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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2019 (Revised March 2020)

  Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in 2018

  Emil Siriwardane, Luis M. Viceira and Shawn O'Brien

  In early 2018, Blackstone announced that John McCormick would succeed Tom Hill as President and Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM), the largest fund-of-hedge funds in the world by a sizeable margin. As new CEO, McCormick must decide on strategic growth options for the firm as its traditional FOF business is maturing and growth in its nearly $80 billion in assets under management (AUM) is plateauing. In the recent past, BAAM had expanded into other investing businesses, making direct investments, seeding early-stage hedge funds, taking general partner stakes in investment management firms, and offering alternative investment products to retail investors. To determine the appropriate path forward, McCormick must assess whether BAAM has a competitive edge in each of these platforms, as well as if further expansion could create internal conflicts of interest within BAAM and, more broadly, Blackstone.

  Keywords: Asset Management; Expansion; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Services Industry;

  Citation:

  Siriwardane, Emil, Luis M. Viceira, and Shawn O'Brien. "Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in 2018." Harvard Business School Case 219-063, January 2019. (Revised March 2020.)  View Details

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | January 2019 (Revised March 2020)

  Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in 2018

  Emil Siriwardane and Luis M. Viceira

  Citation:

  Siriwardane, Emil, and Luis M. Viceira. "Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in 2018." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 219-092, January 2019. (Revised March 2020.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2020

  Highfields Capital and McDonalds

  Mark Egan and Robin Greenwood

  McDonald’s reported its fifth consecutive quarter of declining same-store sales growth in early 2015. Despite McDonald’s recent poor performance, Jonathon S. Jacobson, the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Boston-based Highfields Capital Management, had initiated a large position in McDonald’s stock. Jacobson and his team believed that there was enormous upside in McDonald’s stock if management successfully implemented what they perceived to be straightforward operational and financial changes. McDonald’s needed to return to its core competencies of producing quick and reliable burgers and fries. In addition, they believed that financial restructuring could unlock sizable value for investors. Jacobson and his team debated whether to more forcefully articulate their vision for the company and began drafting a letter to Andrew McKenna, McDonald’s Chairman.

  Keywords: McDonald's; Stocks; Performance Improvement; Operations; Finance; Restructuring; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry;

  Citation:

  Egan, Mark, and Robin Greenwood. "Highfields Capital and McDonalds." Harvard Business School Case 220-061, February 2020.  View Details

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