Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s Entry into the Retirement Market

Lauren  Cohen; Christopher  Malloy

Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2012 (Revised March 2012)

Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s Entry into the Retirement Market

Abstract

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 working. The case considers the challenges of entering the fiercely competitive retirement market, introduces students to the large literature on the behavioral biases of individual investors, and asks students to evaluate an innovative new financial product designed to automate the process of retirement investing.

Keywords: Retirement; Asset Management;

Language: English

Format: Print

23 pages

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Citation:

Cohen, Lauren, and Christopher Malloy. "Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s Entry into the Retirement Market." Harvard Business School Case 212-068, January 2012. (Revised March 2012.)

Tianqiao Chen, founder and CEO of Shanda Group, has set up his family office in the U.S. in 2016 after exiting from Shanda's Internet games business in China in 2014, again pioneering an unconventional approach to the management of a family office.

Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2017 (Revised June 2019)

Dianrong: Marketplace Lending, Blockchain, and 'The New Finance' in China

Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen, Anthony K. Woo, Christopher J. Malloy, Lauren H. Cohen and Anthony K. Woo

This case examines the strategic positioning of Dianrong, one of the largest online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in China, in its attempt to become a foundational player in the expansion of the FinTech sector in Asia. Dianrong had recently announced the acquisition of the asset-origination operations of Shanghai-based Quark Finance, augmenting Dianrong’s asset management and credit evaluation capabilities across China, as well as a new initiative to develop the first blockchain platform for supply chain finance in China. The goal was to provide capital to smaller suppliers in the supply chain, and provide enhanced visibility and transparency of supply chains for large multinational manufacturers. The company had also made several recent forays into other related sectors, with their creation of “DR Group” as an umbrella corporate structure that included all wholly-owned businesses, joint ventures, and partnerships. This rebranded group structure encompassed the various aspects of “The New Finance,” leveraging FinTech innovation to deliver value for borrowers, lenders, and investors. Case protagonist Soul Htite, Founder and CEO of Dianrong, and the former CTO of Lending Club, must decide how to execute on the firm’s aggressive diversification plan. Recent advances at the company, while promising, were complicated by the uncertainties in the political and regulatory landscape. How should the company leverage its advantage in technology and position itself in the market? Which sectors within its larger umbrella structure were the most promising avenues to focus on? Was Dianrong tackling too many sectors and problems at once? Htite’s view was that in order to truly succeed in China a technology company had to “create” much of the ecosystem and infrastructure oneself, as opposed to in the US where companies could simply “provide add-ons” to existing firms and capabilities. But the reality of trying to excel in so many different areas was daunting.

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Online Technology; Supply Chain; Finance; Innovation and Invention; Competition; Product Positioning; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; China;

Citation:

Malloy, Christopher J., Lauren H. Cohen, and Anthony K. Woo. "Dianrong: Marketplace Lending, Blockchain, and 'The New Finance' in China." Harvard Business School Case 218-043, September 2017. (Revised June 2019.) View Details

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Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s Entry into the Retirement Market

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Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)'s Entry into the Retirement Market

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