Morgan Asset Management

It is 2010 and Guillermo Araoz, the equity research director at Morgan Asset Management (MAM), is considering his research budget for the year. Due to recent declines in the equity markets and MAM's sale of its mutual funds business, MAM has seen a decline in its assets under management, and consequently, in its research budget. The case describes the investment process at MAM, including how stocks are selected and portfolios are constructed, and discusses the way in which the research budget supports this process. Araoz is faced with the challenge of how best to allocate this smaller research budget without negatively impacting the firm's investment process and investment performance.