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Schroder Family (B): Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation 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 Schroder Family (B): Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation case study


At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Schroder Family (B): Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by George Parker, Alan Rappaport, Jaclyn C. Foroughi. The Schroder Family (B): Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation (referred as “Schroder Family” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Finance & Accounting. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Financial analysis, Financial management, Risk management, Work-life balance.

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 Schroder Family (B): Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation Case Study


Having identified his "needs and dreams," Paul Schroder had to figure out what to do next. Putting emotions aside, he needed to identify the best options to come up with the required amounts of liquidity at the right times. As Schroder thought through the issues, he viewed his company, Travel Imagination, as the key to his goals. He could continue to manage and own the business, but he was concerned about this asset's concentration and unpredictability in his portfolio. While he was confident that the direct mail company could successfully face the Internet challenge, he was concerned that he might be wrong, and that he would expose his family to too much risk. He knew that he had too much wealth concentrated in this one company, and bad things can happen to good companies. His future support for his daughter Emily depended on it. This case describes a hypothetical investor faced with the challenges of asset allocation, diversification, family businesses, risk, and leverage.


Case Authors : George Parker, Alan Rappaport, Jaclyn C. Foroughi

Topic : Finance & Accounting

Related Areas : Financial analysis, Financial management, Risk management, Work-life balance




Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Schroder Family (B): Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation Case Study


Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 6 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10020730) -10020730 - -
Year 1 3446239 -6574491 3446239 0.9434 3251169
Year 2 3975630 -2598861 7421869 0.89 3538297
Year 3 3958994 1360133 11380863 0.8396 3324048
Year 4 3222051 4582184 14602914 0.7921 2552166
TOTAL 14602914 12665679




The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2644949

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. Payback Period
3. Profitability Index
4. Internal Rate of Return

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 Schroder Family 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. Schroder Family 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 Schroder Family (B): Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation

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 Schroder Family 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 Schroder Family 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 (10020730) -10020730 - -
Year 1 3446239 -6574491 3446239 0.8696 2996730
Year 2 3975630 -2598861 7421869 0.7561 3006147
Year 3 3958994 1360133 11380863 0.6575 2603103
Year 4 3222051 4582184 14602914 0.5718 1842218
TOTAL 10448198


The Net NPV after 4 years is 427468

(10448198 - 10020730 )








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 (10020730) -10020730 - -
Year 1 3446239 -6574491 3446239 0.8333 2871866
Year 2 3975630 -2598861 7421869 0.6944 2760854
Year 3 3958994 1360133 11380863 0.5787 2291084
Year 4 3222051 4582184 14602914 0.4823 1553844
TOTAL 9477649


The Net NPV after 4 years is -543081

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9477649 - 10020730 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Schroder Family 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 Schroder Family has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Schroder Family 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 Schroder Family, then the stock price of the Schroder Family 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 Schroder Family 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 Schroder Family (B): Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation

References & Further Readings

George Parker, Alan Rappaport, Jaclyn C. Foroughi (2018), "Schroder Family (B): Investment Strategy and Asset Allocation Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.


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