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

  Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World? Inside GPIF's Embrace of ESG

  Rebecca Henderson, George Serafeim, Josh Lerner and Naoko Jinjo

  In the fall of 2018, Hiro Mizuno, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of GPIF, the Japanese Government Pension Fund, was reflecting on his efforts to integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues into every aspect of GPIF’s portfolio. His efforts ranged from constructing new stock market indices based on ESG data, changing the compensation and incentives of active investment managers and passive funds, pushing for more corporate sustainability reporting and integrated reporting, and establishing collaborations with other asset owners to drive systems level change. He was convinced that the only way to meet his responsibilities to his beneficiaries was to improve the performance of the entire economy through a focus on improving corporate governance, increasing inclusion in the workplace and gender diversity and reducing environmental damage and progress towards tackling climate change. The early results from his efforts were promising, but was there more he could do?

  Keywords: pension funds; ESG (environmental, social, governance) performance; Investment Funds; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Governance; Leading Change; Economy; Performance Improvement; Japan;

  Citation:

  Henderson, Rebecca, George Serafeim, Josh Lerner, and Naoko Jinjo. "Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World? Inside GPIF's Embrace of ESG." Harvard Business School Case 319-067, January 2019. (Revised February 2020.)  View Details

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• Working Paper | 2020

  Loan Types and the Bank Lending Channel

  Victoria Ivashina, Luc Laeven and Enrique Moral-Benito

  Using credit-registry data for Spain and Peru, we document that four main types of commercial credit—asset-based loans, cash flow loans, trade finance and leasing—are easily identifiable and represent the bulk of corporate credit. We show that credit growth dynamics and bank lending channels vary across these loan types. Moreover, aggregate credit supply shocks previously identified in the literature appear to be driven by individual loan types. The effects of monetary policy and the effects of the financial crisis propagating through banks’ balance sheets are primarily driven by cash flow loans, whereas asset-based credit appears to be largely insensitive to these types of effects.

  Keywords: bank credit; loan types; bank lending channel; credit registry; Banks and Banking; Credit; Financing and Loans;

  Citation:

  Ivashina, Victoria, Luc Laeven, and Enrique Moral-Benito. "Loan Types and the Bank Lending Channel." Working Paper, February 2020.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2017 (Revised January 2020)

  Berkshire Partners: Party City

  Victoria Ivashina and Jeffrey Boyar

  In 2005, Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm specializing in growth equity, was one year into their ownership of Amscan, the market leader of designed, manufactured, and distributed decorated party goods and accessories. However, Amscan's primary customer, retail store Party City, was making aggressive moves to backwards integrate and cut into Amscan's profit pool. Even if Party City failed at its attempt, it could cause significant damage to the business and subsequently hurt Amscan’s top line. The Berkshire team needed to figure out a path forward. Should they try to invest in or buy Party City to thwart efforts that would potentially erode both businesses? If they did, should Party City remain a standalone company, or should it be merged with Amscan? Would Party City even come to the negotiating table? These questions, plus additional complications with investments from overlapping funds, left the Berkshire team in a difficult situation.

  Keywords: private equity; turnaround; Vertical Integration; fundraising; Cross-fund Investment; Private Equity; Vertical Integration; Governance; Valuation; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Ivashina, Victoria, and Jeffrey Boyar. "Berkshire Partners: Party City." Harvard Business School Case 218-028, August 2017. (Revised January 2020.)  View Details

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