Publications

November 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Investor Relations Practices at Edwards Lifesciences

By: C. Fritz Foley and F. Katelynn Boland

In January 2017, the senior leadership team at Edwards Lifesciences were preparing for the quarterly earnings call that would cover the fourth quarter of 2016. They faced questions about what types of information they should disclose on the call, as well as during... View Details

Keywords: Investor Relations; Medical Devices; Corporate Disclosure; Decisions; Business and Shareholder Relations; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

August 2009
Article

Inexperienced Investors and Bubbles

By: Robin Greenwood and Stefan Nagel

We use mutual fund manager data from the technology bubble to examine the hypothesis that inexperienced investors play a role in the formation of asset price bubbles. Using age as a proxy for managers' investment experience, we find that around the peak of the... View Details

Keywords: Asset Price Bubbles; Investment Experience; Investor Age; Trend Chasing; Investment; Experience and Expertise; Age; Behavioral Finance; Price Bubble; Information Technology; Stocks

Article

Investors as Stewards of the Commons?

By: George Serafeim

Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of initiatives seeking to mobilize investor voice towards positive social impact. In this paper, I provide a framework outlining the role of investors as stewards of the commons. While... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Industry Self-regulation; Sustainability; ESG; Capital Markets; Investor Behavior; Investment Activism; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Cooperation

SSRN

Find at Harvard

May 2015
Teaching Note

Aviva Investors

By: George Serafeim

Keywords: Responsibility; Responsibilities To Society; Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Sustainability; Activist Investors; Investment Management; Investment Strategy; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Environmental Sustainability; Investment Activism

June 2016 (Revised May 2017)
Case

A Note on Activist Investors and the Tech Sector

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

This short note provides background and data on the growing role of corporate activists, especially in high-technology industries. View Details

Keywords: Governance; Activist Investors; Strategy; Investment Activism; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry

March 2016
Article

The Role of Investor Gut Feel in Managing Complexity and Extreme Risk

By: Laura Huang

Securing financial resources from investors is a key challenge for many early stage entrepreneurial ventures. Given the inherent uncertainty surrounding a decision to invest in these ventures, prior research has found that experienced investors rely heavily on their... View Details

Keywords: Angel Investors; Gut Feel; Intuition; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Risk and Uncertainty; Complexity; Decision Making

Find at Harvard

April 2019 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Aperture Investors

By: Krishna G. Palepu, George Serafeim and David Lane

Aperture Investors is a startup investment firm that seeks to disrupt the asset management industry through competitive differentiation by charging investors primarily when its portfolio managers outperform the marketplace. Headed by Wall Street veteran Peter Kraus and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Talent and Talent Management; Investment; Investment Funds; Asset Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Marketing Channels; Emerging Markets; Partners and Partnerships; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry

2020
Working Paper

Anchors Aweigh: Analysis of Anchor Limited Partner Investors in Impact Investment Funds

By: Shawn A. Cole, T. Robert Zochowski, Fanele Mashwama and Heather McPherson

This note describes results from a survey of “anchor investors” in impact funds. Anchor investors are described as “generally the first investor to make a substantial capital commitment to a fund,” (according to the Global Impact Investing Network, “GIIN”) and their... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment Funds; Anchor Investors; Investment; Surveys; Analysis

Editorial

Why CEOs Should Share Their Long-Term Plans with Investors

By: Christina Rehnberg, George Serafeim and Brian Tomlinson

Rather than requiring less short-term information, the key to combating short-termism is to encourage companies to share more information about their long-term plans. Analysis of companies that have done so suggests that long-term plans are not mere marketing... View Details

Keywords: CEO; Investor Relations; Disclosure; Long-term Growth; Investing; Business and Shareholder Relations; Strategy; Corporate Disclosure

Register to Read

March 17, 2014
Article

How Amazon Transforms Investor Tension into Creative Tension

By: Lou Shipley

Keywords: Amazon; Investor Relations; Finance; Growth

Read Now

April 2011 (Revised April 2011)
Module Note

Investor Demand

By: Robin Greenwood

This conceptual note describes a series of cases on the investor demand approach to investment strategy and management. The cases demonstrate how and why securities market dislocations are driven by non-fundamental demand. I use the cases to progressively build a... View Details

Keywords: Investment

February 2011 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Gemini Investors

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Gemini Investors was a private equity firm focused on small and lower middle market businesses. Gemini's target investment size was between $4 million and $6 million and a typical portfolio company had revenue of between $8 million and $30 million. In early 2015,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Investment Funds; Markets; Size; Financial Services Industry; United States

September 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Teaching Note

Gemini Investors

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Teaching Note for HBS No. 211-066. Gemini Investors was a private equity firm that targeted equity investments of between $4 million to $6 million per firm. In the period from 2000 to 2015, Gemini had successfully deployed four funds, all licensed as Small Business... View Details

Keywords: Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Small Business; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Decision Making; Financial Services Industry; United States

December 2011 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Aviva Investors

By: George Serafeim

The Aviva Investors case describes the challenge of integrating sustainability considerations into the strategy and business practices of companies and into the decision making process of the investment community. Steve Waygood, Chief Responsible Investment Officer at... View Details

Keywords: Investing; Investment Management; Shareholder Activism; Disclosure; Stock Exchanges; Sustainability; Sustainable Development; Sustainability Reporting; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Social Impact; Activism; Investment; Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Environmental Sustainability; United Kingdom

January 2019
Case

Richard Taylor—African-American Investors Break into Boston's Downtown Real Estate Market

By: Steven Rogers and Alyssa Haywoode

African-American investors in Boston could typically invest in commercial real estate opportunities that were located in the “community,” neighborhoods where people of color live. But it was tough to break in and invest in the downtown market. But when an opportunity... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Investing; African-american Investors; Hotels; Commercial Real Estate; Property; Investment; Opportunities; Race; Real Estate Industry; Boston

September 2023
Case

Ada: Cultivating Investors

By: Reza Satchu and Patrick Sanguineti

Mike Murchison, co-founder and CEO of Ada, has an enviable dilemma. Launched in 2016 by Murchison and his co-founder David Hariri, Ada is an AI-native company that aims to revolutionize how businesses approach customer service. The company has already attracted a buzz,... View Details

Keywords: Founder; Fundraising; Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Industry