Tuesday’s Headlines: How Business Schools Connect Start-ups with Alumni Funding

The value of an MBA’s name may be worth more than its brand equity. About 40 business schools around the country have started angel investor groups to connect entrepreneurs with funding, according to a Businessweek story.

Entrepreneurs get more than just dough, though. They also get mentoring and “educational opportunities in the form of panels and lectures.”

HBS Alumni Association of Northern California is a global alumni club with 10 chapters, of which members have invested in 20 start-ups in the past 12 months, while Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs has bankrolled $3 million for 11 businesses over the past two years. Berkley started a similar group in November.

More universities are warming up to doing “something angel,” whether it’s forming funds, housing angel groups, or providing meeting space, [says an Angel Capital Association spokesperson]. Schools are increasingly open to these groups because they dovetail nicely with the institutions’ community or economic development mission and are seen by administrators as a new way to connect with their alumni, she says. Individual alumni typically invest $25,000 and up in companies, most of which have been launched by the school’s alumni.

Other News:

Barclays CEO Robert Diamond resigned today amid intense political and investor pressure from the British bank's involvement in rigging an important interest-rate benchmark—and another senior executive appeared close to following him out the door. [Wall Street Journal]

JPMorgan Chase brokers said the bank favored selling its own funds. [DealBook]

BlackRock will buy the Private Equity Partners unit of Swiss Re, expanding its business in Europe and Asia. [Businessweek]

Howard Schloss, the $1 million spokesman for FINRA, will depart in September. [Investment News]

JPMorgan Chase underwrote 6.8 percent of global corporate bond sales – beating out rivals. [Bloomberg]

Citi hired Herb Yeh from BofA to cover large tech companies. [NY Times]

David Chan, who ran macro trading for Goldman in Asia, joined Singapore’s Dymon Asia Capital as CEO. [Bloomberg]