"Fund companies are paid on assets," he said, "and you can see which are the diversified firms and which aren't."

Recent projects include the valuation of investments in R&D, risk management, and the allocation of capital in diversified firms, and the theory of corporate governance.

To economize on top management's bounded rationality there is an obvious need within the diversified firm for operating decisions to be decentralized.

The index's components represent both pure-plays and more diversified firms.

If the Federal Reserve Board continues to cut interest rates, Mr. McVey said, the more diversified firms "will outperform the retail on a sustained basis."

Tracking stock or targeted stock are specialized equity offerings issued by a company that is based on the operations of a wholly owned subsidiary of a diversified firm.

The degree of divisional-HQ interaction was not so extensive for diversified firms.

In the 1960s a series of mergers saw coal production shift from small, independent coal companies to large, more diversified firms.

Because they offer only credit cards, finding a more diversified financial firm to merge with has become a necessity for many.

The academic research on diversified firms is unambiguous.