Miracle Life is a firm with a unique setup and organizational structure. Specifically, it is a network marketing firm (also known as multi-level marketing (MLM) firm), which utilizes a large distributor base, and depends on this individual distributor base to sell its products, giving explicit...

We demonstrate that simply by using the ethnic makeup surrounding a firm's location, we can predict, on average, which trade links are valuable for firms. Using customs and port authority data on the international shipments of all U.S. publicly-traded firms, we show that firms are significantly...

We provide a primer on the market for securities' lending of equities in the United States. We describe the basic market structure, along with descriptions of the relevant market participants. We build intuition for the basic economic forces in this decentralized market through a series of...

This case examines Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s decision to enter the retirement market with their new "Dimensional Managed DC" product, a complete retirement solution that aimed to provide investors with what they really wanted: the same standard of living in retirement that they had while...

The total face amount of terminated life insurance in the U.S. amounts to over two trillion dollars per annum. Little known is that, instead of allowing insurance carriers to pocket the premiums paid until termination and avoid the death claim, many policyholders may realize their policies'...

Business Intelligence Advisors, Inc. (BIA) was an investment research firm that had developed methods to help professional investors discern when CEOs and other executives in publicly traded firms "either lacked confidence in or were conveying less than complete or reliable information" in their...

This is a (B) case for AQR's Momentum Funds. It follows the first year of performance of the funds after launching, and gives students a critical inflection point for analyzing the nascent stages of a new product launch and the potential path dependence of the product depending on initial...

AQR is a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut, that is considering offering a wholly new line of product to retail investors, namely the ability to invest in the price phenomenon known as momentum. There is a large body of empirical evidence supporting momentum across many different asset...

In the summer of 2008, AQR Capital Management was considering the launch of a new hedge fund strategy. The proposed DELTA portfolio would offer investors exposure to a basket of nine major hedge fund strategies. The DELTA strategy would be innovative in two ways. First, in terms of its...

Ten years into Quadriserv's life, Greg DePetris and his company were at a crossroads. Perhaps more so than any of Greg's previous ventures, Quadriserv represented a move into an established marketplace with strong and entrenched incumbents. Greg had a tested record of start-ups in the trading...