Case Study Proposal

Case Study Proposal: Tip of the Iceberg: JP Morgan Chase and Windward



Contents

Introduction3

Background of the Study3

Statement of the problem3

Research Aims and Objectives3

Structure of the rest of the Report4

Case Brief5

About The Investment Company5

Swot Analysis5

Strengths5

Opportunities8

Threats9

Description of the Problem10

Problem Statement, Plan of Analysis12

Problem Statement12

Conceptual framework12

Literature Review13

Modern Portfolio Theory13

Market Efficiency Hypothesis13

The Efficient Frontier16

Capital Asset Pricing Model17

Hedge Fund Indices18

Hedge Fund Management Strategies19

Hedge Fund Performance Evaluation19

Proposed Plan of Analysis19

Sources of Data20

Analysis and Findings21

An Assessment of the Current industry Position21

Proposed Solution to Problem26

Institutional investors26

Private Investors27

401(k) plans27

Demand Drivers28

Major Markets29

Current Performance29

Industry Outlook33

Limitations of the Study, Scope for further research36

Application of the Learning to another Organization in any Industry39

References42

Case Study: Windward Investment Management, Inc.

Introduction

Background of the Study

Headquartered in Boston, Windward Investment Management used to be RIA (registered investment advisor) under the Securities and Exchange Commission that managed $3.6 billion in AUM ( assets under management) as of 31st July 2010. The client's base included mainly investment advisors, endowments, non-profit organizations, high net worth individuals as well as retirement plans. The company has witnessed phenomenoal growth within ten years time. Nevertheless, there came a time when the top management must set the future direction of the company to sustain this growth.

Statement of the problem

The case titled “Windward Investment Management” is essentially about a RIF which has witnessed phenomenal growth in a short spam of time. The company has excellent risk management system in place while the Windward Global System Model made it possible to exploit short term profit making opportunities arising globally due to presence of market inefficacies. In the presence of the ever increasing competition pressure, the company is seeking new avenues to expand its client base. So far, the company has done a remarkable job in terms of growth. However, the top management believes that it is high time to decide the future direction of their investment company. They must explore different avenues: however, each avenue has its own cons and pros. In order to discuss the case study, we also went through several generally accepted financial theories including portfolio theory and modelling theory i.e., CAPM. Many analysts and researches were forced to adopt a critical approach to re asses the practicability of these theories.

Research Aims and Objectives

The main aims of conducting this case study analysis are to assess how international companies can incorporate a cost of capital which represents the risk across all the geographic subsidiaries. These objectives will be attained by the following objectives:

To analyze the case for information gathering

To provide a theoretical framework which provides the basic definitions and concepts of theories related to the case

To present literature review on market and portfolio theory.

To Relate the literature and case findings and present the analysis

To recommend the ways which could help the decision making board in such scenarios

Structure of the rest of the Report

This case study followed the below mentioned structure, to have a better insight into the overall structure of the case studies and for the facilitation of the readers to have a clear understanding:

Chapter 01: provides the background, statement of the ...