Hedge Fund Due Diligence at Leman Alternative Asset Management Company Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Hedge Fund Due Diligence at Leman Alternative Asset Management Company case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Hedge Fund Due Diligence at Leman Alternative Asset Management Company case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Pedro Matos. The Hedge Fund Due Diligence at Leman Alternative Asset Management Company (referred as “Blm Hedge” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Finance & Accounting. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, .

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

---

Case Description of Hedge Fund Due Diligence at Leman Alternative Asset Management Company Case Study

In early January 2008, a senior VP with LAAMCO, a fund of hedge funds known for alternative investments, was conducting due diligence on an equity market-neutral hedge fund. The hedge fund used an option strategy known as a collar (also known as a bull spread or split-strike conversion). The track record of the hedge fund had been stellar. The fund's performance had not only beaten that of the S&P 500 Index over the same period but had done so with much lower monthly return volatility. As part of the due diligence, it was necessary to backtest the collar strategy and try to quantify how much value the manager, BLM Investment Securities, LLC, (BLM) had added. The case is a disguised representation of an actual hedge fund-the true identity of BLM is revealed to students at the end of the case discussion.

Case Authors : Pedro Matos

Topic : Finance & Accounting

Related Areas :

---

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Hedge Fund Due Diligence at Leman Alternative Asset Management Company Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10016202)	-10016202	-	-
Year 1	3469378	-6546824	3469378	0.9434	3272998
Year 2	3977173	-2569651	7446551	0.89	3539670
Year 3	3965231	1395580	11411782	0.8396	3329284
Year 4	3242158	4637738	14653940	0.7921	2568093
TOTAL			14653940		12710045

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2693843

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

---

Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Net Present Value
2. Profitability Index
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Payback Period

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Blm Hedge have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Blm Hedge shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

---

Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Hedge Fund Due Diligence at Leman Alternative Asset Management Company

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Finance & Accounting Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Blm Hedge often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Blm Hedge needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10016202)	-10016202	-	-
Year 1	3469378	-6546824	3469378	0.8696	3016850
Year 2	3977173	-2569651	7446551	0.7561	3007314
Year 3	3965231	1395580	11411782	0.6575	2607204
Year 4	3242158	4637738	14653940	0.5718	1853714
TOTAL					10485083

The Net NPV after 4 years is 468881

(10485083 - 10016202 )

---

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10016202)	-10016202	-	-
Year 1	3469378	-6546824	3469378	0.8333	2891148
Year 2	3977173	-2569651	7446551	0.6944	2761926
Year 3	3965231	1395580	11411782	0.5787	2294694
Year 4	3242158	4637738	14653940	0.4823	1563541
TOTAL					9511309

The Net NPV after 4 years is -504893

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9511309 - 10016202 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Blm Hedge to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Blm Hedge has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Blm Hedge can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Blm Hedge, then the stock price of the Blm Hedge should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Blm Hedge should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

---

Negotiation Strategy of Hedge Fund Due Diligence at Leman Alternative Asset Management Company

References & Further Readings

Pedro Matos (2018), "Hedge Fund Due Diligence at Leman Alternative Asset Management Company Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.