be the largest study of its kind, MBA students at Harvard Business School recently analyzed the financial returns generated by 110 early-stage companies backed by Investors' Circle, a national network dedicated to early-stage View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

07 Nov 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Investment Cycles and Startup Innovation

Keywords: by Ramana Nanda & Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

It's a much believed assumption in the retail world: If you're going to compete on the basis of low cost, then you can't afford to invest in your employees. Extensive training—who has the time to give? Regularly scheduled hours?—way too... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

January 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Altoona State Investment Board: December 2008

By: Josh Lerner

Rod Calhoun, the head of the Altoona State Investment Board's private equity investment program, considered the communication he had just received. It was from Permira, the leading European buyout fund, and concerned its fourth fund, to which Altoona had made a £ 100... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Partners and Partnerships

21 Sep 2017
Cold Call Podcast

State Street’s SHE: Investing in Women Leaders

Keywords: Re: Vikram Gandhi; Financial Services

Spring 2013
Article

The Investment Strategies of Sovereign Wealth Funds

By: Shai Bernstein, Josh Lerner and Antoinette Schoar

This paper examines the direct private equity investment strategies across sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and their relationship to the funds' organizational structures. SWFs seem to engage in a form of trend chasing, since they are more likely to invest at home when... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Strategy; Investment Funds