In this April 10, 2014 file photo, Ally Financial CEO Michael Carpenter (right), a graduate of Harvard Business School, right, rings a ceremonial bell with the help of specialist Thomas Facchine as Ally Financial begins trading during its IPO, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. — AP

 

NEW YORK — Harvard is top of the IPO class for 2014. The Ivy League school is the alma mater for seven chief executives who led their companies' IPOs last year.



That's more than twice the amount of the next highest schools in the rankings, according to figures from Equilar, an executive compensation data firm.



Harvard's performance wasn't a fluke. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, school has led the rankings for at least the last three years, according to Equilar.



Tied for second place last year were Columbia University, Stanford University, Texas Tech University and University of North Carolina.



Each school produced three CEOs who took their companies public. The seven newly publicly traded companies led by Harvard alumni range from online bank Ally Financial to pharmaceutical company Kite Pharma.



The group notched an average gain of 74 percent from the date of their market debut to the end of the year.



By comparison, the FTSE Renaissance US IPO index, which tracks the performance of US initial public offerings, gained 9.6 percent last year. – AFP