Morningstar Inc.: Case Study

PageNors Investments was originated by Sally Page and Jackson Norstern in 2006 as a premier investment firm serving the needs of individuals living in the Madison, WI. Madison is located in Dane county in South-Central Wisconsin, 77 miles West of Milwaukee and 122 miles Northwest of Chicago. Madison is also home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Madison Metropolitan statistical area has an estimated population of 570,000 people and is one of the fastest growing regions in the state.

The Vanguard Group turned 42 years old this year and its mission statement remains the same - To take a stand for all investors, treat them fairly, and give them the best chance for investment success. It pioneered the industry first index fund and is one of the largest asset management companies in the world. Year after year Vanguard dominates in cash flows and client advocacy. Part of its success can be attributed to its unique corporate structure... The Vanguard Group is owned by its funds which are owned by investors, and the board of directors is tasked to commit to the best interests of the clients. With such a great brand recognition and strong foothold in the industry, what are the components in Vanguard 's value chain?

Grove Street Advisors (“GSA”) is a leading fund-of-funds, focused on investing in “low risk” top-tier private equity funds that are not excessively large nor highly levered. GSA is faced with a number of strategic alternatives to help catalyze the firm’s next stage of growth. We propose that GSA expand globally and continue to build expertise in relatively underserved global PE markets such as China and India to help meet its objectives of satisfying customer needs, enhancing its international reputation, staying responsive to trends in private equity, and ultimately maximizing profitability.

• What is a case interview? The Case Interview • What specific skills does it assess? • How to prepare for a case interview? • An interactive example.

Commutronics had not accumulated enough profits and had no sufficient capital reserves. The company’s registered capital was therefore very low. The withholding tax rate of

Regarding the discussion of removing information and assistance with investing in stocks and bonds from Morningstar Inc, and solely focusing on mutual funds, I would suggest that it could adversely affect the company. However, focusing on just mutual funds would increase the company’s reputation by maximizing returns for investors due to the less risky nature of mutual funds (Bihari & Shukla, 2012). I believe the firm may lose clients and future customers that would rather invest in stocks or bonds. Without having these diverse options on where to invest, Morningstar Inc, consumers may seek out alternative investment

1. Adams espouses a “market first” analysis of opportunity by looking for discontinuities. Is this substantive or window-dressing? Do the four types of discontinuities represent applicable guidelines? Are they comprehensive, or are there other discontinuity templates that a venture investor would find useful?

This case gives comprehensive coverage of a firm’s decision to start an initial public offering but also to go through the process of going public. TRX is a company managing travel-and-data processing activities for its clients. Its target market has significant transaction volume in travel agencies, travel suppliers, large corporation and credit-card issuer. Regarding its service offerings, it focuses on transaction processing, data integration and customer care. Its fortune tied to the overall health of travel industry. TRX generates a lot of revenue but less profit. Trip Davis, Chief Executive Officer of TRX, Inc. decided it was time to raise capital in order to fund the growth of the company. His main focus was to accomplish a strategic recapitalization of TRX. This case gives a brief history about several events from the company’s incorporation in 1999 through the completion of an IPO in September 2005. The main goal is to raise capital but there is also a consideration of another reason for going public. In November 1999, they tried to go public but the IPO was never finalized. After the failed IPO, Trip Davis and TRX president decided to focus on strategic investors in order to raise $20 million convertible into equity at $11 per share. In 2004, he believed that Sabre, Inc. one of the largest strategic investors was not working for the best interest of the company. He took into consideration three possible capital raising options: IPO, private placement of equity, or

1. The cause to the conflict in the rankings is that while the IRR ranking shows a percentage so that you can see what percentage you are making on certain amount, it does not show the size of the project.

National Mutual Funds (NMF), founded in the 1940s, is one of the most important mutual fund companies in the brokerage industry in the United States. The company has extended from a mutual fund company to a financial center offering mutual funds, brokerage products including stocks and bonds, insurance products, and a variety of planning tools to help customers save for major life needs. However, since the market downturn, which is hurting many brokerage and mutual fund houses, NMF’s profits and operations have been affected significantly. To respond to the market slowdown, Harry Smallwood, President of NMF Retail Services, has come up with a directive to reorganize the call centers in the Retail Services Division in an effort

A trust who share a common financial goal which pools the savings of a number of investors.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYMerrill Finch Incorporated is a large financial services corporation. As a newly hired financial planner for the company, I have been assigned the task of investing $100,000 for a client. The investment alternatives have been restricted to five options: T-Bills, High Tech, Collections, U.S. Rubber, Market portfolio, and a 2-Stock portfolio.

The advantages to a LLC are: 1) Reduction of personal liability. A sole proprietor has unlimited liability, which can include the potential loss of all personal assets. 2) Taxes. Forming an LLC may mean that more expenses can be considered business expenses and be deducted from the company’s income. 3) Improved credibility. The business may have increased credibility in the business world compared to a sole proprietorship. 4) Ability to attract investment. Corporations, even LLCs, can raise capital through the sale of equity. 5) Continuous life. Sole proprietorships have a limited life,

Aberdeen Asset Management plc (for the purpose of this report I will refer to the company as Aberdeen) is an international investment management group that manages assets for third parties; institutions and individuals (p.2, MarketLine Company Profile, 2015). Aberdeen is an extremely large firm and results from the last financial year showed net revenue of £1,117.6m and a pre-tax profit of £324.4m (p.1, Final Results 2014, AAM Plc). The group employs over 2,600 members of staff, in 33 offices across 25 different countries around the world, with its headquarters based in Aberdeen, Scotland (p.4, MarketLine Company Profile, 2015). The company has seen rapid growth since it was founded in 1983 through acquisitions and internal growth. In 1991 it began floating on the London Stock Exchange under the name Aberdeen Trust PLC (p.5, MarketLine Company Profile, 2014). Fig. 2 shows how the success of the company is reflected in its increasing share price since floatation, earning it a place in the coveted FTSE 100 Index in 2012 (Our History, aberdeen_asset.co.uk). The firm is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FSA) in the United Kingdom jurisdiction. Aberdeen is a public limited company (plc) which means it has limited liability and its shares may be freely sold and traded by the public, Fig 2 shows the fluctuation of the share price in recent years. The current market capitalisation of Aberdeen, which is calculated

1. An international bank loaned money to an emerging country a few years ago. Because of the nonpayment of interest due on this loan, the bank is now negotiating with the borrower to exchange the loan for Brady bonds. The Brady bonds that would be issued would be either par bonds or discount bonds with the same time to maturity.