ONE SIZE FIT ALL

Can One Size Fit All?

Can One Size Fit All?

Question 1

In business and engineering, the minimum acceptable rate of return, often abbreviated MARR, or hurdle rate is the minimum rate of return on a project a manager or company is willing to accept before starting a project, given its risk and the opportunity cost of forgoing other projects. A synonym seen in many contexts is minimum attractive rate of return.

For example, suppose a Larry Stone knows that investing in a conservative project, such as a bond investment or another project with no risk, yields a known rate of return. When analyzing a new project, the manager may use the conservative project's rate of return as the MARR. The Larry Stone will only implement the new project if its anticipated return exceeds the MARR by at least the risk premium of the new project.

The hurdle rate is usually determined by evaluating existing opportunities in operations expansion, rate of return for investments, and other factors deemed relevant by management. A risk premium can also be attached to the hurdle rate if management feels that specific opportunities inherently contain more risk than others that could be pursued with the same resources. A common method for evaluating a hurdle rate is to apply the discounted cash flow method to the project, which is used in net present value models. The hurdle rate determines how rapidly the value of the dollar decreases out in time, which, parenthetically, is a significant factor in determining the payback period for the capital project when discounting forecast savings and spending back to present-day terms. Most companies use a 12% hurdle rate, which is based on the fact that the S&P 500 typically yields returns somewhere between 8% and 11% (annualized). Companies operating in industries with more volatile markets might use a slightly higher rate in order to offset risk and attract investors.

When a project has been proposed, it must first go through a preliminary analysis in order to determine whether or not it has a positive net present value using the MARR as the discount rate. The MARR is the target rate for evaluation of the project investment. This is accomplished by creating a cash flow diagram for the project, and moving all of the transactions on that diagram to the same point, using the MARR as the interest rate. If the resulting value at that point is zero or higher, then the project will move on to the next stage of analysis. Otherwise, it is discarded. The MARR generally increases with increased risk.

Oceanic Corporation uses its' cost of capital estimates to create a hurdle rate to effectively run operations. Oceanic Corporation uses these estimates to operate its four financial strategies. These are managing rather then owning hotel assets, investing in projects that increase shareholder value, optimizing the use of debt in the capital structure and repurchasing undervalued shares. If the company uses its overall WACC it may have divisions accept projects with returns below their respective ...